Biker Wave Protocol

I used to wave all the time prior to retiring. My wave always delivered a loud message. "Grab a hunk of the fucking curb asshole" JK of course. People waved at me all the time, most the time with more than one finger. I always waved back. Unless I had a doughnut in my hand.

 

This has nothing to do with waving but everything to do with cops on bikes. Back in the 50s, when being a cop was much less restrictive, my old bike shop boss was a mechanic for Harley Davidson in a minor market Midwestern city. He knew all the motor cops in town and took delight in messing with them and playing pranks. One day, as he was leaving the house for work he looked up to see a cop car, lights flashing and sirens blaring screeching around the corner of his street. Likewise, a second car came round from the other direction. In a blink of an eye there were cars and bikes all over the street all converging on his house. Officers leaped out of cars and off bikes, grabbed my boss and threw him bodily over the hood of a squad car. Then the car of the chief pulled up. He got out and walked over to where my boss was pinned on the hood. He got down really close and said "Leroy, I want you to lift your head just a little and look down your street." He did and every one of his neighbors was out of the steps watching the proceedings. The chief laughed and said, "They are all going to treat you like a leper from now on!" With that he drove way and all the other cops vanished as quickly as they had come.

 

Awesome story, Mato is be careful who you f**k with.

 

Ya. PCness won't permit that fun these days. It was great back in the day when we had a close and friendly relationship with those we worked for....the citizens we policed. Can't say I knew everyone by name in my Campbell River days, but knew and drank coffee with a whole pile of them.

 

Just in case some of y'all get the urge.

http://blog.urbanbohemian.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Limp_Wrist_hemsida_2-672x372.jpg

 

Leroy used to entertain me with cop stories.

 

I thought so

Unfortunately we have some fairly bizarre legislation here, clearly passed by people who have never ridden a bike.

So getting the front wheel off the ground is illegal here on the road anyway. (OK I have some sympathy with that one, but I still award the guys bonus points for attitude )
Taking a foot off the peg to stretch your leg while riding along.........yup you guessed it, illegal.
Standing up on the foot pegs to have a look over traffic and obstructions or to get decent control in the dirt........yup that's illegal too even if you are riding a trail bike that is actually designed to be ridden standing and even if the shitty road surface necessitates it. They'd rather see you crash than standing on the pegs.
They'll probably make waving illegal too before long.

 

The 11th Commandment states, When on thy Harley, thou shalt not wave at any other but Harleydoods but you can covet their asses.

 

The only hand gesture I really appreciate from an oncoming rider is a hand tapping the top of the helmet . . .










.

 

A lot of riders don't know what that actually means, I warn riders daily. Popo ahead....

 

Flashing the brights is another method.

 

That's the usual method down here. Not as common as it used to be as people have been prosecuted for doing it, usually when they have flashed in clear view of a carefully positioned chase car.

 

Reminds my a time when down in Oregon a car was parked on the road side, in shoe polish on his back window was "Radar ahead" around the next sweeper sure enough. Wondered how long if the cop figured it out he wasn't getting any speeders as it was a nice part of the road, or how long he stayed parked, either way was good timing as I just came out of triple digits.

 

My dad once got a ticket for flicking his high beams to warn of a radar trap. They called it obstruction of justice. Just like Nixon.

 

Strictly speaking, waving is illegal. Riders must have both feet on the footpegs and both hands on the Handlebars.blah blah blah. Oh and dont smile, for farks sake dont smile, The Nanny state enforcers dont like that very much either.

 

Many years ago it was similar here. Except it was Obstruct Peace Officer. Charges under those circumstances went out the window even before I became a LEO in 1978. My old man was a traveling salesman and I recall him speaking of this practice dating back to the early 60's or late 50's.

My point of view about this practice, or warning people, or radar detectors is go at it. My job was to slow people down to lessen injuries and lower the instances of death as a result of accidents. I didn't give a fuck what was used to slow people down. Hell. I used to high beam flash people I saw flying down the road while I was in my private vehicle and I knew no cops were around. People would slow down for miles and would wonder where that cop was supposed to be.

We looked at the idea of mounting "drone" radar heads at every overpass which would send out a signal. So, people's radar detectors would be constantly beeping. We never did do that but it was an interesting concept. I also did not care if you had a radar detector. But if I did stop you for speeding and you had one, the likelihood of you getting a break from me was nonexistent. My warning to ticket ratio was about 1 in 5 got a warning. I might add, the way I worked radar, that was frequent.

 

If Nixon had a bike it would have been a Harley. On two lane roads they are considered obstructions.

 

LOOK OUT HERE COMES A RANT!

My experience is that here in NE Ohio speeding is used as a municipal income tax. Most speed enforcement is outright fraudulent. It is in fact tail gating, switching lanes wrecklessly, and blowing red lights that causes accidents. I DREAM where the cops would leave the fast traffic just go to work, and stop people who leave only 5 feet of space while doing 65 mph.

Now you are in a different area from me and maybe there are egregious problems with speed where you are which gives you a different view.

I today have a 2000 Celica. I know my 1980 Delta 88 began to float around at 80 mph. The Celica sticks to the ground like glue, and one feels the speed a lot less compared to cars of only a few decades ago. The control is immeasurable better. And a 2015 Chevy now probably feels more like my 2000 Celica. The advancements in feel and control have been significant. And the average person's reaction time at 80 mph is not particularly slow. Maybe 120 mph yes, but not 80 mph.

If all of traffic is going 80 mph, there is zero danger. It is only that guy doing 120 when the traffic is at 60 that is the problem. And you baconbacks (no offense) rarely catch that guy. It is normally the accident that catches them, or you get them because they have no plate or muffler.

I agree with city ticketing in 25 mph zones, school zones. But the police have also setup an impossible situation. I do strictly 25 through the zones that say "25 mph strictly enforced." And guess what? I almost always have some chick in a 6,000 lb SUV on my bumper ready to kill me the second I hit the brakes. And that feeling is a lot worse on my bike!

Get the tailgaters. And ticket tail gating at a HIGH rate like $300. That will stop all accidents. Of course the municipal income will plummet so the politicians will come up with something else. Maybe they'll ticket me for the clear coat peel on the Toyota. They can make tons of money off of that issue. (I hope they're not reading this right now.)

 

The 1 cop in Alma Colorado will give you a ticket for 1 over. The towns main source of revenue. You pass through the 30 mph town in about 45 seconds. It sits at over 10,000 feet.

 

Get the tailgaters. And ticket tail gating at a HIGH rate like $300. That will stop all accidents.

This is one of my pet peeves, deal with it on a daily basis on my bike doin 72-75..these asshats really think it's ok to tailgate a motorcycle. ...if only people would wake up 10 minutes earlier they wouldn't be in such a rush to hit Starbucks.....also all them fookers that don't use turn signals, or put them on a second before they turn....they come standard on all cars and trucks for a reason...
Ok I'm done.....for now