"The Wave"....downunder

[moosehead]

Well our planning is moving ahead, again, for our trip to NZ and maybe Ozland for 2012 now.

We had to move it back a year as was depending on our oldest daughter and son-in-laws plans for staying/leaving Ozland...they still havn't decided weather to start the family in Ozland or Canada...well the hell with the "Dithersom's" as my wife and I affectionately call them...geez...just get on with it!

So, how do the folks down under do "The Wave"...you know the greeting to other motorcyclists when you're riding on the left side of the roadway??

Here in Canada and the US, we ride on the right side and wave to oncoming motorcyclists with out left hand (clutch side). Do you "wave" with the right hand down under (throttle) side?? Wouldn't you be coming off throttle doing it this way?? r is there some other unique "acknowledgement signal" you use?? Like a leg shake or some other secret handshake???

We hope to rent a bike there (budget allowing) for week or 2 to tour some NZ areas so the reason for question...up here everybody waves to everybody be it riding a motorcycle, driving a tractor, driving a car or 18 wheeler (Maybe a Canadian thing, don't know)

PS: Not the "Hog" rider, low slung 2 finger salute...there must be some "cool, KIWI" salute! I wave to everybody...and yes, even the hog riders who sometimes wave back, if there are skilled at unravelling there nerve dead fingers off the grips!

[Airbear]

Gidday Bob. I am a 'nodder', though I'll often salute an old airhead with whatever hand is available - sometimes both when I want to show off (I've got the throttle friction screw thingy). Most motorcyclists in Oz will nod or wave, the only exception being the hard core hog riders. Too uncool for them, I guess.

[SteveD]

I do either. The nod more likely in traffic.
The wave is left handed though.
Hardlys rarely reciprocate, and the Y gen. The lollipop leathered squidly's are too focused on whatever they focus on I expect.

[moosehead]

OK then, "the Nod"...will practice and see how it goes.

Normally, in my world, "The nod" means "after you dear"...like at a 4 way stop "the nod" means.."You first"...we're so fuckin polite in Canada it takes a lot of time to get through a 4 way stop intersection with everybody nodding to each other...No, after you...no after no....

Remeber doing this in Toronto one time and the guy behind me was about ready to run me over...impatient bastards in the big city!

Yeah, the hog crowd do not to acknowlege too often other motorcyclist on other marqees (unless one of their own) but I still give them "The Wave" just to piss them off...the squids, well, I wave to them too but they usually think I'm saying "Speed trap ahead" and mash on the big binders and think "Huh?"

Guess I better work on RIGHT hand U turns and find a roundabout too to practice on...wait...you guys go aroound them backwards!

Only time I drove on the right side of the road was not a good experience to say the least. I rented a car when on leave in England during my military (RCAF) posting in Germany a loooong time ago. We rent a car and the proprioriter of the establishment said "Don't forget to look right and turn left out of the driveway...cheers"...well, our instincts are the opposite as I look left and turned right out the driveway...right into oncomng 2 lanes of traffic with a median blocking our exit too the other side of the road!...not pretty

[raypond]

G'day Bob, I'm with Charlie and Steve - the 'nod' is the go. But there's also the 'nod and turn': as your head's going down you also turn it a bit to one side. A bit like when you're saying "Damn right!" I find riders who wave a bit disconcerting as I always think it's someone who knows me and I feel bad because I don't recognise them. You'll have a ball doing the 'right turn from left' in Melbourne.

Here's why Harley riders don't wave: http://www.dirtbikeworld.net/forum/show ... hp?t=58182

Cheers
Ray

[Airbear]

Ray is spot-on. I was going to try to describe the 'nod and turn' but couldn't find appropriate words. You've described it very concisely indeed, Ray. I found it took a little practice to get right - you have to rotate the top of your your head towards the other rider (who is on your right of course Bob - I hope you are paying attention) then as you nod downwards, your chin needs to go to the left momentarily, then your head can twist back towards the centre-line and come back up to the horizon. It must be done with an elegant economy of movement. Weeks of practice in front of the mirror, with ATGATT of course, helps.

[Sibbo]

OK then, "the Nod"...will practice and see how it goes.

Normally, in my world, "The nod" means "after you dear"...like at a 4 way stop "the nod" means.."You first"...we're so fuckin polite in Canada it takes a lot of time to get through a 4 way stop intersection with everybody nodding to each other...No, after you...no after no....

Remeber doing this in Toronto one time and the guy behind me was about ready to run me over...impatient bastards in the big city!

Yeah, the hog crowd do not to acknowlege too often other motorcyclist on other marqees (unless one of their own) but I still give them "The Wave" just to piss them off...the squids, well, I wave to them too but they usually think I'm saying "Speed trap ahead" and mash on the big binders and think "Huh?"

Guess I better work on RIGHT hand U turns and find a roundabout too to practice on...wait...you guys go aroound them backwards!

Only time I drove on the right side of the road was not a good experience to say the least. I rented a car when on leave in England during my military (RCAF) posting in Germany a loooong time ago. We rent a car and the proprioriter of the establishment said "Don't forget to look right and turn left out of the driveway...cheers"...well, our instincts are the opposite as I look left and turned right out the driveway...right into oncomng 2 lanes of traffic with a median blocking our exit too the other side of the road!...not pretty

'Love it !!

But it is a trap .There have been 3 nasty little accidents around here recently with North American drivers ,a little problem ,we pull left and away from each other , our visitor in a state of Oh My God !! pulls hard right and follows us to a head on .Especially unpleasant on narrow country roads .

I nod at anything of passing interest ,even Harley's ,unless there's a line of 200 of the things ,then my neck gets sore and I stop .

I think I'm going to start waving and smiling at Ducati Monsters ......a mate common to Charlie and I lent me his recently acquired Monster last weekend .After a 30 km blat I couldn't get the grin off my face .The efffing thing is FAST !

[SteveD]

Should we try to explain the "hook' turns in Melbourne? That might be a tad difficult.

[dougie]

Should we try to explain the "hook' turns in Melbourne? That might be a tad difficult.

I heard that counter-steering was discovered by an Aussie as an effective way to avoid kangaroos.

[moosehead]

Sibbo, I hear ya! Our natural instinct due to the fact that we drive on the right hand side when we see a herd of sheep or some other object that shouldn't be there, is to turm right...to the shoulder of the road...but down under I would be in the next lane to oncoming traffic....hmmm...that will take some unscrewing in my head.

There's another habit we right handers do that just about killed me in the UK a few times....when we miss a turn our instinct is to turn right at the next corner, right again and them right again...always going with the direction of traffic on the RIGHT side of the road...when in the UK when I missed a turn I still turned right, instead of left...always pissed that I would have to cross on coming traffic...then I finally figured it out and turned LEFT...was OK after that but I really had to think about...it wasn't "natural"

And, my best friend at the time of our leave in the UK just about got killed on a few occassions trying to cross the roadway to get to the pub....our instinct was to look left for oncoming traffic (right hand side of the raod)...you guessed it...stepped of the kerb and ....he's still living today...barely. We never went back.