The Art of the Motorcycle Wave: Camaraderie on the Road

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Niels Meersschaert, the host of the Throttle and Roast podcast, delves into the intricate tradition of motorcycle waving in this episode. He discusses the origins of the wave, its significance in fostering camaraderie among riders, and the various hand gestures used for waving. The episode also explores the etiquette of waving, including when to wave and when it's acceptable to abstain, such as on multi-lane highways and during heavy traffic. Additionally, Niels examines the interesting phenomenon of certain riders not returning waves based on the type of motorcycle being ridden, shedding light on the dynamics of the motorcycle community.

Show links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycling_greetings

https://canadamotoguide.com/2019/09/04/opinion-to-wave-or-not-to-wave/

https://jed-co.com/blogs/news/did-you-know-the-story-behind-the-jeep-wave

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Transcript

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Two bikes pass on a country road, and for a brief moment, a wave climbs between them. And just as quickly, it is gone.

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Welcome to the Throttle and Roast podcast. I'm your host, Niels Meersschaert. In this episode, we'll explore one aspect of riding a motorcycle that communicates our camaraderie with our fellow riders.

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So what is the wave in motorcycling? Well, it's a signal to other riders in solidarity. We're all on the bikes together. We're all sharing the road and seeing another motorcyclist. We want to communicate to them that we see them and we recognise and appreciate that they're on the road as well. Now the widely shared origin story is that Arthur Davidson passed by William Harley and waved since they knew one another. And ever since then this has been the origin story of why motorcyclists wave at one another. Now, maybe it's not true, but it is a really nice sort of story to hear about. Now, for many years, this was co-opted by Jeep Wrangler riders or drivers actually in what became known as the Jeep wave.

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But with everyone driving a Jeep Wrangler, nowadays, it's a bit less common. So motorcyclists are really the only ones that are truly waving at one another still today.

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Now, there's several variations. The first, of course, is a peace sign of two fingers, sometimes pointed down to suggest keep the rubber side down. Another variation is an open hand, suggesting a high five as you pass. Sometimes it'll be a tip of the hand to the helmet like a salute. This is often times when the left hand is currently engaged in the clutch, especially if you're stopped at a light, you may use your right hand to salute the other rider. Now riders in the US will often use their left hand, except in that case that I just mentioned. And the reason, of course, is that the rider will be passing on the left hand side or the opposing rider will be passing on the left hand side of the bike. So this makes it a little bit easier. Now, another variation is the head nod. This is often used when you're stopped as your left hand is holding in the clutch. But it's also used in countries that ride on the left hand side of the road. If they don't use their right hand coming off of the throttle. So here's my question for you. Do you always return or give a wave if it's safe to do so? And do you do a different variation than any of the ones that I had mentioned? Text the show through the link in the show notes and we'll share your feedback in a future episode.

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When to give a wave and when to avoid a wave. Most riders don't bother on multi-lane highways like an interstate that have a median dividing the two directions of traffic. And this is more of a practical reason than anything else. You can't necessarily notice the other rider. You're paying attention to the lanes that you're in. And just from a safety perspective, it's a little bit easier not to sort of deal with that. When you're stopped at a light, you might substitute it with the head nod that we referenced a bit earlier.

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And in heavy traffic, many riders will skip doing the wave because they really want to be focused on the traffic that's surrounding them rather than reaching out and saying hello to a fellow rider. Another place where you find that riders will avoid doing a wave is when they're at a rally. And this is when you have tons of bike traffic and most riders, they just won't bother because they're going to have just been doing nothing other than riding with that one hand outstretched to every bike that's coming by So where is the perfect place for most people to do a wave?

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Well, country roads with a very small amount of traffic are the perfect place to give a wave.

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You're not going to see another vehicle for a while and then a bike comes up over the crest of the hill. You see that and you reach out and wave towards that other rider. It's a great way to sort of see that sort of nod of, Yes, I see you and I love that you're riding just as I am.

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Sometimes there will be riders who don't return a wave based upon the bike that is being giving the wave to them. Now, most commonly this seems to happen with some Harley riders who won't wave at other brands' bikes. So if you happen to not be on a Harley and you pass a Harley rider, they may not return the wave. In my own personal experience, I found it's maybe a 50/50. Sometimes they won't. Sometimes they will.

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But I think just in general, if we all sort of recognize, hey, you're you're out on a bike, it's it's a nice thing to sort of do as a gesture. The other element is it seems that nobody waves at people on scooters. Now, of the many bikes that I have, one of them is a scooter. And I have sort of gotten to the point where I don't expect nor even, you know, start a wave toward another person on a motorcycle when I'm on the scooter, because nobody really returns it in any way or even gives it. So that's going to be another type of a bike that will oftentimes be excluded from the the bit of the wave going on. now in other kind of bike that will sometimes suffer from the same sort of, you know, dismissal that scooters have is sometimes trike riders are treated like they're on a scooter and they don't get a wave. Look. Yes. It's not two wheels, it's three. But they're out there riding in the same joy that all of us are feeling. So it is something that one could give a bit of respect to that other rider. But I'd love to know from you, when do you avoid or always give a wave? And do you decide based on the other bike? And if so, how do you decide? Text the show through the link in the shownotes and we'll share your feedback in a future episode Now, how does the wave make us feel? Well, here in the U.S., motorcyclists are a distinct minority. There are only about 8 million registered motorcycles out of about 330 million total registered vehicles. So we are a relatively small percentage. And throughout most of the U.S., you will find that riders will only ride during the warmer months. So there's a whole section of the year where motorcyclists aren't even on the road. And when you consider that some motorcyclists have more than one bike, it's a much, much smaller percentage of overall riders that are out there. But it is this camaraderie of that shared experience of being out on a bike. Sometimes for motorcyclists, because we are that sort of minority, we can feel that we aren't seen by other vehicles. So this acknowledgement can be mentally powerful. It can make us feel that we are seen, even if it is just by a fellow motorcyclists who are probably a little bit more attuned to seeing that. But it does help and for many it does keep their riding spirit high. Now, not receiving a wave can actually have the opposite effect. It could actually make a rider feel bad. Why did they not wave back to me? Did I do something wrong? Am I on the wrong kind of bike from their perspective? So whatever it is that can kind of feel a little down for some people and waving when it's raining takes on another level of a shared experience because a lot of motorcyclists tend to certainly in the United States be fairweather riders. So if you see a fellow rider when it's pouring rain, it's not just a sign of waving and saying, Hey, I see you, you're on a bike.

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It's like we're both in this sort of miserable condition together. We're all exposed and getting wet just as everybody does. So I would love to know is how does receiving a wave from a fellow rider make you feel? And if another rider doesn't give or return a wave, how do you feel?

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Text the show through the link in the show notes with your answers and we'll share them in a future episode.

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So let's wrap up. We've covered a few different things here. What is a wave? What are the kind of variations of how someone might give a wave and also some tips of when we sort of expect to give a wave and when we don't. And then finally, how does the wave make us feel?

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Thanks so much for listening.

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We'll see you the next time.

The Art of the Motorcycle Wave: Camaraderie on the Road

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