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WheelsOfGrace.com | Volume 10 Issue 6 | 7 B I K E R J A R G O N BIKER J ARGON M o t o r c y c l e L i n g o By Axle Addict P a r t 6 Every subculture has its own lingo. Bikers are no exception. Are you on the fringe of a motorcycle society? Have you heard a biker speaking and would like to understand what he was talking about? Would you like to gain insight into the biker mindset? Do you just like words? Here you'll find an introductory dictionary of commonly used road-motorcycle terminology and biker slang, compiled with the average "Citizen" in mind. Citizen: (noun) A person with no known affiliation with a Motorcycle Club. • GBNF: Gone but Not Forgotten • Gearbox: Transmission casing. • Getting Patched: Graduating from prospect to club member (getting your center patch). • Giggle Gas: Nitrous oxide. • Gixer/Gixxer: Suzuki GSX-R. • Gooseneck: The stretched portion of the frame just behind the neck, originally used by home-builders to stretch the length of the frame without altering its geometry. • Green Light Triggers: "Demand-actuated" traffic lights sometimes don't recognize motorcycles because motorcycles aren't big enough to trigger the sensor. Green Light Triggers are magnets that attach to the underside of a motorcycle designed to trigger the light to change. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. • Gremlin: Blamed for all sorts of mechanical problems. Typically referred to in the context of Gremlin Bells, which are said to protect against Gremlins. • Grocery Getter: A biker's car, usually a middle-class, family-style car. • HOG: Harley Owners Group • Hack: A sidecar. Also a "side hack." • Hamsters: A high-profile group of custom motorcycle enthusiasts, easily recognized at events by their distinctive uniform: A yellow t-shirt with the Hamsters' logo. Membership includes: Arlen Ness, Dave Perowitz, and Donnie Smith. • Hand Signals: Beyond the left-turn, right-turn that you were taught when riding a bicycle; can be used to communicate formation, hazards, travel routes, etc. • Hang Around: a person that "hangs around" a motorcycle club and may be interested in joining. • Hard Tail/Hardtail: motorcycle with no rear suspension. • Harley-Davidson: largest American motorcycle manufacturer. • Heel-Toe Shifter: gear-selector lever that allows the rider to push down on the rear portion of the lever rather than pulling up on the front. • Helmet Head: your hair after wearing a helmet. • Helmet Stickers: biker equivalent to bumper stickers except 1. bikes don't have bumpers and 2. like tattoos, one's not enough. • High Side: accident in which the motorcyclist goes over the motorcycle (and then sometimes the motorcycle goes over the motorcyclist - you get the picture). Opposite of a low side. • Highway Bars: bars that connect to and extend away from the frame in a semi-circular arch. Highway bars allow for leg stretching room on longer rides, offer convenient mounting points for auxiliary lighting and they can offer some protection during a dump. • Highway Pegs: foot pegs mounted so as to allow leg stretching room. Highway Pegs are much small than Highway Bars. • Hog: nickname for a large motorcycle, usually a Harley-Davidson. • Horizontally Opposed: engine configuration in which cylinders are set 180 degrees apart. Pick up our next issue of WOG Mag for Part 7 of the Biker Jargon series.