Motorcycling Etiquette - When & How to Wave.
I was riding SR 159 near the Red Rock loop, when an approaching Goldwinger gave me a Queen’s Wave (twisting his left wrist slightly left and right, with his hand slightly cupped). I nearly fell off my bike, laughing. A Queens Wave! I found this experience so unnerving I failed to return the wave, I just laughed. Then I began to think about biker wave etiquette and wondered why the road captains do not include wave instructions with the other hand signals. For that matter, I don’t remember any mention of the wave in the basic or advanced rider courses. How could something that happens every time you ride go uninstructed? When is a wave appropriate and what is the proper way to give one?
When I got home, I googled and surfed the web, looking for answers, but all I found were more questions. Should I even be a waver, and if so, should I wave first or only return waves? Does it matter what brand or type of bike is approaching and what about those scary hard corps bikers with ape hangers?
What is the wave protocol for a group of approaching bikes, will one long wave take care of the whole group or are individual waves required? What about on a poker run or bike rally, do you just wave yourself crazy?
If your going to be a waver you’ll have to choose a wave style. The basic wave styles are: the left-handed, low wave, straight out and the high wave. There is also the right-handed wave, which says, “Hi, I have cruise control”. The basic waves have variations which include the extension of any number of fingers, palm direction and motion. The advanced wave options are endless: Two Finger Flip, Four Finger Wiggle, Mini-Wave and on and on. When you are unable to safely wave, it is acceptable to substitute a Head Nod in lieu of a bona fide wave.
Here is what I’m going to do, until I receive proper instruction: When I give the wave first, I’ll use the peace sign, low for Harley’s and higher for those others. When I’m returning an other biker’s wave, I’ll mimic their wave, unless it’s a Queen’s Wave, in which case, I’ll just laugh. ;-)