Wild Biker Slang That Will Have People Hitting The Brakes

You might well look the part in your new expensive leathers. but that doesn’t mean anything in the biking world if you have an inability to ride around corners without making a fool of yourself. If you look good, but you don’t have the skills to back it up, expect to be called an ATGANI. This, of course, stands for “All The Gear And No Idea.”

It turns out that the motorcycling community hands out badges as if they were the Boy Scouts. Yes, if you’re deemed worthy of joining one of its clubs and becoming an official member, then you’ll get an official badge — known as “getting patched.” A three-piece biker badge, for example, will feature its location at the bottom, its club logo in the middle, and its name at the top.

Remember when Liz Hurley referred to anyone who isn’t on television as “civilians?” Well, the biking community also has a slightly patronizing name for those who don’t have any affiliation with a motorcycle club. Yes, if you don’t want to, or for some reason can’t, join a biker club, then you’re known as a “citizen.”

This particular slang term may sound a little peculiar, but it’s actually pretty self-explanatory. An ape hanger refers to a type of motorcycle handlebar. Handlebars come in lots of different shapes and sizes, depending on what kind of riding you’re into, and ape hangers, which you’ll usually find on choppers, are so high that you have to reach up to them, kind of making you look like an ape.

Bikers mightn’t be particularly renowned for their compliance with health and safety rules. But back in the 1970s several dealerships tried to shame those who weren’t taking the necessary clothing precautions. They did this via a poster displaying a man wearing the correct gear and a schmuck riding without a helmet but with a pair of shorts, T-shirt, and — perhaps the ultimate crime — sandals on. Its tag line was “Full Gear/Fool’s Gear.” And the latter insult has since stuck.

It seems as though bikers don’t take too kindly to those who don’t look after their motorcycles. “Garage rot” is the term that’s used if you happen to leave what should be your pride and joy wasting away in among your household junk. That’s a fair assessment, though, considering such storage conditions will usually lead to gas tank rust and sticky brake pistons. Look after your choppers, people!

Not every biker has the luxury of hitting the road whenever they feel like it. Real life just gets in the way sometimes. Still, if you’re only an occasional weekend biker, you might hear a slightly derogatory-sounding term thrown your way. “Weekend warrior” is what the motorcycling community might call you if you only ever take to your Harley on a Saturday or Sunday.

It seems like many of us have got it wrong when it comes to the biker community. Many people assume that biker clubs are full of the kind of outlaws you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of — the kind of stereotypical representations we’re used to seeing on TV. But in reality, these hardened rebels only make up roughly one percent of bikers on the road. You might even spot some bikers wearing a “1% patch.” Seems as though shows like Sons of Anarchy have got a lot to answer for.

Mr. Miyagi’s wax on, wax off approach to training wouldn’t have gone down too well if The Karate Kid had instead been The Biker Kid. Seasoned motorcyclists don’t think too much of those who dedicate more time to giving their vehicle a thorough clean, wax, and polish than actually hitting the road on it. And such folk are often labeled “waxers.”

Remember Wild Hogs, the 2007 film starring John Travolta and Tim Allen? That wasn’t an animated movie about free-spirited pigs, but rather a middling comedy about a group of aging Harley owners. The term “hog” is typically applied to the most impressive motorcycle in a line-up. But did you know that it’s actually an acronym for Harley Owners Group? The more you know.

Did you know that most motorcycles have what is known within the community as a “magic button?” But while this sounds pretty exciting and mysterious — does it fire lasers? Perhaps it ejects the driver’s seat at super-high speed? — the reality is disappointingly mundane. It simply refers to the starter button, specifically the electric type that was introduced by Honda back in the day. Before that, you had to kick-start your motorcycle.

The Big Four could also be named The Most Dangerous Four. The Pagans, Bandidos, Outlaws, and — perhaps most famous of all — the Hells Angels make up this quartet. The FBI is determined that each of these clubs be classed as an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. This also means that action can be taken against them using the federal law known as RICO.

Thankfully, “naked bikes” are nothing to do with any burly, bearded bikers hitting the road in their birthday suits. A “naked bike” — also called a roadster or a standard — is actually just a term used to refer to a motorcycle that has a more minimalistic design. Before the start of the 1980s, the term didn’t even need to exist. After all, nearly every single bike out there lacked any form of plastic bodywork. But such vehicles are a little rarer in the age of purpose-built sports bikes.

The biking community likes its acronyms; that’s for sure. OFR stands for Only Fool Riding, and it’s a term you’re unlikely to hear bandied about much these days because of the advances in both clothing and motorcycles. It was usually dished out to anyone who hit the road whenever the heavens opened in sopping wet biking gear.

A “donut” in the biking world doesn’t refer to the type of sugar-coated or jam-filled snack that a rider might enjoy during a pit-stop. Nor is it another way of describing someone as an idiot. It’s simply a term for the practice of laying down some rubber in the same shape as one of Krispy Kreme’s finest.

Deriving from France, “panny” is one of those terms that sounds like an insult but is, in fact, entirely innocuous. It refers to a type of storage facility that you’ll sometimes find on both of the passenger seat’s sides. A panny usually has hard sides, while the soft-sided ones are known as “saddlebags.”

“Petcock” might sound like a word you shouldn’t utter when in polite company, but it actually has a completely innocent meaning. It refers to the gas switch that you often find on the carburetor of motorcycles that were manufactured decades ago. If you didn’t turn the petcock on, then you’d be on the road to nowhere.

No star prizes for guessing what kind of bike a “tiddler” is. You got it: a “tiddler” is a small motorcycle. It’s usually used as sign of disrespect toward anyone who has a bike that could be considered as smaller than the average. This tends to be classed as any street bike with a cubic capacity of 250 or below.

“Lump” sounds like a schoolboy term for someone who might not be the sharpest tool in the box. But, also known as a “mill,” it actually has a much more innocuous — and less insulting — meaning in the biker world. It’s simply another word for the engine in a motorcycle.

Bikers not only like their acronyms, but they’re also quite partial to a portmanteau or two. Take the intriguing term “farkle,” for example. This word mash-up borrows its first letter from function and its last five from sparkle. So what does it mean exactly? Well, it’s basically another way to describe adding some va-va-voom to your motorcycle. It comes in the form of flashy accessories that also serve a function. Style and substance!

“Rubbie” is shorthand for the term Rich Urban Biker. This is a put-down that’s reserved for those bikers who only ever hit the road when they want a venti hazelnut macchiato with oat milk or some other similarly complicated coffee. You might think that’d be something to be ashamed of in the biker world. But apparently many rubbies embrace their hipster status.

If you’re called a “squid” in the biking world, then you’re someone who knows how to talk the talk but not necessarily walk the walk. Or should that be ride the ride? It’s a more polite way of describing someone as a bit of a showboater, basically. Many squids also make things more painful for themselves by refusing to wear the correct safety gear.

Despite what you may think, Old Lady or Ol’ Lady aren’t actually belittling terms. Well, that’s according to the motorcycling community anyway. It’s simply another way of describing a male biker’s other half, no matter whether they’ve just become old enough to get their license or are about to retire.

Should you make your living as a writer then you’d no doubt be offended if you were described as a hack. It’s usually directed, of course, toward someone who earns their money producing quick and low-quality copy to extremely tight deadlines. In the motorcycling world, though, it simply means sidecar.

Get-off’s nothing to do with the connotations that come to mind in the non-biker world. Instead, it’s a term that’s used for a less severe crash. It’s actually a word you want to hear if you or a loved one are involved as it means that the rider was able to “get off” the vehicle without suffering too much damage.

The term tankslapper’s an insult, for sure, but probably not the kind you’re thinking of. It’s typically directed toward a panicked rider in the full throes of a speed wobble. Slapping the tank’s what happens when their handlebars and fuel compartment suddenly, and no doubt scarily, collide.

As you can probably guess, rat bike’s an insult dished out toward any motorcycle that’s seen better days. These types of vehicles are mostly used simply for getting from A to B. And so if they just happen to be wrecked in a crash, accident, or drunken encounter then you won’t have to fork out much for a replacement.

SMIDSY might sound like the kind of nickname that’d be handed out to someone at high school. But it’s actually just a succinct way of apologizing if you’re a rider who mightn’t have been checking their mirrors as they should. It stands for “Sorry mate, I didn’t see you.”

You probably saw plenty of backwarmers on MTV back in the 1980s when hair metal was all the rage. It refers to the individual who sits behind the driver on a motorcycle and it’s a position usually associated with what the politically incorrect side of the community calls “biker chicks.” Who needs a hot water bottle eh?

Being an organ donor’s normally something to be admired. But if you’re called one in the motorcycle world it means that you’re putting your own health and safety at risk. It’s a term used for those riders who foolishly refuse to don a helmet. If they get in a crash they’re more likely to lose their lives and therefore pass on one of their vital organs.

Yard shark’s one of those rare motorcycle insults that isn’t aimed at humans. It refers to the kind of dog that likes nothing better than chasing after a biker’s tires. And if it’s feeling particularly shark-like it may even take a nibble at the individual riding the vehicle, too.

As you can probably gather from its painful-sounding name, road rash isn’t something you want to ever experience. It relates to the abrasions that occur whenever an individual’s skin scrapes a road surface in an accident. And one of the most effective ways of preventing this is to ensure you wear all the gear all the time.

Belly shover sounds like it’s going to be a derisory term for a rider who’s gone a bit overboard at the nearest rest-stop café. But even those with a slim figure can be labeled one. It actually refers to a racer whose stomach leans on the fuel tank automatically because of their sports bike’s forward position.

Unless you were a member of U.K. new wave star Ian Dury’s backing band in the late 1970s, then blockhead isn’t a word you want to be associated with. But in the biking world it doesn’t actually mean idiot. It simply relates to any engine manufactured by Harley Davidson between the specific time frame of 1984 and Y2K.

The intriguing term gooseneck makes total sense when you learn about its meaning. It refers to the most stretched part of a bike’s frame, which the neck sits just in front of. This area was first used by home-builders to increase the frame’s length while still retaining its geometric shape.

No, this has nothing to do with the tear-jerking Disney film that’s scarred many of its young viewers for life. It’s another one of those popular acronyms and is used when a person of a certain age — and perhaps someone going through a mid-life crisis — decides to return to their bike after years away. The B stands for Born, the A for Again and, more bizarrely, the M, B, and I all hail from Motorbiker.

You mightn’t know that a bike’s powered with the help of nitrous oxide. This, of course, is the same substance that causes a certain unstoppable reaction when inhaled. Yes, if you come across a motorcyclist who starts laughing uncontrollably at things that aren’t remotely funny, chances are they’ve stood far too near the giggle gas.

Though once widely used to refer to a person with psychological problems, the term basket case is now considered offensive in that context. But it has a much more literal meaning in the motorcycle world. It simply relates to a vehicle whose parts have been disassembled and in some cases placed in actual baskets.

It’s unlikely that anyone who looks like they’ve stepped off the set of Sons of Anarchy would ever ride something that could be considered a grocery getter. The derogatory term refers to a motorcyclist’s car that’s more practical than cool. Yes, as the name implies it’s big enough to hold your weekly shop at Walmart.

In the outside world, mentioning someone’s jugs would usually be an unkind reference to their ear. Or, if you’re a woman, perhaps non-PC slang for another part of the anatomy. But in the motorcycling world it has a much more mundane meaning: it’s simply a slang word for an engine’s cylinder.