Re: I need to learn how to wave!
 

Just as an aside. I don't do the traditional biker wave. I learned to ride off road on 3 wheeled atc's and enduro bikes. As such, one of the early rules is "Keep your hands on the bike all the time." Yes, experience did help hammer it in.
Now its not that I don't wave, I just pivot my left hand up, leaving the heal on the grip, and wave to the left and back.

Re: I need to learn how to wave!
 

Had a traffic policeman in Chicago tell me the rule of them for the Police is: they'll all give you 5 (miles per hour), most will give you 7, some will give you 9, but don't do 10 over. Its worked pretty well over the years. Except in downtown Chicago where the cars and the cabs are like those in Hong Kong, look out! The expressways are closer to 70 on the average than 55 and on the tollways the trucks move with traffic (at 70). Moral of the story; everybody's in a big hurry.

Re: I need to learn how to wave!
 

Just got my first wave as well!
I honestly didn't expect him to wave as he passed, I was just having my own private "I'm passing my first motorcycle!" moment when I saw him stick out his arm.
I just raised the fingers on my left hand and smiled back. Didn't think I ought to try leaping onto the seat and waving my arms in the air quite yet... :)

Re: I need to learn how to wave!
 

You'll start to notice some riders are super bikes snobs.
They won't wave back unless you're riding a particular brand of motorcycle.
You'll start to recognize them in advance, by the sound the engine makes.
They all sound the same; like expensive American pieces of crap.

I'm not bitter. ;)

Re: I need to learn how to wave!
 

In MD that kind is very rare. It happens more often that people don''t wave because
- they just need their left hand for the clutch right then and there
- they are afraid to remove their hand from the steering (usually newbies)
- (usually experienced Goldwing riders) they're kind of on autopilot and just caught up in something else, like adjusting the drip rate on the coffee maker, reprogramming the air conditioning, etc.

Re: I need to learn how to wave!
 

lol 5th

Re: I need to learn how to wave!
 

About speeding: I took my GPS on my last ride and found that 65 on the Shadow's speedometer is actually 61.6 mph. I thought the speedo would be more accurate than that since the bike uses a speed sensor instead of a cable running off the front wheel.

But now I know I can ride with the indicated speed a few mph above the posted speed and be OK..

Re: I need to learn how to wave!
 

That is actually good for a bike. Most are even more optimistic with their reading. Your is slightly below 5% of actual. My Vstrom is 7% at that speed. You will find thought that the odometer reading is very accurate on most bikes.

Re: I need to learn how to wave!
 

I have found the trip odometer to read slightly higher than my GPS as well. I don't remember the difference, at the time it seemed consistant with the speedo error, but I didn't do the math. I was wearing the GPS, so when I made a couple stops to go into convenience stores, my movement was recorded even though the bike was still.

The next time I go for a long ride, I will make it a point to check my GPS reading when the bike's trip odometer hits 100 miles, just out of curiosity.

ADDED A COUPLE DAYS LATER: I went for a ride, my tripmeter shows 66.7 miles, my gps shows 65.7 miles.

Re: I need to learn how to wave!
 

I dont wave when on the interstate, only local roads and highways. Never in a corner or after dark.

I try to wave but it just doesnt happen if Im busy or trying to dodge that road kill.