The Brotherhood of Two Wheels - Scooters and the biker's wave

I have a question for you as a scooter rider. Here in Ottawa I wave to anybody on two wheels but scooter riders never seem to wave back. What's up with that?

David Drouin, who maintains the excellent Motorcycle Addiction blog sent me an email concerning the so called "biker's wave."  It's one of those questions that pop up now and again on the various forums I frequent.  Scooters in most states require the same licensing, the same training as motorcycles.  Today many of the maxi-scoots are certainly as powerful as many motorcycles.  That line continues to blur as motorcycles are redesigned with automatic transmissions and internal storage.  So why don't we scooterists wave?

from http://ridingamericana.wordpress.com/

I generally wave at passing bikes, either the traditional motorcycle or a scooter.  Hell, I even wave at bicyclists...they are part of the brotherhood (and sisterhood) too.  Generally speaking I get a wave back - although there are those snobs that will only wave at a particular type of bike, or worse - a particular model.  Actually I have noticed that I tend to get a "one finger" wave as I pass certain types of bikes whose brand name I will not mention here.  David's question did get me thinking however, so I'm introducing a new series which I'm calling "The Brotherhood of Two Wheels."  Anything dealing with the perceived divided between the scootering and motorcycling community, anything that deals with helping out our fellow riders will fall into this category.

I really don't worry about if I don't get a nod or wave in return.  Frankly you never know what is going on in the other bikers world.  He could be concentrating on shifting, turning, safety, etc.  What really annoys me however is two things I've come across again and again.  The first is a arrogance, either real or perceived by those in the motorcycling community that scooter riders are not real "bikers."  Therefore we are not worthy of a wave.

For example, when I lived in Tampa proper there was a big motorcycle garage.  This was at the beginning of the scooter boom and they had a big sign hanging out front,  "WE DO NOT SERVICE SCOOTERS - DON'T EVEN BOTHER ASKING" 

It's been a few years since and to the best of my knowledge they still don't service scooters, which seems to be cutting off the nose to spite the face, after all scooters are the fastest growing segment of the motorcycling world.  Some forums, like advrider.com (which I am a member of) have a section dedicated to scooters, but with the caption "If your secure in your manhood."  I know, it's meant to be funny.  It's not and again, shows a perceived bias against those of  us that ride "scooters."   That somehow we are not "real men."

I've been asked questions about my scooter.  "Is it street legal?"  "Can you ride on the highway with it?"  These questions often come from the non-riding public.  But I've been asked those same questions by "bikers" as well.

The second issue is the nature of scooters themselves.  I ride a maxi-scooter - generally defined as anything above 250cc.  Well I'm not a rarity; it's much more common to come across a smaller, slower scooter often in the urban environment putting along between 30 to 50 mph (48 - 80 kph).  Even as a scooterist myself, I've railed against these smaller cc machines.  For me it's an issue of safety.  If your top speed is only 45 mph your limited to what roads you can ride safely.

When I first started riding I had a Zuma 125.  My top speed was 55 mph (89 kph) and although I felt safe on the city streets, I was always looking about to make sure I was not going to get hit by some moron behind me.  Any two wheeled vehicle is invisible to most cagers.

 

Scooters are smaller due to their very nature.  So did I wave as often as I do now?  No, I did not.  Putting aside the safety issue however, we scooterists seem to have a bit of an inferiority complex.  I will admit to lying about what I ride at times because of perceived bias on someone's part.  I felt the sting of others scorn because I don't ride a "real bike."  Even my beloved girlfriend wants me to buy a "real bike" sometime in the future.   

Is it because we are underpowered for the most part?  Is it because popular culture recognizes the motorcycle and celebrates the "outlaw lifestyle" it represents?  How many shows and movies involved motorcycles?   Can you name one movie other than Quadrophenia that has scooters in it?  Even the quintessential American Graffiti  has a kid riding a scooter, who promptly crashes it in the opening credits.  At the end of the movie he is given a car.  Given these images it is any wonder why scooterists have an inferiority complex.

We have very little in the culture that celebrates the scooter.  American culture is about speed and power and going long distances.  Sure a scooter is going to go further, some of them are capable of nearly 100 miles on a gallon of gas...but to do so we have to give up speed and power.   Most Americans are not willing to do that.  So the scooter is "inferior."  Those of us that ride them are "inferior."

Finally, and sadly, I think most scooterists don't give the wave for one simple reason.  We don't know any better.  We don't get the wave, so we don't give the wave.  Give the wave.  Give a smile.

I'm going to continue to ride Kimmie in all types of weather and on all types of roads.  I will continue to wave at scooterists and motorcyclists.  Hell, I'm even waving at bicycles.  If I see an issue I'll pull over to offer what little help I can.  I'm a scooterist, I'm a biker, I'm a proud member of the brotherhood of two wheels.

Getting it legal....

When I was just a wee lad growing up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania I didn't know anyone that rode.  In fact, it wouldn't be till I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina right out of University that I even knew anyone that owned a bike.

As I grew older my circle of friends grew to include bikers, many of whom were serious about their Harley's, BMW's and one guy I knew even collected Indian's.  Hell, even my ex wife rode!  Yet I still did not understand what the big deal was.

My reasons for getting the scooter I did were more economical than anything but I know understand why they would take off for a weekend and just ride with no particular destination in mind.  In a way I'm sorry I didn't "get it" before.  So when I decided to upgrade from a little 125cc to the bigger 400cc Burgman I knew I would get my endorsement.

In Florida you can either get your motorcycle  endorsement on a 150cc scooters or on a 250cc  motorcycle licence.  The licence will allow you to ride either.   I decided to take the class on the motorcycle, after all you never know when you might move up right?  For someone like me who has never really ridden before it was an eye opener of sorts.  Where I thought the scooter was challenging enough learning how to work the controls of a motorcycle were a whole new challenge.

We also had to learn it in the pouring rain and howling wind over a short two day period, not the ideal condition's but I was looking at it this way; if I did well now...I know I could it in better conditions.  A opinion that seemed to be shared by my fellow trainees.

So after a few mistakes and a few realizations that "Yes, I've been doing this wrong!" I worked hard on correcting those mistakes.  Breaking habits that I somehow picked up - like covering the front brake handle with my hand.  While I'm not happy with my final score (I am my own worst critic) I can say that I did OK.

So I have the insurance, the licence, the experience will come with every mile under my wheel.  I'm part of the brotherhood now, for better or worse.  I took the class through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and highly recommend it to anyone thinking about riding, or who has ridden illegally for a while.