Flag Display

[DocGrizzly]

Flag etiquette question. I know that when the US flag and another are displayed on the back of a motorcycle/trike, the US flag is flown in “Parade Right”, that is on the right side. This is done so that when viewed from the front the US flag in on the left. The US flag should always be displayed to the left of the viewer. Here is my quandary. I am installing a license plate, dual mount, flag system on Suzy (03 GL1800 w/MT). Since the flags cannot be seen from the front, is “Parade Right” still the appropriate display option? Any thoughts?

[GoSlo]

I believe the answer is yes. I had a US flag and a POW/MIA flag mounted the rear of my saddlebags on my old Limited, and they were mounted just as you described even though they couldn't be seen from the front of the bike / trike.

[Lunchbox1983]

Parade right is always correct even for the small flags. The Patriot Guard site has all the rules in case you want to know more.

[DocGrizzly]

Thanks for the responses. Found this on the HD FORUMS site, seems to support the "parade right or marching right" regardless of visibility from the front:

Flag Placement On Motorcycles

Where does it go?

Flag Code Explained

[hr] I am frequently asked where the US Flag should be positioned when mounted on the rear of the motorcycle. The answer is: it depends! Read on... [hr] US Flag Only If only the US Flag is on your bike, it should either be at the center, or to its "marching right" - on the right side of the motorcycle to the rider's perspective when facing forward. [hr] US Flag And One Other Flag Of Any Type If the US Flag is on your bike with another, it should be to its "marching right" - on the right side of the motorcycle to the rider's perspective. If the other flag is that of another nation, it should be the same size and at the same height of the US Flag - NO flag should ever be displayed higher than the US Flag. [hr] US Flag And More Than One Other Non-National Flag If the US Flag is on your bike with several other non-national flags (POW/MIA, ALR, Eagles, Service Banners, etc.) , it should be at center and higher than any of the other flags. [hr] US Flag And More Than One Flag Including Those Of Other Nations If the US Flag is displayed on your bike with those of any other nation, the flags should be same size and at the same height, with the US Flag to marching right (right side of the vehicle), and others arranged in alphabetical order to the left. Other flags should be arranged in order of decreasing importance - Nations first, states (in order of admittance) and territories second, military third (in order of establishment), and then any others.

Again, no flag should fly higher than the US Flag, but the US Flag should be no higher than that of any other nation's displayed. [hr] Rationale I and others have argued that, since the small bike flags we use are all but invisible from the front (when mounted on the rear), the concept of "Flag's own right" should be used with the vantage from the rear of the bike. (This would place the Flag on the on left-hand, rear of your bike). This concept, unfortunately, overlooks a more applicable concept. If you equate the motion of your bike with marching, and you equate traffic with a procession, another portion of the Flag Code becomes the obvious choice for display of the Flag alone, or with another:

Rule 9: "The Flag, when carried in a procession with another flag or flags, should be either on the marching right; that is, the Flag's own right, or, if there is a line of other flags, in front of the center of that line."

The second portion of this rule does not work well with most motorcycles, since there usually is no means to mount the Flag in front (in the direction of travel) of the others if all flags are to be mounted at the rear of the bike. In this case, we rely on: Rule 10: "The Flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs."

Included in this would be POW/MIA flags and American Legion Riders flags. Finally, if you are displaying another country's flag along with the US Flag, they both should be at the same height and the same size, and the US Flag should be displayed on the right side (again, marching right).

Here is a photo of the type of mount I am using. Since the trunk blocks all view from the front, that is the source of my quandary. The only "viewers" are at the rear looking forward.

The difference between mine and the photo is that there is one US flag and one Vietnam Vet flag.

[bongobobny]

I solved that problem by installing my US flag higher up on my luggage rack. The other 2 flags are mounted at the bottom of the trunk. As far as which is on the left and which is on the right it goes by what is more important to you. The more important one goes on the right. In my case the Christian "Standard" is on the right...

[Goldminer]

Greetings! We have a new (to us anyway) 2008 Goldwing with a Lehman Monarch II trike kit. I have three (3) flags (U.S., Patriot Guard Riders and a POW/MIA flag. Where and how can you mount three flags on the back of the monarch II? thank you for any ideas.

Thanks for the responses. Found this on the HD FORUMS site, seems to support the "parade right or marching right" regardless of visibility from the front:

Flag Placement On Motorcycles

Where does it go?

Flag Code Explained

[hr] I am frequently asked where the US Flag should be positioned when mounted on the rear of the motorcycle. The answer is: it depends! Read on... [hr] US Flag Only If only the US Flag is on your bike, it should either be at the center, or to its "marching right" - on the right side of the motorcycle to the rider's perspective when facing forward. [hr] US Flag And One Other Flag Of Any Type If the US Flag is on your bike with another, it should be to its "marching right" - on the right side of the motorcycle to the rider's perspective.

If the other flag is that of another nation, it should be the same size and at the same height of the US Flag - NO flag should ever be displayed higher than the US Flag. [hr] US Flag And More Than One Other Non-National Flag If the US Flag is on your bike with several other non-national flags (POW/MIA, ALR, Eagles, Service Banners, etc.) , it should be at center and higher than any of the other flags. [hr] US Flag And More Than One Flag Including Those Of Other Nations If the US Flag is displayed on your bike with those of any other nation, the flags should be same size and at the same height, with the US Flag to marching right (right side of the vehicle), and others arranged in alphabetical order to the left. Other flags should be arranged in order of decreasing importance - Nations first, states (in order of admittance) and territories second, military third (in order of establishment), and then any others. Again, no flag should fly higher than the US Flag, but the US Flag should be no higher than that of any other nation's displayed. [hr] Rationale I and others have argued that, since the small bike flags we use are all but invisible from the front (when mounted on the rear), the concept of "Flag's own right" should be used with the vantage from the rear of the bike. (This would place the Flag on the on left-hand, rear of your bike). This concept, unfortunately, overlooks a more applicable concept. If you equate the motion of your bike with marching, and you equate traffic with a procession, another portion of the Flag Code becomes the obvious choice for display of the Flag alone, or with another:

Rule 9: "The Flag, when carried in a procession with another flag or flags, should be either on the marching right; that is, the Flag's own right, or, if there is a line of other flags, in front of the center of that line."

The second portion of this rule does not work well with most motorcycles, since there usually is no means to mount the Flag in front (in the direction of travel) of the others if all flags are to be mounted at the rear of the bike. In this case, we rely on: Rule 10: "The Flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs."

Included in this would be POW/MIA flags and American Legion Riders flags. Finally, if you are displaying another country's flag along with the US Flag, they both should be at the same height and the same size, and the US Flag should be displayed on the right side (again, marching right).

Here is a photo of the type of mount I am using. Since the trunk blocks all view from the front, that is the source of my quandary. The only "viewers" are at the rear looking forward. The difference between mine and the photo is that there is one US flag and one Vietnam Vet flag.