MOTORCYCLES The 5 Reasons Why More Women Are Riding Motorcycles Today Than Ever Before


People often ask me why there


are such a growing number of women riders, so I have decided to share some of the reasons that I give which are based on my own observations. I’m 55 years old and have been riding since I was a kid, starting on a Honda 50 on the dirt roads of Minnesota (very short riding season by the way), I have ridden a good majority of my life and until the last decade, I was a bit of an anomaly in the biker world as a female rider, especially at 5’ tall. People would often comment on the fact and many times heads turned when I rode down the road, it just wasn’t the norm. But times have changed and now it’s getting more and more unusual to see a group of motorcycles riding down the road without a single woman rider in the group.


Here are some of the factors that


have impacted the industry and the “motorcycle culture.”


Technology


Motorcycle technology has changed over the years. In the early days, you not only needed to know how to ride you had to be a mechanic to keep your bike running and on the road. That didn’t appeal to a lot of women. They might have wanted to ride but didn’t want the wrenching that went along with it. ( I do believe that if you’re going to ride there are a few basic maintenance and servicing tips every woman needs to know and master just in case. Knowledge is empowering and builds confidence.) Some of you may have forgotten or maybe just don’t want to remember when motorcycles had to be kick started and sometimes they kicked back! Those were chain driven and now most models are shaft or belt driven. With fuel injection systems,


MORE WOMEN ARE RIDING


you don’t have problems with plugs fouling and bikes not starting. To ride a motorcycle now, you basically push a button, it starts and rarely needs servicing. Women like that! Plus, a woman no longer has the same chance of her ride leaving her on the side of the road or the same risk of accidents because of breakdowns and mechanical failures which makes riding safer and women like that too!


Motorcycle Safety Education


Motorcycle safety education classes have revolutionized the way women learn to ride. In the past, many women were introduced to riding by a husband, boyfriend, father, brother, uncle, etc. These men could ride, but were they trainers? Did they have the patience and skill to really teach or did they just want them to get on the bike and ride? Just the fact that they were men was often intimidating for many women and put them at a disadvantage. Most of the time the bikes the men were trying to teach them on were their own and they were too big, fitted for a man, and included the fear factor of, “What if I drop his bike and he kills me?” Motorcycle safety education classes changed all of that. It began to create a safer environment for women to learn in and is continuing to improve as schools and instructors have accepted the fact that now one out of four of their students are women and they need to provide an appropriate environment and atmosphere. They have bikes that are smaller and easier to handle for their classes and women are systematically taught about the motorcycle and riding fundamentals. Many of them come out of the classes with skills that are actually


better than those of long time riders, they just need to become practiced.


Cultural Acceptance


Cultural acceptance creates a momentum which is what we are now experiencing. First the industry went through the mainstreaming of motorcycling for all men everywhere, not just gang wannabe’s and the renegades of life, but professionals, business people, and men of all ages began to take to the sport. Riding for women is now experiencing the same phenomenon. More and more women are riding because more and more women are riding; You are no longer looked upon as a she/man just because you ride a motorcycle. After all, it’s just a bicycle with an engine and most of us girls grew up riding a bicycle. Grandmas are riding, soccer moms are riding, and women of all socioeconomic backgrounds are discovering the joy of riding.


The industry is beginning to shift with the trends by providing equipment, apparel and education for the women rider. In the process women are discovering that they can do it, and not only that, they love it! Their enthusiasm is contagious and spills over to other women, which leads me to my next reason. My prediction is that within the next ten to fifteen years it will actually be more unusual to see a woman on the back of a motorcycle than behind the bars, and if she is on the back it’s because she wants to be, not because she has to be. Today in our society it is nearly unheard of for a woman not to be able to drive a car and not too many decades ago, it was unheard of and unacceptable. Cultural acceptance changes everything.


28 aPRil 2012 I FLORIDA HOT RODS & HOGS I Visit Us Online at www .Fl HRH.COM


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