Where did the hand waving from one motorcycle rider to another passing each other come from?

Question

Where did the hand waving from one motorcycle rider to another passing each other come from?

Answer 1

Used to be sports car drivers in the '50's waived at each other and bikers too as a sign of acknowledgment and camaraderie. Truckers from the same company do it, people that drive the same kind of street rods do it and on and on.

Answer 2

I didn't know this til I got a bike myself, but bikers feel like they're in this special club where it's them against cars. They feel like cars don't give them enough room and pay them enough attention. They have a total persecution complex. At my compulsory training day, the instructor told us to always keep our headlamp on at full beam even though that's illegal just to keep cars aware of you. So the whole waving or acknowledging each other as you pass is kind of a show of camaraderie. They're basically saying, 'you must be alright cos you're one of us' to each other.

Answer 3

There's a good answer and funny link in the motor cycle category under the question "what's with the wave?" Get over there now and read it.

Most people seem to think it means: keep the rubber side down & the shiny side up.

I think it's a courtesy thing and an acknowledgement that someone else is on your wavelength, like the way that you smile at strangers out of pure happiness !

Answer 4

i dont know

Answer 5

I haven't seen actual waving, but I have seen the two fingers pointed down, arm down before, and I've been wondering where that originated.  That might be what you're talking about, heh.  :)