APE-HANGER
Handlebars higher than the biker’s shoulders. This noticeable feature is generally found on choppers.

APEX
The geometric centre of a turn, when the biker is closest to the inside of the bend.

BACKBONE
The upper part of the frame on which the fuel tank is placed.

BAGGER
Large cruiser motorbike with hard saddlebags.

BAR-HOPPER
A blatantly custom-built bicycle (often a bobber) which is only comfortable for short trips (e.g. from bar to bar, hence the name).

BARK-O-LOUNGER
Big, comfortable old-style motorcycle (e.g. Honda Gold Wing).

BARN FIND
Vintage motorbike found by the owners in “stable-like places” such as barns, lofts.

BEAD
The edge of the tyre which touches the wheels.

BEEMER
Nickname for a BMW.

BIG BALL
Used to describe street racers and refers to situations where we face guys “with balls”.

BIG-BANG
Named after the modified ignition timing first used with the two-stroke, 500 Grand Prix speed Honda engine.

BIG FIVE
The five big motorcycle manufacturers: Harley Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha.

BIG FOUR
The four big bikers’ clubs considered to be outlaw motorcycle gangs by the FBI: Hell’s Angels, Pagans, Outlaws, Bandidos.

BIKER CHICK
Nickname for the girls sitting on the bike behind Hell’s Angels gang members.

BIKE SHED
Storage place for motorbikes.

BLIND RIDE
Riding “blind” when light conditions suddenly change.

BLUE GROOVE
The legendary blue stripe, which can be found on half-mile and one-mile dirt tracks and shows the ideal bend. It gets its colour from clay being worn down by the constant pressure of tyres racing over it.

BRAAAP
Expression typically used by dirt track racers when they do something which is surprising even for them. The word imitates the sound of the two-stroke tracker bikes. The number of letter “a”-s in the word is the subject of debate.

BROOMSTICK
Straight handlebars.

BUBBLEVISOR
A bubble-shaped visor, first found on open helmets in the 1970s and enjoying a renaissance at the moment.

BUSA
The nickname given by Hayabusa (GSX1300R) owners to their bikes.

CAGER
Motorists or lorry drivers (who don’t notice bikers because, for instance, they are on the phone).

CATEYE
Special form of rear light.

CATWALK
British word for a wheelie. (Unlike the stoppie, here the rear wheel touches the ground).

CENTURY
A speed of 100 miles per hour.

CHAPTER
Collective name for local representatives of bikers’ gangs.

CHATTERING
Erratic behaviour of the motorbike during breaking distance.

CHURCH
Bikers’ meeting.

CUSTOMER
A person whose job is the transformation of motorcycles.

CUTDOWN
Stripped-down motor-scooter.

ENDO
Another name for the ‘stoppie’, when the rear of the motorbike lifts after applying the front brakes suddenly.

FRAMER
Collective name for short track flat track motorbikes. Generally made with a one-cylinder, four-stroke 450 engine block.

FRANKENBIKE
A bike built from various other bikes. (Some of them are particularly interesting.)

FRISCO STYLE
Motorbikes with a tank placed on top of the frame.

GIXER/GIXXER
Nickname for the Suzuki GSX-R.

GROCERY GETTER
Middle-class family car of a biker.

HACK
Nickname for a sidecar.

INK SLINGER
Tattoo artist.

DOME (OR LID)
Nickname for a helmet.

DONOR
A motorbike whose parts are “transplanted” to another motorbike.

DRESSER
Large touring motorbike with windshields, saddlebags, etc.

HARDTAIL
Motorbike without rear shock absorbers.

HAPPY RIDER
Rare nickname for a happy, smiling biker who has bugs in his teeth. Should never be confused with the expression a ‘happy finish’.

HIGHSIDE
Dangerous way of falling, when the rear wheels lose grip for a moment and the biker is scarily catapulted into the air. (See lowside!).

HOONING
Riding on public roads like a hooligan, seriously violating traffic laws (wheelie, steppie, etc.)

JUGS
Slang expression for the motorbike’s cylinders.

LANE SPLITTING
Frequently changing lanes and zigzagging between lanes in city traffic.

LOWSIDE
More frequent (and generally less dangerous) accident than the highside. The real wheel loses its grip and slides to the sides.

MONKEY BUTT
Painful bottom after cycling for a long time.

PETROLHEAD
Person infected by petrol, a fan of motor vehicles.

POWER RANGER
Sport biker whose leather overalls, gloves, helmet and often even whose motorbike are in matching colours.

POWER SHOWER
When you get soaked on the motorbike because of a lack of protective gear.

POWER SLIDE
A technique used on bends when the racer tries to take the bend at as high a speed as possible while sending too much power to the rear wheel.

RAT MOTOR
A rusty, used motorbike which looks like it’s been found after being stored and neglected for 100 years (e.g. at the bottom of the Danube).

ROAD RASH
Rough tarmac leaves this pattern on you if you fall without wearing the right gear.

ROOST
Mud brought up by dirt motorbikes.

RUBBER
What bikers call tyres.

SCARY CORNER
Slang expression for a bend that is considered dangerous.

SMOKER
Nickname for two-stroke motorcycles which are know for emitting a great deal of smoke.

SQUID
A biker without helmet and/or the right gear.

STUFF
A biker’s equipment.

SWEEP
The last biker in line.

TANK-SLAPPER
The incredibly frightening phenomenon when the handlebars start to shake suddenly.

TOOLS
Tools used to repair motorbikes.

TUNER
A person who is able to fine tune the engine block and increase its performance.

UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle)
Japanese motorcycle from the 1970s with a 4 cylinder straight engine and frame which have become rather overpriced since hipsters “discovered” them.

UPSIDE DOWN
Front inverted fork used on modern sports motorbikes.

WHEELIE
Manoeuvre where the front wheel or wheels come off the ground.