Modern Vespa

So last Saturday here in the UK was unseasonably warm and sunny so I took the GTS out for a 140 mile round trip to buy some Cider. Now with the weather so nice the roads were full of bike riders out for a bit of fun, now if I was on my Triumph Tiger the vast majority of the 20 or so bikers that passed me in the opposite direction would of nodded yet as I was on the Vespa the total number of recognition totalled just one and this is whilst out in the sticks away from any town or city.

So my experiences tell me that Motorcyclists don't view Scooterists as "one of them"

How are the rest of you acknowledged in your area by other riders?

They've probably all heard about Bill from MV not wanting attention so are trying not to offend, but they don't realise he is Vespaless.

I get a nod from motorcyclists very regularly, I would say nearly 50%. It helps if you sometimes initiate the nod, rather than waiting for the motorcyclist to do it first.

I think you might have won the award for the furthest travelled in order to get alcohol

Is the same for me. It would be rare to get acknowledged on the scooter but there are so many of them around who are doing Uber etc deliveries and those guys never nod back.

I find that Texans are mostly friendly to me and will wave as we pass. Interestingly, if I'm wearing my Klim jacket I get a lot more waves than just wearing a leather jacket. Maybe they see Moto gear and wave before they notice it's a scooter? 😂

When riding in Utah, it's a bit more hit and miss regardless of which jacket I was wearing. A lot more miss on acknowledgment.

My experience in NJ and VA is that 99% of mc riders wave back if I acknowledge them first. Crotch rocket riders rarely acknowledge me even if I initiate the hand gesture.

About 90% wave here in the Jax area. Sometimes I'm too busy playing chess with the air bag jockeys and forget to wave.

If it's got 2 wheels I am waving a big ole goofy wave 😀😀
Still not going wave at the 3 wheel abominations on the road, just saying 😎

P.s. Sidecars excluded from above comment

It depends what I'm riding. I wear the same same riding gear, so that really is not a factor. Anyhow, on a bike - about 90%, on a vintage Vespa - about the same, on a modern Vespa - maybe 50%. I'm guess the lower number has to do with all the auto scooters around, most of them being , well, junk, and the people riding bikes don't take them seriously enough to wave. Especially when the rider has no helmet, and wearing sandals. Basically the same crowd as their golf cart brethren only on 2 wheels.

I often wave to others and don't worry about who doesn't wave. As for those 3 wheeled rides, the people I know with them are Riding! And they have physical problems which had reduced or prevented their riding 2 wheeled bikes, often it's hip issues, or the spouse/companion's hip/knees problems. And Trikes and Cam-Am Spyders has them able to ride again. Due to construction at the plant we lost a LOT of our dedicated motorcycle parking and that had those with bigger rides not riding to work last summer. I have scooters and have parked with the bicycles when there's no space or just 1 left cuz I can do that, the Ural with sidecar can't, the trikes can't, the Spyder can't and those co-workers didn't ride to work last summer very often. And I missed seeing their rides in our parking areas.

Coddy when I rode my PX I was often acknowledged by other motorcyclists , but very few acknowledged me when riding my GTS 125 and even fewer on my Elettrica , it's a twist and go snobbish thing I reckon .

What did a Piaggio MP3 ever do to you?

When I first started riding scooters I remember reading about sportbike riders having to cut off the offending hand if it waved at a scooter rider. I may have read about that here. So, I don't expect them to wave. I'll still wave or nod, but I respect their decision not to.

On the motorcycle, I always try to wave at scooterists, regardless of if they wave back or not. I snub some motorcycles, usually based on how they regarded me when I was on a scooter.
It's the little things that make me happy.

My first few years of riding, I paid a lot more attention to it than I do now. It's not -always- intentionally snobbery. Sometimes it's traffic, clutch hand is busy, road fatigue, looking at mirrors not actually at you...etc. I occasionally have moments where the shape registers only as a placeholder but I don't realize it's a bike until it's too late for social. Whoops. Oh, well.

For the rare retracted wave, my 2-finger wave retracts an index finger in kind.

I'm a nodder, but will signal for conditions ahead like gravel or cops.

I wave at every rider I see, and most wave back or initiate it themselves. I find the non-wavers tend to be "hardcore biker dudes."

Yes, the more newsworthy clubs don't seem to wave.

Most motorcyclists outside of city limits do wave. Either in response or without prompt. One percenters mostly don't, but pretty much everyone else does, no matter if I am on a Vespa or not.

So my feeble attempt at humor falls flat...live and learn
Just noticed the winking...
Hard to see the wink on a little tablet, old eyes need reading glasses for everything!

All remarks about 3 wheelers were meant tongue-in-cheek (aka humor) I am looking at transitioning to a scooter for mobility issues (knees,hips)

Dont fret dude, some of us got it that you were jesting and i'm not even American.

You obviously had a better class of motorcyclist round your way, I rarely get a nod when out on my PX200.

I'm certain that a biker wouldn't know a GTS from a P range Vespa from the front or the back.

This thing here is supposed to help with that

I once was sending middle fingers to customers thinking it was a thumbs up! 👍
Lesson being wear your reading glasses ALL the time 😉😉

Right back at 'cha: here in the Garden State, nearly everyone on two wheels either nods or, more often, gives the "rubber-side-down" gesture. Pretty much the same upnin Gotham: last year, while stuck in traffic heading toward the Manhattan Bridge, I fist-bumped with a dude on a cool-looking Thruxton 900.

When I wave at a motorcycle and he doesn't wave back, the guy is probably thinking "wow that guy was cool, I should have waved back."

I'll nod, wave or leg at anyone on two wheels.

Snob Riders I have no time for.

I've gotten waved back to on everything I own. Bikes, scooter, mountain bike, lawn tractor. It's body language.

Most acknowledge you here in Ohio. About half of the Harley and Indian riders don't.

Got my first nod today from a couple of guys on scramblers.

I see 99% reciprocation here in northern Calif., and frequently the mc rider waves before I am able.

I'm now curious. Do Harley riders wave at Indian riders?

I find that the majority of bikers will nod back at me . Of those that don't I assume that either they are concentrating on the road or are simply not interested . That is OK , in the late 1960's the only response from a biker was usually a torrent of abuse . Thankfully the Mod vs Rockers aggression seem to have faded away , and rightly so .

These days the aggression is directed towards inconsiderate cagers who don't give motorcyclists/scooterists the respect they deserve.

Or Cyclists riding in packs

I get waves on both the Vespa and the motorcycle here in New York. As a cautious beginner rider I don't have the skills yet to ride one handed to wave back. Hate to be rude though. Will have to come up with a different way to communicate.

A positive nod with the head is generally enough to acknowledge a hand wave. Stay safe, keep both hands on the bars.

A friendly nod is good too.

In N.E. Georgia, I get about 90% of the Harley folks initiating the two fingers (not to be confused by our friends across the pond, these two fingers point down), maybe 30% of the rice riders nod and absolutely zero of the BMW folks.

I'm originally from NJ, then retired in VA. 14 years ago. I find a lot more waves here in Virginia. I believe that's because I'm located just off of Rt. 522/340 which is the main route to Skyline Drive. This means spring, summer and fall there are massive amounts of riders on tour heading to Skyline and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Since these are real riders, putting on real miles they are smart enough to know the joy of riding, anything. I ride bikes, trikes and scoots. The vast preponderance of riders wave, even the outlaws if their not on a club run.

In NJ there are a lot of bar riders. Either they don't know anything or they think it makes them look like pirates.