08/30/2026
Sharing. I feel like it’s slipping away. What do you think??
Protocol, Decorum, and Class
It wasn’t that long ago, 15 years or so, that the “old” bikers were still teaching us about protocol, decorum, and class.
Three things closely related, yet distinctly different.
Protocol exists within the motorcycle community. It is a set of understood rules, often rigid, hierarchical, and, in some circles, enforceable.
Decorum is broader. It is the expectation of proper behavior: dignity, restraint, respect, and knowing when something simply isn’t appropriate.
Class is harder to define. It is admirable behavior, refinement, natural grace, and how a person carries himself.
Protocol tells you what to do.
Decorum tells you what not to do.
Class is the underlying disposition, the quality of presence, poise, judgment, and self-possession behind both.
What was all that really about?
We were taught standards and rules. Most weren’t written down, but we knew them. We didn’t cross certain lines because that simply wasn’t the way things were done.
You learned how to conduct yourself. How to approach people. When to speak and when to shut up. How to disagree without making an ass of yourself. How to show respect without becoming submissive. How to represent yourself and the people around you.
We strove to be regarded as solid men based on our behavior and our actions.
That, my friends, is protocol, decorum, and class.
Are those things becoming relics of the past?
Or are they still alive and simply waiting for people to expect them again?
Ride Easy Y’all
Dirt
