An observation....do Choppers differ?

[The Idle Biker]

Had a little ride down to Box Hill in the South Today, loved it and first time since I got my SV that I could ride without the cold limiting journey time. Though I must admit I got overtaken by some very quick Kawa's and R1's on the way, it was fun apart from the damp roads. Anyway, coming the other way were a good few riders who all nodded their heads or flashed. The only ones who didn't or didn't respond were Chopper riders, why is this? Different code, coincidence or are they just different? What's the etiquette?
Rgds
Confused.

[minimorecambe]

Some bikers just dont nod / flash / wave, /get off their bikes and do a merry dance
I tend to most of the time but I tend to be concentrating on the road ahead most of the time to notice passing bikes.

Suppose its just personal preference

[maviczap]

The only ones who didn't or didn't respond were Chopper riders, why is this? Different code, coincidence or are they just different? What's the etiquette?
RgdsConfused.

In a word NOKB's :smt019

[G]

In a word NOKB's :smt019

How is it being a knob though... Hell, when riding to a biker spot like that, Matlock for example, you can pass 100+ bike on the road in and frankly you look a **** and end up with a sore neck.

[punyXpress]

If YOU were riding a chopper, TIB, would you let go of the bar?
Don't think I would! ;)

[dizzyblonde]

If YOU were riding a chopper, TIB, would you let go of the bar?
Don't think I would! ;)

Isn't that what handlebar tashes are for?

Ok I'll get me coat!

[The Idle Biker]

Aw that's funny but No no no , don't get your coat, you're right they all had facial hair. That's it, they only nod to hairy folk. And their hairy hair was grey. Now I understand, it wasn't my Hi Viz jacket (sorry bout no street cred) but my lack of hairy facial hair that made me feel unaccepted. I can sleep well tonight with my shaven boat race (face).

[Wideboy]

its because they are leather crotchless chap wearing ghey's like bwm riders

[Reeder]

I too have noticed a large percentage of chopper riders wont nod. Tw*ats

[dizzyblonde]

Thats cause you needz a spezial wave to get a response

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BagSzn3TBD4

but here is the solution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7tBHoq49RU

[G]

I'm suprised so many people get upset at not being nodded at lol

[Jayneflakes]

Lets be honest here, if you want to make a sweeping generalisation about chopper riders, then at least lump them in to three groups.

Group one, young well paid executives too scared to take hands off bars to wave or too scared to take eyes off the two feet of road in front of them to nod! They ride because they love it, despite it scaring them to death with the thought of crashing £30K worth of custom Harley made just for them that looks just like their mates bike!

Group two, old farts too stiff with arthritis to even so much as move a cheek muscle let alone nod or wave. These old farts have been riding the same bikes in all weathers for close to sixty years, The gear they wear has worn to the shape of them on the bike, which makes getting off and walking, lifting a head to nod or even getting up to have their incontinence pad changed remarkably hard work for them!

Group three, Patch club riders. They do not like you, you are not part of their club, there for you do not exist. These guys love their bikes and riding above all else. Show some respect!

Do not be offended by these riders not nodding or waving, just accept that they too love riding bikes. They just cannot show it! :D

[The Idle Biker]

Thanks Jayne, I think you are right, you're experince and Redders gut feel.

Group 1 ****s
Group 2 ****s
Group 3 ****s.

Now I know I won't be offended. I'll just nod and leave em to it.

Cheers

That's what I thought all along.

[suzukigt380paul]

apart from noding and i know most chopper dont do more than 50 mph,but have you ever tried to put your hand up at more than 70 mph it ends up near your rear light:-D

[Lozzo]

I'm bored with nodding at other riders now and only do it in response to someone else doing it first. I still stop to see if they're ok if I see one stopped at the roadside, but the nodding or waving thing has become tedious after 32 years.

[toxic]

I never nod first, it's like a game of chicken.

[Drumming_Animal]

Group one sounds like my step dad :D

Yep he commited the cardinal sin by buying one. I had a short ride on his harley once.


Never.


Again.


As for waving, i nod, stick out a leg, wave, warn of left on indicators, warn of cameras or coppers and such like. Most are kind enough to return the good gesture. A couple dont, no matter what theyre riding. If they dont well its no big deal for me.

However i do not wave or nod or even acknowledge mopeds or chavvy w*nk*rs at all, nor anyone not shorts and t-shirt. The only time i acknowledge a moped is to drown out their pesty engines with a roar and leave them crying at the traffic lights if challenged. Keeping an eye for coppers of course, nothing funnier than seeing them think theyve won and left you for dead than for them to get pulled over 100 metres up the road :D

[minimorecambe]

If a moped rider nods at me they will get a nod back if I have noticed them :)

[thedonal]

I get a fair few nods from chopper riders. But am nodding less as time goes by (mainly as I can be a moody ***t sometimes- depending on the journey!!).

London riders are the least noddy, in my experience. But then- the further you get out of cities, the friendlier folks in general get in my experience.

[yorkie_chris]

Group three, Patch club riders. They do not like you, you are not part of their club, there for you do not exist. These guys love their bikes and riding above all else. Show some respect!

Don't be silly, why should I show any respect to someone retarded enough to buy a f*ckin h*rl*y? Respect is earned and anyone who splurges so much cash on such an overweight, over thirsty, underpowered, ill handling, poorly built bag of SH*T has got some serious earning to do!

Anyway, you can tell when the local patch club here are having their meet because of all the cars parked outside :smt082

Fair do's, I still nod, but generally cruisers, choppers, h*rl*ys and patches of all kinds generally come attached to more poseur than biker.



According to MCN ninjas stereotypes thread:
"These ones make me laugh. The Wannabe Badass Hombre or WBH think they're so bloody hard, that all they need for crash protection is a leather waistcoat, T-shirt, and fingerless gloves, and an open face lid, (it has to be open face dammit!). If by some pure freak of nature they should send their tractor, sorry combine, sorry sorry Harley, down the road, and they inadvertantly hit their bad ass heads on the road, their goatee, (free with every waistcoat!), will protect them, chin bars are for wimps. Of course they won't crash because the mural of a wolf/ dragon/ eagle/ native american, (delete as appropriate), sprayed on their tank in fetching metallic purple will protect them from all misfortunes that befall lesser riders om Jap crap! Most of the time the WBH can be easily overtaken and forgotten, but if you have the misfortune to be stuck behind one, be aware that standard biking etiquette goes out the badass window, indicators, PAH, they're for pussies, all you need is an outstretched fingerless gloved hand to be slowly put out in a double 'ard fashion, (don't mess!), and point that index finger mofo, and then of course there is the drifting about on the road whilst riding in a group, ("staggered, other bikes, never heard of them!!"). I think I should stop now, I could go on and on, and on, sorry. Actually one more thing before I go, the MULLET, they always have a bloody mullet, or some even stoopidder haircut, "no no thats a great haircut, just keep your skid lid on." I can only apologise as I think this turned into something of a rant rather than just an amusing observation!"

[barwel1992]

i find not many bikers nod at me at all even though i nod at them ? strange maybe i look scary :p

[vjones777]

but here is the solution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7tBHoq49RU

He! Thats brilliant! :smt040

[metalangel]

http://archvillain.files.wordpress.com/200 8/11/not-this-again.jpg

[-Ralph-]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BagSzn3TBD4

Ahhh, thanks Dizzy, that's made my Monday morning. Nothing beats a young sexy blonde with a big rack and a smile on her face, sitting on a sports bike.

[maviczap]

Lets be honest here, if you want to make a sweeping generalisation about chopper riders, then at least lump them in to three groups.

Group one, young well paid executives too scared to take hands off bars to wave or too scared to take eyes off the two feet of road in front of them to nod! They ride because they love it, despite it scaring them to death with the thought of crashing £30K worth of custom Harley made just for them that looks just like their mates bike!

Group two, old farts too stiff with arthritis to even so much as move a cheek muscle let alone nod or wave. These old farts have been riding the same bikes in all weathers for close to sixty years, The gear they wear has worn to the shape of them on the bike, which makes getting off and walking, lifting a head to nod or even getting up to have their incontinence pad changed remarkably hard work for them!

Group three, Patch club riders. They do not like you, you are not part of their club, there for you do not exist. These guys love their bikes and riding above all else. Show some respect!

Do not be offended by these riders not nodding or waving, just accept that they too love riding bikes. They just cannot show it! :D

Nicely summed up Janey, although I'll make it even shorter

Groups 1 & 2 think they belong to group 3, therefore are too cool/hard to wave. I've seen group 1 & 2 members at bike shows in their leather chaps, leather hats and leather waistcoats with their badges on, but they are certainly not their 'Colours'

[dizzyblonde]

Anyway, you can tell when the local patch club here are having their meet because of all the cars parked outside :smt082

According to MCN ninjas stereotypes thread:
" that all they need for crash protection is a leather waistcoat, T-shirt, and fingerless gloves, and an open face lid, (it has to be open face dammit!). If by some pure freak of nature they should send their tractor, sorry combine, sorry sorry Harley, down the road, and they inadvertantly hit their bad ass heads on the road, their goatee, (free with every waistcoat!), will protect them, chin bars are for wimps. Of course they won't crash because the mural of a wolf/ dragon/ eagle/ native american, (delete as appropriate), sprayed on their tank in fetching metallic purple will protect them from all misfortunes that befall lesser riders om Jap crap! Most of the time the WBH can be easily overtaken and forgotten, but if you have the misfortune to be stuck behind one, be aware that standard biking etiquette goes out the badass window, indicators, PAH, they're for pussies, all you need is an outstretched fingerless gloved hand to be slowly put out in a double 'ard fashion, (don't mess!), and point that index finger mofo, and then of course there is the drifting about on the road whilst riding in a group, ("staggered, other bikes, never heard of them!!"). I think I should stop now, I could go on and on, and on, sorry. Actually one more thing before I go, the MULLET, they always have a bloody mullet, or some even stoopidder haircut, "no no thats a great haircut, just keep your skid lid on." I can only apologise as I think this turned into something of a rant rather than just an amusing observation!"


teheheheheheheheeeee!

And yes, that said patch club that is local, they're so well hard, its only taken em some 30 yrs to dare to penetrate Halifax and its surroundings, as its been far too closely guarded by beardy weirdo, knit your own yoghurt, whilst smoking catnip brigade! They've been far tooo scared to take over incase they got abducted by an alien in a UFO, but then they're too scared to venture down here at night for fear of the odd locals.....no wonder they need a tin cage as protection!

[Jayneflakes]

Group three, Patch club riders. They do not like you, you are not part of their club, there for you do not exist. These guys love their bikes and riding above all else. Show some respect!

Don't be silly, why should I show any respect to someone retarded enough to buy a f*ckin h*rl*y? Respect is earned and anyone who splurges so much cash on such an overweight, over thirsty, underpowered, ill handling, poorly built bag of SH*T has got some serious earning to do!


I don't think that my use of irony was fully executed there, in the jokey context of the piece, I was trying to say that they are arrogant and have a poor attitude to other road users.

In regards to Harley use, I seem to recall that Sonny Barger stated in his autobiography that he loved Harleys because they earned him so much money repairing them and making them run from new. How bad does it have to be for it not to run in warm dry California sunshine?

When I was down in Devon in the early 1990's, there was a club that went everywhere by battered Transit van, I think that only one or two of them had bikes and even then they often pinched their wives bikes for runs because they could barely ride their own.

As a woman biker, I have found that some clubs are not only misogynistic, but down right hostile to the idea of women riding at all. In truth, I am not at all social enough to enjoy being in a bike club, I like to ride my bike, at my pace and not have to worry about the politics of club membership.

I do nod at people though, even mopeds. I am nice like that. :smt040

[Geodude]

I nod at most riders even moped riders but if they are wearing shorts and a t shirt i just shake my head.

[Stuuk1]

I nod at most riders even moped riders but if they are wearing shorts and a t shirt i just shake my head.

I'll remember that one, they are idiots.

I hate not getting a nod back, I feel like such a ****.. Haha I sometimes accidentally nod to a moped rider but as a rule I don't.

[Reeder]

I nod to female moped riders ;)... or what look like females? :D

[Ceri JC]

In regards to Harley use, I seem to recall that Sonny Barger stated in his autobiography that he loved Harleys because they earned him so much money repairing them and making them run from new. How bad does it have to be for it not to run in warm dry California sunshine?


IIRC, Barger also said that the Angels were pretty much stuck with Harleys through tradition and that these days, the "Jap crap" was better and that he'd have a Honda Pan European if it was solely down to the merits of the bike as opposed to image and tradition. Looks like Hunter S Thompson was correct when he said those chaps are fundamentally very similar in attitude to the police. :cyclopsani:

The conclusion I've come to is that chopper riders as a whole generally don't wave as much as other groups of riders, unless you're on a chopper too. Occasionally, when this topic comes up, a chopper rider will appear here and tell us how we're all wrong and how they wave more than anyone, but then, they're riding a chopper, so they're getting waved at, so it's an unqualified opinion. :p

There are some good folks who happen to like choppers; I know several, I'm even related to a couple. They like bikes just as much as you or I do. They're not all standoffish to strangers either: a chopper bike club I chatted to were very friendly, even though I was in my car and just wanted a look at one of the girls' (very pretty) fake-hardtailed Sportster. I even know a couple of guys into Harleys and Indians who rack up 30K a year in all weathers, so dispense with your notion that the bikes never get used. All these people are great. Sadly a lot are acting out Hell's Angels fantasies. Nothing so wrong with that on the face of it; after all, a lot of sports bike riders could be accused of just pretending they are at the TT and there are lots of GSes which have never even been down an unpaved road, which makes the overlanding tat many are weighed down with laughable. Still, they're all having fun and for the most part, aren't hurting anyone else, so why all the bashing? Personally, I think what makes the "chopper rider" such an amusing and much-mocked figure of fun is that their fantasy is further removed from reality than the others. Whereas the fast lad on the litre sportsbike is largely indistinguishable to a motorcycle racer to Joe Public. Given the talent and/or money, he probably would be a bike racer. On the other hand, the middle-aged accountant earning £60,000 a year, with a chopper someone else built for them, is the very antithesis of what they are pretending to be.

To be fair, I must admit that the very first person to wave to me in my biking career was a chopper rider. He was a grizzled looking old boy on a bike that definitely looked like a "built in the shed" chopper, as opposed to a Harley or a boutique-bought effort. He also had sensible kit on, even if it was old fashioned and he only had an open face lid. Proper biker who happened to be into choppers rather than a "chopper rider", then.

[Stuuk1]

I nod to female moped riders ;)... or what look like females? :D

Paedo...











p.s. I do to..

[Reeder]

Dude, you've gotta be 16 to ride a moped ;)... it's a sign.

[BBadger]

Around box hill and surrey we have a 4th kind aswell.

The im getting on in life so i must look cool or live a little as ive realised my life amounts to nothing. so lets put on a Hawaiian shirt flip flops some cool sunglasses and take the Harley out.

These are the worst kind.

[davepreston]

so blue pete did you stop waving at people when you were riding your chopper ??? ;)

tbh i know most types of bikers from harley riders to off roaders to you bunch of muppets, and i go to the rallies (bulldog farmyard storming) on my plastic jap crap and have never had more than a playful dig spoken to me, to which i give my standard (YC esk) reply or point out it could be worse i could be in a cage, which genrally unites us in mutual hatred for chav's in nova's

do they wave less, probably not
do some have bias, yep **
do quite a few have jap crap in there garage too, yep

** if it aint got gears no wave from me

[thedonal]

Around box hill and surrey we have a 4th kind aswell.

The im getting on in life so i must look cool or live a little as ive realised my life amounts to nothing. so lets put on a Hawaiian shirt flip flops some cool sunglasses and take the Harley out.

These are the worst kind.

There are some proper looking craggy types turn up to Boxhill- some also who turn up with a limp in a car instead...