In the Biker Sayings Patches section I ran across the white-on-black Check The Gas Dummy patch. If I'm understanding this correctly, it's referring to checking the gas tank if you're motorcycle won't run. This probably doesn't make sense to non-bikers, but experienced bikers know exactly what it means.
Just to bring up to speed, most motorcycles don't have gas gauges - or least they didn't back when I was riding. To monitor your gas you simply reset your odometer to zero at every refill and then visually checked the tank around the 250 mile mark.
Although I never got caught myself, I have ridden with newbies who didn't realize the whole gas gauge thing and ended up running out while driving down the road. When someone else pulls up and says, "check the gas dummy", it can be pretty embarrassing. On the bright side, once you do it you can laugh at others who do it too.
Although the title of this blog indicates this is a patch for new bikers, it's really for seasoned bikers who know all about the gas gauge issue. Since it's only 3" x 1" it's not something that's going to stick out on the back of your vest or jacket, so it needs a home on a pocket, next to your small American flag patch, on a bandanna, or even glued to your gas tank if you're getting up there in age. Either way, it's a fun patch to have.
