Funny Motorcycle Terms You Should Know
Ever wondered how a "lowside" is different from a "highside"? Know the difference between a "Bobber" and a Bar Hopper"? Need to learn all your motorcycle animarl terms, like "Squid", "Rat Bike", Tar Snake" and "Monkey Butt"? You've come to the right place.
Ape-hangers
Tall handlebars on cruisers that rise above the rider's shoulders. Often on choppers, gangster bikes, or just ridiculous custom bikes.
Bagger
A customized big touring bike with hard saddlebags, a front fairing so wide you can barely see around it, and a front wheel big enough to be on an Escalade.
Bar-hopper
A heavily customized bike that would only be comfortable enough for short rides, i.e. from one bar to another; flashy hardtails and bobbers fall into this category.
Barn Find
An all-original vintage bike that the owner claims he bought for $300 from an old lady who didn't know what it was; usually actually bought on eBay for thousands of dollars.
Bobber
A stripped down custom bike, known for having the fenders ''bobbed'' (cut down) or removed.
Braaap
An expression used by dirt bike bros, usually when excited about doing something badass and not caring about anything else; derived from the sound of a two-stroke dirt bike motor. The number of a's in the word is the subject of much debate.
Busa
Nickname for Hayabusa, normally used by people with stretched/chromed ones.
Cager
A car driver; the ''cage'' is the car itself. Is constantly on the phone, and doesn't even realize motorcycles exist.
Café Racer
1) (Pre-2010 definition) an older British motorcycle (1950s-1960s) stripped down and modified to increase performance, usually based on older Triumphs, Nortons, and BSAs. 2) (Post-2010 defintion) Loose term used to describe brand new Triumph Thruxtons or modified 1970s Honda CBs, mostly ridden by vintage-obsessed hipsters.
Crotch Rocket
A full fairing aggressive seat positioned bike. Also known as ''sport bike'' or ''bullet bike''.
Dropping the Bike
When a bike falls over, usually when not under power (the exception is on Craigslist, where a ''drop'' can mean anything from ''forgot to put the kickstand down'' to ''highsided going into Turn 4'')
Endo
Stunt where rider stops so hard the rear comes up, almost going ''end-over-end.'' Also called a ''stoppie.''
Frankenbike
A bike made of a bunch of parts from different motorcycles, to the point where its impossible to determine its make. Ranges from total pieces of junk to very nice custom bikes.
Get-off
A way to say ''crash,'' in an effort to make it sound less bad than it was.
Hardtail
A bike with no rear suspension, just a rigid frame. May have a couple of springs under the seat, but the truly hardcore forego even that. Impossible to ride very far on. See also: ''bar hopper'' and ''back problems''
Highside
A crash where the rear wheel violently regains traction, flinging the rider over the high side of the bike.
Hooning
Being a hooligan; riding around like a badass, disregarding traffic laws, doing wheelies and stoppies, on and off road.
Jugs
Cylinders in a motorcycle engine.
Lowside
A common motorcycle crash where the rear loses traction and slides out; the bike slides on the ''low side'' that was leaned toward the ground. Usually not too bad.
Monkey Butt
A sore butt that is the unpleasant and painful end result of a long day of riding.
Ol' Lady
A bikers long-time girlfriend or wife; not a derogatory term. Normally used by Harley®-types.
Organ Donor
A helmet-less motorcycle rider. See also: "squid"
Power Ranger
A sport bike rider decked out in matching one-piece racing leathers and matching gloves, boots, and helmet.
Power Shower
What happens when you get caught in the rain without rain gear.
Rat Bike
A beat-up, crappy bike that looks like it's broken down and been McGyvered back together on the side of a desert road dozens of times. Some owners spend money and time trying to achieve this look, but most just genuinely don't care.
Road Rash
What happens when you crash a motorcycle and go asphalt surfing without proper safety gear on. The most preventable motorcycle injury with jackets or leathers, gloves and boots.
Rubber Side Down
Keeping your motorcycle on the correct side with wheels on the ground, see also "Shiny Side Up".
Roost
The spray of dirt made by a dirt bike ripping around a turn. Not particularly incredible in real time; but suddenly becomes epic in slow-motion, especially with dubstep music added.
Squid
An irresponsible, inexperienced rider wearing no proper gear, usually riding a brand new bike. See also: ''motorcycle partout''.
Tank-slapper
A scary event that occurs when road demons suddenly possess your bike and the handlebars whip violently from side to side, scaring the crap out of you. Nobody knows why this happens.
Tar Snakes
The lines in pavement where sealant is poured over cracks. They are slick, can break your traction, and are generally just bad news.
The Tuck
When a rider, usually of a sport bike, tucks down and wraps their body over the tank to be as aerodynamic as possible.
Track Whore
A non-street legal bike used strictly for riding the track; usually run hard with little concern for aesthetics.
UJM
Any Japanese motorcycle produced in the 1970s, because they all had very similar characteristics (standard seating position, inline 4-cylinder, tube frame.) .
Whoops
1) a series of mounds on a dirt track, usually a pretty tricky section for riders to negotiate. 2) What you say when you drop a buddies bike and nobody sees.
WFO
The Position of your throttle being wide ____ open.