People on motorcycles tend to feel a kinship with each other. Biker bars are an obvious manifestation of this, but that bond is also exhibited on a daily basis in the “Two Finger Flip” or even “The Big One”.
I have my motorcycle license, but I don’t pretend that our scooter is a motorcycle. It can go surprisingly fast, but it’s definitely a scooter: step-through frame, large underseat storage, and a relatively small engine.
However… despite our couldn’t-be-more-differentness, today I received my first Two Finger Flip from a guy on a chopper (see photo below for an example). He was wearing a black skullcap helmet, leathers with fringes, had a big white beard, and the rumble from his bike was capable of starting a small earthquake on a Caribbean island.
And I got a Two Finger Flip! I returned the gesture. A barrier was broken. This chopper / scooter interaction was like an interracial marriage in 1950s Alabama. Like a woman voting in the presidential election of 1920. Like a guy on a chopper going, “Hey buddy, we both ride things with engines and two wheels. Peace.”
*Yes, I’m sure that it wasn’t a “one finger flip.”
posted by yair