What year did Harley guy stop waving at other bikers?

I started riding street bikes in 76 and everyone pretty much did the wave at everyone. Didn't ride street bikes between like 96 and 2002 and when I came back I noticed most Harley guys only do the wave to other Harley guys. I have a sport bike, a European dual sport and a barely street legal dirt bike and no matter what I'm riding, everyone waves except Harley guy. When did this start?

strech...I said most, not all. And I'll stand by that. Harleys waved just as much as anyone back in the day.

seems to me a lot of them are in their mid 50s & just got their first bike, they've been driving cages all their life & dont have a clue about tradition or they think since they maxed out their gold card to get their chromed out 2 wheel car they should'nt have to recognize anyone who spent a mere 6 or 7 G's on a motorcycle. I've tried to ride with some of these groups since all my old friends have died off,but couldnt hack it because they all want to stop for pie & coffee( their too p c to drink beer & party while riding) in every town they come to instead of actually going somewhere.
on the other hand theres so many people riding in the city these days it gets to be a pain trying to wave nonstop to every noob on 2 wheels.
out on the 2 lane blacktop away from the city everybody still waves, even people in pickup trucks.

In my area (Chicago) it is the Harley people that wave about 95% of the time (to everyone, not just other Harley riders) and the metric riders that only wave occasionally.

First off, your painting everyone that rides a Harley with the same broad brush, even though there are different types of Harley riders. This is know as bias (or prejudgest).
Back in 76, riding a Harley wasn't the "trendy" thing to do , like today, so most people riding them were really into the ride. Even more so during the AMF period (who else could be loyal to THAT group of yoyos running Harley?).
Now days, all the yups, rubs, and celebs HAVE made it a "trendy" thing, and THESE are most likely the ones you're referring to.
In all fairness, I DO have to thank the yups/rubs/celebs. They FINALLY got the cops thinkin' that to own/ride/maintain one of these things, you gotta have a LITTLE green, so you must have a decent job, and be a fine upstanding member of the community.
Consequently, the harassment I've received has lately dropped to zero.
By the way, ya know how I know you're full of BS? I waved to a non-Harley rider just yesterday!

I have been riding for a few years know and here in Tennessee almost all the bikers wave hardly ever do I see another biker of any kind that does not wave.

Couldn't give you the year but it seems to have started within the past decade or more when affluent H-D owners felt and still to this day feel that they are above all other riders. Sad commentary.

Hell, I ride a Harley, and I wave to everybody, even friggin' mopeds!!!!!

I haven't noticed this to be the case. I ride a Harley, and I wave when safe to do so.
Sorry. can't verify this for you.

there are many stuck-up harley riders, and i've noticed it more and more, but there are the occasional stuck up sport riders too...

I'm a sport biker and I wave at everybody on two wheels. No I lied, these lil 35MPH scooter rats don't get a wave. LOL I just clutch it till I get right next to them, then throttle to 10K RPMs. Then they scoot home to change their britches.

I do notice not many Harley guys wave. Some do but there are more that don't in my experience. It doesn't bother me. It's a sad day when the ignorance of others changes my behavior. I still wave and I'd still help any rider on the side of the road. Even a scooter rat.

when they started giving the finger !

It's been like that in my area since I began riding back in '00.

I still give a wave though, whether it is returned or not doesn't bother me.

Depends on if the driver is a jerk or not.

The ones that don't wave make me laugh. It really is funny if you think about it. Makes them look like stuck up 5th graders.

Count me as another HD rider who'll wave at anyone on two wheels. On the other hand, there are a number of riders both on Harleys and sport bikes who won't return the wave. It does seem that there are a lot less friendly waves than what I used to observe. But then sports car drivers used to wave to each other too, and that certainly doesn't happen much any more.

Back in the day there just wasn't all that many motorcycle riders, at least not when compared to these days.

I think it would be safe to say that more riders wave now ('cause there are more of them) and more riders don't wave now ('cause there are more of THEM too...).

But here's the good part: For every ten riders that don't wave, it only takes one who does to bring you right back to that cool feeling you get when the two of you sort of connect, you know?

I've found that most riders wave regardless of what they ride. I've had as many non Harley riders not wave as Harley riders. I think it really just depends on the individual and not so much the bike they are riding.

The heavier the motorcycle is, the less likely I am to want to take a hand off the grips. Sorry, it's a matter of safety. Keep the rubber side down, preserve nature, always wear your helmet.

Probably about the same time all the Harley hating pricks started talking so much trash.

It's a 2 way street, nine.
Stuck up people on both sides of the tracks.

There are those that do, and those that don't.
It's certainly not Harley exclusive.

Wave when it makes YOU feel better, other than that just enjoy the ride. What difference does a wave make, really? After all, he's going the OTHER way.

Everyone I ride with, Harley rider or otherwise, waves to any other biker, no matter the make or model. I don't know where you're getting that from, unless you have a bunch of stuck up people in your area.
2 wheels is 2 wheels.

I wave at any one that waves at me first,Like walking into a strange bar and not talking to every one in the place,it dont mean much either way I guess to most it shows a bond of some kind To me a bike is just transportation .I guess i just outgrew it In my car or truck I dont wave at every other one i pass But I guess I do if im passing them and look over and make eye contact a two finger wave sometimes

We wave at everyone, but we've notice this with HD and sport bikes alike. Depends on what we're riding, my husband rides a 97 Katana and an 02 Road King, the younger kids (we're young kids too!! 22 & 21!) on sport bikes wont wave as much if we're on the HD and really they don't wave nearly as much when we're on the Katana. We come from a family of HD riders, hard core HD riders. So we get some sh*t when we're on the Katana, yeah of course, but my ol man doesn't ride like a retard so they stopped with the sh*t. A lot (NOT ALL) of jap bike riders are young kids who don't know how to ride and ride like retards, that said, that is also the STEREOTYPE of jap bike riders, not ALL are that way. It just takes a few bad seeds to make the whole crop LOOK bad.

I don't think its necesarrily the type of bike they ride in *most* cases, its all the damned weekend riders that wont touch a bike when its chilly or a cloud farts, those are the people who don't wave more often than not. (just my opinion)

I don't think riders have such a sense of brotherhood/sisterhood whatever you want to call it as they used to. We are in ABATE and MRM (www.mrmofil.org) and we see a vast difference in the people who have been riding for a decent period of time and those who decided its cool now to ride a bike. (Not all, just a majority.)

But I do not think its just HD riders being prejudiced against Sport bike riders, I think it goes both ways. Both groups tend to hate each other and I personally think its ignerant to do so. Whats the point anyways? A motorcycle is a motorcycle, it doesn't matter if it says HD, Honda, Suzuki, Indian, Buell its a BIKE just the same!

As for us, no matter which bike we are on, we ALWAYS wave...ok well, I agree w/ the guy that said he doesn't wave at the little scooters...although they do amuse the piss outta me. :)

(sorry if I miss spelled a bit, the damned spell check wouldnt work, so I get to look like a retard too! yay)