Motorcycle Hand Signals You Didn’t Know (But Need To)

They should really teach these hand signals in the MSF courses; they can keep you safe out on the road and on the right side of your buddies.

What do you do when your blinkers are out? How do you communicate with large groups when you don’t have compatible Bluetooth helmets or headsets? Hand signals are your answer.

Motorcycle riders the world over get these problems and we all default to the same simple and effective tools – using our left arm and hands to get the point across. From tapping your helmet (the motorcycle signal for cop) to motorcycle group ride hand signals and turn signals, we explain all in this article.

Using the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s guide as a base, we’re going to go through: 

• Motorcycle hand signals for safety (using left arm)
• How to tell your fellow riders what’s happening
• Organizing riders as a group leader
• The universal sign for “police ahead”
• What two fingers pointed down (peace symbol) means

Plus we’ll look at the biker sign of respect and answer your questions about it.  

Basic Hand Signs for Busted Signals

You’d hope your turn signal never gives out. From reversing into a branch and knocking out your turn signal to a random electrical fault killing your brake lights, anything can happen and you need to know how to use hand signals to let other vehicles know what you’re up to while driving to the shop. 

These are universal hand signals every driver and rider understands (or should!).

Left Turn

To let other road users know you’re turning left soon, you need to:

• Have your left arm extended straight out, at shoulder height
• Keep your palm facing down to the road
• Hold your left arm extended straight in that position for a few seconds

No index finger pointing needed – this guy is just showing off.

Before you make the signal, get into the correct gear so you won’t need your clutch for a few seconds before you turn left – since your left arm will be extended straight for a while! Have your hand back on your handlebar before you make a safe turn left; timing is crucial. You’ll need that left index finger for your clutch pretty soon.

Right Turn

Clearly, you’re not going to stick your right arm out to turn right!

Instead, the hand signal for a right turn is to put your left arm out at shoulder height and raise your forearm up to a 90 degree angle and make a clenched fist. 

Think of it like you’re pulling the body builder pose and are ready to kiss your biceps. Don’t kiss your bicep though – eyes on the road! Let your fellow riders get the hint.

Stop

To tell the rest of the folks on the road you’re stopping, you need to:

• Extend your left arm out, in line with your shoulder
• Bend down at the elbow – the opposite of “right turn”
• Keep your palm facing backward and open so your index finger points to the road

Again, timing is important here – you still need to use your left hand on your clutch or rear brake. When your lights aren’t working and you need to use this signal, go a little slower so you can make signals in plenty of time. 

Riding with Your Biker Buddies

When it’s you and a friend or two out on the open road, sometimes you need to get a message across. There aren’t lights to declare you need to take a leak to your fellow riders, so there are some standard hand signals to get this – and other needs  – across. 

Comfort Stop

Let’s deal with that first – how do you tell your fellow riders that you need to pee? There’s a motorcycle hand signal for exactly this purpose:

• Put your left arm extended straight out, angled down to the road – your hand should be around waist height
• Clench your fist
• Move your arm up to shoulder and back down a couple of times

This pretty much means any type of comfort break so if your ass has gone numb or your arms are starting to seize up, this is how you tell your buddies when riding a motorcycle. 

Refreshment Stop

Cruising and adventuring can be thirsty business so a quick refreshment stop is always handy. This signal is pretty simple to give to your fellow riders.

Bring your left fist to the left side of your helmet and put your thumb towards the side of your visor. What it’s kinda meant to look like is that you’re drinking from your fist through your thumb. 

You need to get the positioning of your hand right on this one. Bring your clenched fist to where your mouth is and the people behind won’t see your thumb out. Put your fist and thumb to your ear and who knows what you’re trying to say. It’s meant to look like you’re drinking so go for around your jawline at the side. 

Fuel Stop

If you’ve ever ran out of gas on a drive, you know how you don’t ever want to be that rider again who forgets to make a fuel stop. 

Let your fellow motorcyclist know you need to top up your tank by pointing at it. It’s a pretty simple signal that tells everyone what’s going on. 

Even if you’re on a bike with a different fuel tank placement, it’s good practice to point your fingers at the space between your body and handlebars so everyone who needs to know gets what’s going on. 

Pull Off

Time to come off the main road? To signal to pull off you need to:

• Extend your left arm straight
• Point your finger
• Raise your arm up so your hand is a little higher that your head
• Motion your arm forwards and repeat it a couple of times

This is one of the lesser-known hand signals so if you’re riding with new people, be sure they know what it means ahead of time. 

Running Group Rides

Heading out on a large group ride is a great way to spend a weekend, but it can get confusing when people don’t know what’s going on. Whether you’re leading a group or following along, knowing what each gesture means is going to keep you on track. 

Slow Down

To bring the group to a slower cruising speed, extend your left arm out from the shoulder with the left palm facing the ground. Move your arm down to around waist height and back up to your shoulder a couple of times. 

This hand signal is like “pumping down” with a vertical waving motion.

You Lead

This one can also be used as “come”, asking for a rider behind you to get closer, but it’s more commonly used to ask the person behind you to take the lead of the group.

To get someone to take over leading the group:

• Extend your left arm down and out to waist height with a closed fist 
• Point your left index finger to the road
• Swing your forearm forward in a sweeping motion as if you’re pointing out in front of you

Follow Me

When you’ve been given the lead of the group, you want to let all the motorcyclists on the ride know that you are their new leader. 

The “follow me” signal means you lift your left arm high and forwards, palm facing flat, and point out front with your left index finger. 

Single File

Merging onto freeways or highways and entering built up areas might require your group to get into single file formation. Give the signal by raising your left arm to shoulder height and do a 90 degree angle at the elbow. Raise your left index finger to show that everyone needs to get into single file. 

Double File

To get your group into double file, you do the exact same action as for single file – left arm out at your shoulder, 90 degrees at the elbow – and this time, you raise two fingers. Double file commence.

Being a Good Biker

As well as running a large group or telling one or two others your needs, you can just be a decent road user. Sometimes there are road issues others need to know and there are motorcycle hand signals for them. 

Hazard Ahead

Potholes, roadkill, a broken-down car – all things you want to let people behind you know about. 

To point out a hazard on the right, extend your right foot away from your bike towards the hazard. For hazards on the left, use your left index finger to point at them.

Don’t go overboard with it, people don’t need to know about every bit of trash or crack in the road!

Your Blinker’s On

How annoying is it when someone leaves their blinker on and you’ve got no idea how to behave around them? Be a good road user and let other motorcyclists know so. 

When you’re in front of the blinker offender, put your left arm out to the side, around waist height, and open and close your fingers to a point. This should see them turn off their blinkers soon enough. 

Cops Ahead

No one wants a ride to be interrupted by the cops; getting pulled over is a pain. You can tell anyone behind you or those coming towards you to be careful of the road rules lest they get caught by the cops ahead. This is a simple signal.

Using your left hand, tap the top of your helmet a couple of times. Then everyone knows cops are ahead.

The Biker Sign of Respect

Have you heard of the biker sign of respect? It sure isn’t the middle finger or a closed fist.

What’s the biker sign of respect?

To give the biker sign of respect to another rider, put your left arm out and down and point your index and middle fingers out and to the ground. It looks something like an inverted “peace sign” hand gesture. 

Where did the biker sign of respect come from?

Legend has it that the two inventors of Harley Davidson were driving past each other and gave this signal – it caught on with the motorcycling community every since, sometimes referred to as the “cruiser wave”

Other stories say it all began with World War 2 veterans giving the sign – lots of them came home and started riding former military bikes. It came to mean “keep two wheels on the ground”, or stay safe. 

When can I give the sign of respect? 

You can do the motorcycle hand signal for respect whenever you want, but we’d say don’t overdo it. On your commute, in traffic, stopped at lights – all times that you probably want to focus on other things. 

Out on the road, passing another biker is the time to give the wave that every biker should know. 

The Alternative to Hand Signals

Tired of waving around like a maniac to your riding group? Want to communicate what you need without foot pointing, open palm, waving motion, flat palm, yadda yadda?

The best way to communicate with other riders is to use a great motorcycle Bluetooth intercom like the Cardo PackTalk series. With these devices you can seamlessly chat with up to 15 riders in one group. Even if the order of riders changes or you separate by more than a mile from the rest of the group, you’ll still be in contact with everyone.

Pretty neat. Forget all these hand signals just for a comfort stop at the next exit and enjoy your ride even more!

FAQs

Why do bikers use hand signals?

Motorcycle hand signals have a range of uses, such as when your lights aren’t working and you need to stop or turn left safely, or when you’re out on a ride with a group of motorcyclists and need to communicate without using comms systems. 

What are the alternatives to motorcycle hand signals?

Some motorcycle hand signals can be replaced by using your lights – or getting them fixed. You can also invest in a Bluetooth helmet or a Bluetooth headset but be sure that either everyone has the same brand of Bluetooth or that everyone’s set can connect across brands. 

What does it mean when a motorcyclist taps their helmet?

When a passing motorcyclist taps their helmet, this signal means there’s law enforcement or cops ahead. If a motorcycle comes past you and the rider taps his helmet, check your speed and stop the shenanigans or you might be in for a hefty fine. Especially in the twisties where riders might be heavy on the throttle, this is a great signal to let your fellow riders know of a speed trap ahead.

A mad scramble to tap the helmet usually means there’s a cop very close who is eager to slap you with a ticket; so slow down! Same goes for car driver’s flashing their lights at other drivers to warn them of speed traps.

What is the Harley wave?

The Harley wave is another name for the biker sign of respect we described up top – left hand low with two fingers down. It’s not only for Harley riders so you can use it no matter which bike you own. 

Should a sports bike wave at a cruiser?

You can wave at whoever you want when out on your motorcycle. If other riders want to get snobby about the bike you ride, that’s on them.