How to Find Motorcycle Riders & Riding Buddies: 10 Ways

How do you find motorcycle riders? Short answer: the fastest way is an app built for motorcyclists, such as Revamigo, where you see riders near you with their bike, riding style and experience. Other good ways are local Facebook and Instagram groups for your area or brand, a motorcycle club, organised group rides, advanced rider training and motorcycle events such as bike nights and shows. It works best when you combine two or three of these and then suggest a ride yourself. Where do you find motorcycle riders? At biker cafés and well-known meeting spots, on popular riding roads, at petrol stations on Sunday mornings, at dealers and training schools, and at events and shows.

Buying a motorcycle is easy. Finding people who ride at the same pace, love the same roads and are actually ready at nine on a Saturday morning is harder. Your friends don’t ride, your old riding buddy moved away, or you just passed your test and don’t know anyone yet. In this guide you’ll find 10 ways to find motorcycle riders to ride with, which one suits you, and how to ride safely with someone new for the first time.

How do you find motorcycle riders? The best ways at a glance

• Fastest: a rider app like Revamigo. You can see riders near you today.
• Biggest reach: Facebook groups for your region, brand or type of bike.
• A steady group for the long run: a motorcycle club or owners’ club.
• An easy first step: an organised group ride or a training day.
• Spontaneous: biker cafés, meets and events.
• Best tip: don’t wait for an invitation. Suggest a ride yourself.

Why is it hard to find motorcycle riders?

Riding together is about more than a shared hobby. It only really clicks when a few things match:

• Pace and riding style: a sporty rider and a relaxed tourer quickly get on each other’s nerves.
• Type of bike: an adventure bike wants the gravel road, a supersport would rather not.
• Experience: new riders want to build up slowly, experienced riders want to cover miles.
• Availability: weekday evening rides, or weekends only?
• Distance: someone on the other side of the country is fun once, someone twenty minutes away becomes a regular riding buddy.

So you’re not looking for just any rider, but for one who suits you and lives nearby. That’s why one method works better for some riders than for others.

10 ways to find motorcycle riders to ride with

1. Use an app for motorcyclists

The fastest way to find motorcycle riders near you is an app made for exactly that. (Which motorcycle app works best for what, you can read in our comparison.) In Revamigo you create a profile with your bike, riding style and experience. Then you immediately see other riders in your area.

• Discover riders near you: swipe through profiles with photos, bike, riding style and experience. Filter by distance, age and type of bike (sport, naked, touring, adventure, cruiser, custom, scooter, electric).
• Match and chat first, then ride: if you both like each other, you can chat and agree on pace, route and meeting point before you meet up.
• Riders you’ve crossed paths with: with background location access, the app notices when you’re riding. If you pass another Revamigo rider on the road, you’ll see them in the app later. So the rider you saw at the traffic lights, you can still get to know. Your exact location is never shared with other users.
• Moto Spots: discover viewpoints, twisty roads, biker cafés and meetup spots shared by other riders, and send a spot to your match: “Ride here together?” There’s hardly a better opening line.
• Adult riders only: you verify your email address, must be at least 18 and can block or report anyone.

Revamigo is free on iOS and Android: you get 25 swipes a day. With Revamigo Pro you swipe without limits and can also filter by riding experience and riding style. Good for: anyone who wants to search quickly and precisely, especially if you don’t know anyone in your area yet.

2. Join motorcycle groups on Facebook and Instagram

Facebook has groups for almost everything: by county, state or region, by brand, by type of bike, for women riders, for new riders and for touring or off-road riders. Search for combinations like “motorcycle riders [your area]”, “bike rides [your region]”, “[brand] owners [your country]” or “women who ride [your area]”. On Instagram you’ll find riders through hashtags like #motorcyclelife, #bikelife, #motorcyclesof[yourcity] and your own brand or model.

Tip: just joining isn’t enough. Introduce yourself briefly (“ride an MT-07 around Manchester, looking for people for relaxed Sunday rides”) or reply to a ride-out post. Downside: groups are busy and you know little about someone’s pace or experience beforehand.

3. Join a motorcycle club

A motorcycle club is the way to build a steady group of riding friends. You see each other regularly, ride club runs together and naturally get to know each other better. National riders’ organisations such as the AMA in the US and the BMF in the UK have hundreds of affiliated clubs, so there’s almost always one near you.

A club doesn’t have to be tough or strict, by the way. Many clubs are simply friendly touring clubs where you can ride along a few times before you join. Downside: fixed ride dates and sometimes a membership fee.

4. Join an organised group ride

Clubs, dealers and charities hold group rides and ride-outs throughout the season. You ride a set route (often as a GPX file) with stops along the way, where conversations start by themselves. Dealer ride-outs, charity rides and club calendars are good places to look. Because everyone is there for the same reason, you don’t have to worry about it being awkward.

5. Take a training or advanced riding course

Advanced rider training, a cornering course or an off-road course (think IAM RoadSmart or BikeSafe in the UK, or an MSF course in the US) makes you a better rider and puts you in touch with people who, like you, want to learn. The group often has riders of roughly the same level, and that’s exactly what you want in a riding buddy. At the end, just ask if anyone fancies a ride together some time.

6. Go to motorcycle events

Brand days, demo days, dealer open days, bike nights and motorcycle shows attract large numbers of riders. The conversation starts by itself (“nice bike, how do you like it?”). Swap Instagram handles or phone numbers, or find each other in the app, so the contact doesn’t end after one chat.

7. Look for riders with the same brand or type of bike

Riders of the same brand or type often share a riding style. A BMW GS rider looks for different roads than a Harley rider. Many brands have official or unofficial owners’ clubs and forums, and dealers organise rides for their customers. Filter by your type of bike in an app to find riders who enjoy the same kind of rides.

8. Make contact on the road and at biker cafés

Biker cafés, well-known stops and meets are natural meeting places. On a sunny Sunday they’re full of bikes. Nod, start a chat, ask about the route someone just rode. The tricky part is that you usually never see that rider again. That’s what the riders you’ve crossed paths with feature in Revamigo is for: riders you pass on the road, you can find again later.

9. Start close to home: your own network

Colleagues, neighbours, the gym, other parents at the school gate: more people ride than you think. Post on your own socials that you’re looking for riders to ride with, or ask at your dealer or bike shop. The people there often know customers who are looking for someone too.

10. Organise a ride yourself

This is the most underrated tip. Everyone is waiting for an invitation, so be the one who sends it. Plan a route of 60 to 100 miles (100 to 150 km) with a coffee stop, pick a clear meeting point (a petrol station or car park) and share the invite in a Facebook group or with your matches in the app. An easy pace, clear agreements, and next time more people will join by themselves.

The fastest way to find a riding buddy: 5 steps

This is how it works in Revamigo, the free app for iPhone and Android that helps you find riders near you to ride with:

1. Download the app and create a profile. Add your bike, riding style and experience, plus a few photos, ideally with your bike in them. This takes a few minutes.
2. Set your distance. By default you see riders within 50 km (about 30 miles). Live in a busy area? Make the radius smaller so you meet close by. Live in the countryside? Make it bigger.
3. Swipe through profiles of riders nearby. Look mainly at bike, riding style and experience: someone who rides like you is the best match for a first ride.
4. Once you both like each other, send a concrete suggestion straight away. Not “Fancy a ride some time?”, but “Fancy a loop through the hills on Saturday? Leaving at 10:00.” A concrete suggestion gets you a plan much faster.
5. Meet at a set spot. Pick a Moto Spot in the app together, such as a biker café or viewpoint, and send it to your new riding buddy. Then you both know exactly where you’re starting.

With a free account you can swipe 25 profiles every day. If you want unlimited swipes or filters on riding style and experience level, that’s in Revamigo Pro. For most riders, the free account is enough to get started.

Where do you find motorcycle riders? The best places

Motorcycle riders gather in a few familiar places. Know where, and you can meet several riders in a single weekend:

• Biker cafés and meeting spots: on a dry Sunday there are dozens of bikes out front. Grabbing a coffee and starting a chat is completely normal here.
• Popular riding roads: the well-known twisty roads, mountain passes and coast roads in your region. At viewpoints and coffee stops along the way you’ll meet riders naturally.
• Petrol stations and car parks on Sunday mornings: this is where groups gather before their ride. Feel free to ask where they’re heading.
• Dealers and bike shops: open days, demo days and customer rides. The staff often know who else is looking for a riding buddy.
• Training schools: advanced courses bring riders of the same level together.
• Events and shows: bike nights, brand days, motorcycle shows and charity rides.
• Online: in an app like Revamigo you see riders near you, and local Facebook groups are the digital biker café. In the app you can also share and discover the places above through Moto Spots.

Tip: meeting riders at a spot is step one, keeping in touch is step two. After a good chat, swap numbers straight away or find each other in the app, or you’ll probably never see each other again.

Which way suits you?

Method	Best for	Speed	Cost
Rider app (Revamigo)	Finding riders near you by bike, style and experience	Instant	Free (Pro optional)
Facebook/Instagram groups	Big reach, ride-out posts	Days	Free
Motorcycle club	A steady group for the long run	Weeks	Often a membership fee
Group ride	An easy first meeting	Per event	Entry fee
Training	New riders, riders of the same level	Per course	Course fee
Events	Meeting lots of riders at once	Per event	Varies
Owners’ club/dealer	Riders with the same bike	Weeks	Varies
On the road/biker café	Spontaneous contacts	Chance	A cup of coffee

• New rider? Start with a training course and check riding experience on profiles in an app. Ride your first rides in a small group at an easy pace.
• Tourer? Group rides, a touring club and discovering great places through Moto Spots in the app.
• Sporty rider? Owners’ clubs, track days and filtering on sport bikes.
• Woman rider? There are dedicated groups and rides for women. In an app you only chat once you both like each other, and you can block or report anyone.
• New to the area? An app and local Facebook groups are the fastest.

Meeting a rider you don’t know yet safely: checklist

Riding for the first time with someone you met online? These agreements keep the first ride relaxed and safe:

1. Chat first. Talk about experience, pace and the kind of route before you meet.
2. Meet in a public place, such as a petrol station, car park or biker café.
3. Keep the first ride short, 1 to 2 hours, so it’s easy to stop if it doesn’t click.
4. Agree on group rules: who leads, formation (staggered), overtaking, what to do at a turn or if you lose each other.
5. Ride your own pace. Never let yourself be pushed. A good riding buddy simply waits.
6. Tell someone at home where you’re riding and who with.
7. Use the app’s safety features: block or report anyone who doesn’t behave.

Find a riding buddy: from one ride to regular riding friends

One ride doesn’t make a riding friend. These are the habits that turn a first meeting into a regular riding buddy:

• Plan the next ride straight away when you say goodbye, for example “same time in two weeks?”
• Share photos and the route afterwards. That keeps the contact warm.
• Start a group chat for spontaneous rides when the weather is good.
• Look beyond the bike. Often it clicks mostly through shared humour or the same idea of a great day.
• Accept that not everyone is a match. That’s fine, there are plenty of other riders.

Frequently asked questions about finding motorcycle riders

Where can I find motorcycle riders near me?

Online, the fastest way is an app like Revamigo, which shows riders in your area with their bike, riding style and experience, and local Facebook groups (search for “motorcycle riders + your area”). Offline, you’ll find them at biker cafés, on popular riding roads, at dealers and at a local motorcycle club.

Is there an app to meet motorcycle riders?

Yes. Revamigo is a free app for iOS and Android built to connect motorcycle riders. You swipe through profiles of riders nearby, chat after a match before you meet up, and also see which Revamigo riders you’ve crossed paths with on the road.

What is the best app for motorcyclists?

That depends on what you’re looking for. Revamigo is made for finding riders to ride with: you see riders nearby, match and chat before you meet up. For route planning, apps like Calimoto and Kurviger are popular. You’ll find a full overview in our comparison of apps for motorcyclists.

How do I find a riding buddy as a new rider?

Take a training course (you’ll meet riders of the same level), check riding experience on profiles in an app and look for Facebook groups for new riders. For the first few times, ride short routes in a small group at an easy pace.

Do I need to join a motorcycle club to ride with others?

No. A club is great if you want a steady group and a ride calendar, but you can also ride together through an app, social media or organised group rides, without a membership.

How can I find other women riders?

There are dedicated Facebook and Instagram groups and rides for women riders. In an app like Revamigo you only chat once you both like each other, so you can get to know someone at your own pace, and you can block or report anyone.

Is it safe to meet motorcycle riders I met online?

Yes, if you stick to a few basics: chat first, meet in a public place, keep the first ride short, ride your own pace and let someone know where you are. Use the block and report features if someone doesn’t behave.

What’s the difference between a motorcycle club and a motorcycle app?

A motorcycle club gives you a steady group, regular rides and often a clubhouse. An app gives you flexibility: you find riders nearby right away and ride when it suits you. Many riders combine both: the app to meet people, the club for regular rides.

Conclusion: where and how do you find motorcycle riders to ride with?

Finding motorcycle riders to ride with works best when you combine several methods. Use an app like Revamigo to quickly find riders nearby who suit you, join a few local groups, ride along with a group ride or club, and above all, suggest a ride yourself. The first ride is the most nerve-racking. After that, it usually takes care of itself.

More to read: how to find a motorcycle riding buddy and the Revamigo motorcycle social app.

Also see: how to make motorcycle friends, motorcycle groups near me, free motorcycle apps and Revamigo vs REVER.