The heedless headless needless blippery merged threadfest

[Buckturgidson]

I suspect there are more riders per capita around here than most places in the country. Among them, nearly all Harley riders engage in the bizarre practice of unnecessary engine revving.  Whether it is approaching a stop in neutral or preparing to accelerate when a light changes green, they blip their throttles (sometimes more than once) as if the engine might die. Having ridden normally forty years, I cannot imagine what it would be like to constantly be goosing the throttle for no reason. It begs more than one question. What is their point? Do they really think people are somehow impressed? Wouldn't it be tiring after a while, devoting that much attention to an idiotic gesture?

[guzzi ride]

HEY ! look at me !!!

[rocker59]

It's kind of a leftover thing from the days of S&S carbs and Shovel Heads.

Also, many of them used to turn the idle down so low that the bikes would load up and die if idled very long.

Not an issue on the late model efi bikes, but the practice is sort of an automated response, now.

[Buckturgidson]

It's kind of a leftover thing from the days of S&S carbs and Shovel Heads.

Also, many of them used to turn the idle down so low that the bikes would load up and die if idled very long.

Not an issue on the late model efi bikes, but the practice is sort of an automated response, now.

I suspect most, if not all of these guys, never had a bike with an S&S carb, so that doesn't explain the practice.

[rocker59]

I suspect most, if not all of these guys, never had a bike with an S&S carb, so that doesn't explain the practice.

Sure it does.  Older riders continue to do it, though it's not necessary.  Newer riders are aping the older riders, thinking they're cool.

And yes, even on Evos and Twin Cams, people turned the idles down so low that the bikes wouldn't continue idling very long without blipping.  Gotta have that lope!

I contend that today it's mostly a learned habit that people do because other people do because other people do.

Harley riders:  Different, like all the rest.

[Turin]

Can't have this thread without this gem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LlA0_Hv3CQ

[bikeridertim]

HEY ! look at me !!!

+1

[LowRyter]

On the other side how about those kids running their 600 sportbikes on the limiter for kicks.   

[LongRanger]

+1

Compensation.

[Gliderjohn]

Maybe it is just me but I think it is being done significantly less than it use to be but yes still done more than it should. Maybe it is the crowd I hang with.
GliderJohn

[Lannis]

Maybe it is just me but I think it is being done significantly less than it use to be but yes still done more than it should. Maybe it is the crowd I hang with.
GliderJohn

I find it to be done a lot more that it needs to be.   I agree with the "compensating for low self esteem" thing.   Why would any reasonable person do it?   

The "learned response" thing is like the monkey and bananas experience.   Actual experiment.

Cage full of monkeys.   Tall pole in the middle with bananas on top.   As soon as a monkey climbed the pole and got a banana, all the monkeys in the cage got a shock.

So, soon, as soon as a monkey went after the banana, the other monkeys would pull him back down.   The experimenters then stopped the shock when he grabbed a banana, but they'd STILL pull him back down. 

Then they started changing out the monkeys in the cage until only half of them had ever felt the shock, and they still pulled down any monkey that went after the banana.

Finally, NONE of the monkeys in the cage had ever felt a shock, but they would STILL pull down any monkey that tried to climb the pole.

So maybe it was just one dude with a high-compression shovel with a pair of SU carbs in 1973 that caused all the problems.

Or maybe these guys are just anti-social, attention-seeking, 3-year-old-level behavioral age arsewipes.

Lannis

[oldbike54]

 Haven't we about worn this topic out ?

 Dusty

[slowmover]

Knuckleheads on shovel heads

[paul in rochester]

I told one fella that if my bike ran that bad, I'd sure as hell fix it before hitting the road again, just to be sure.
I received for my efforts the Hawaiian good luck salute.

[Bill]

Well if you notice its only those with loud pipes that do the throttle  blips. Those with quiet pipes just sit there at the light like a normal person. So it's obvious they are thinking they are impressing someone. Well I'm sure they are impressing themselves. 
Bill

[Sheepdog]

Blipping the throttle was necessary back in the days of Bendix carbs and manual ignition advances. Heck, if I didn't keep the rpms higher than 4K on my RD200, it would load up and foul the plugs! As several others have mentioned, these are lifestyle choices. The fantasy could not be complete without throttle blipping...

Hey, I'm sure that there are segments of the riding paradigm that find my choices bizarre, as well.

[bad Chad]

It’s a portion of what Rocker said, and a good deal of , “ hey I bought a Harley so people will look at me vroom vroom, look at me dam it”.

[Ncdan]

Who really gives a fat rats ass if someone chooses to “blip” their throttle, it is their throttle? No skin off my arse if they do or don’t. I agree with Dusty👍

[bobrebos]

I have no problem with it. If they enjoy it so be it!   

[lucian]

It does help smooth a downshift , or to conceal a fart 

[Kev m]

Look obviously a bunch are looking to hear themselves and show off.

But it's true a bunch are aping what was necessary to prevent a shared manifold/fouled idle misfire on as late as 2006 EVO Sportster and TC Harley motors.

As a result of that, and carb irregularities on other brands I've owned I habitually give the throttle a goose or two before looking away from an extended stop or to shoot a gap.

Hell I use it to let the people with which I'm riding that I'm about to pull out.

Habit.

[Lannis]

Look obviously a bunch are looking to hear themselves and show off.

But it's true a bunch are aping what was necessary to prevent a shared manifold/fouled idle misfire on as late as 2006 EVO Sportster and TC Harley motors.

As a result of that, and carb irregularities on other brands I've owned I habitually give the throttle a goose or two before looking away from an extended stop or to shoot a gap.

Hell I use it to let the people with which I'm riding that I'm about to pull out.

Habit.

Being used to riding old Brits, I don't have an issue with giving the throttle a blip or two to get the airflow moving toward the intake valves before taking off, or to signal that I'm ready to move out.

And if that's all that these guys were doing, it wouldn't even be an issue worth discussing (although, apparently, opinions differ as to whether it's worth discussing even now).   

But I think what makes it an issue is someone with 2" open drag pipes on a 113" V-twin sitting there at a light for, say, 90 seconds and CONSTANTLY revving the bike up and down, up and down, a dozen times or more.   That appears to be the most common thing that makes not only us but the car drivers who get collectively pissed off with ALL bikes because of the behavior of a few road toddlers with their noise toys.

And I don't even use the "H" word associated with this behavior.   One of the worst offenders I know is a guy with a Yamaha Road Star V-twin with short open slash pipes who is quiet and civil in normal life, but who turns into a noisy grinning throttle-blipping idiot when he gets on his bike ...

Lannis

[Kev m]

Yeah but honestly I find maybe better than 50% of the people I meet don't understand how an engine works, never mind a carbureted vs EFI motorcycle. Ergo Rocker's point about aping/learned imitative behavior.

I honestly think a large percentage don't know why, or when they "should" do it, and just think "that's what people do".

I know, I know, it's obnoxious and that's no excuse and I actually agree, but it is an explanation.

I actually don't even think most of them are TRYING to be a holes, I think they're just a little ignorant.

[bodine99]

u tube vid. "motorcycle advice" Harley Davidson rider gives a new biker some tips
Also when backing up to a curb to park you must rev the shit outta your pipes. I think it helps suck the bike backwards to make it easier to park??

[MarkMk]

Apart from the Guzzi, I own an old Harley. and a supercharged 250/4 honda, my pet hate is throttle blipping, one of my neighbors, the "Queen bee" has a HD blipping B/F, I doubt even she is impressed,,,on the other side, I have a Yamaharley riding drug dog, who not only blips, but can't figure why the bike spits back when he cold megga blips it, on top of that, he seems afraid to let the clutch out completely when moving the bike 

[Guzzistajohn]

Never entered a trials section w/o giving the Domino throttle a little blip   

[bad Chad]

Who really gives a fat rats ass if someone chooses to “blip” their throttle, it is their throttle? No skin off my arse if they do or don’t. I agree with Dusty👍

I call cop out!   This could be said about 85% of everything humans talk about.   People that do it because they just think they should are dicks.   I don’t like having to stop a conversation with a friend because some moron thinks he needs to make needless noise.  And it’s almost ALWAYS males who do it.

[BRG-BIRD]

I always forget to blip the throttle

[Kev m]

I call cop out!   This could be said about 85% of everything humans talk about.   People that do it because they just think they should are dicks.   I don’t like having to stop a conversation with a friend because some moron thinks he needs to make needless noise.  And it’s almost ALWAYS makes who do it.

I agree and disagree at the same time.

I agree that people who make excessive noise are annoying dicks.

I disagree that they are ALL doing it on purpose. I mean really the level of mechanical ignorance of the average person is staggering. It's easy to forget when you're around people who know a carburetor from a throttle body or a wet sump from a dry sump. But they are in the overwhelming minority.

I mean crap look at tire pressure threads to show the level of misunderstanding of even the average rider.

[oldbike54]

I call cop out!   This could be said about 85% of everything humans talk about.   People that do it because they just think they should are dicks.   I don’t like having to stop a conversation with a friend because some moron thinks he needs to make needless noise.  And it’s almost ALWAYS makes who do it.

 Huh ? <scratches head>

 Dusty