i think it's mainly the steroetypes bikers have been given by the media (and sometimes each other) and it's being enforced on the younger generations. Example; cruiser riders are now deeply associated with gang cultures and violence, sports bike riders are known for speeding, using roads as racecourses and doing idiotic stunts on the roads, while the classic bike riders are seen as the slow people who brake down alot and get in the way and harley riders are seen as fair weather poofs.....
I was brought up to believe all that, from teachers to my dad (harley rider), to people tutting in the street and muttering things seeing bikers go past. Plus with all the media attention on a few pricks from some well known biker gangs, most younger riders tend to just keep their heads down and not even look up for fear of upsetting anyone (experience). Btw does anyone agree that the blokey who went on tv and spoke about the ha guys murder with the infamous quote " well these things happen, they shouldn't but they do" is a proper dickhead? Face it with people like that as the mouth piece of bikers, we're ****ed!
But back to the real point i then met a really nice cutdown wearing old school leather clad sweetheart and he taught me a helluva lot, he always stopped for bikers, even scooter riders, never had a bad word to say about anyone, and he waved at everyone including scooter riders, how many of you include those as bikers. Cos they're gonna be on the big machines soon enough and if everyone ignores them, they're gonna be abit like "why the **** should i wave back at you when y'all ignored me for years?" maybe that has summit to do with it????? And cruiser riders bitching at sportsbike riders for being crazy, sportsbike riders seeing everyone as beneath them (read the first page of this thread, theres one of those there) and everyone else pottering along trying to be friendly and being seen as a daft old hippy biker. My guess is the only way to get back the friendly waves and nods is to go back to the bike meets, have a chat with anyone and everyone regardless of what they ride (there's abit too much of a clique culture going on, not pointing fingers sporties) and carry on waving away until it catches on again and spreads like swine flu, and always include the scooter riders. Dear god, imagine for a second if every biker had a chat with the teens on their scooters and 125's, passing on valuable knowledge and the deep love and respect for machines you all have and the mentality of biking culture. Just imagine how much safer the roads could be and how improved the public view of us?????

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