Wild Biker Slang That Will Have People Hitting The Brakes
The biker community often likes to think of itself as being made up of free spirits detached from the rest of civilization. And what better way to guarantee your non-conformist status than by making up your very own language. Yes, bikers have special terms for everything from handlebars to health-and-safety flouting. And as you’re about to find out, many of these words either sound like, or very much are, pretty edgy.
ATGANI
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.”
Getting patched
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.
Citizen
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.”
Ape hanger
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.
