Giving the People What They Want

by Melissa
(Victoria, BC Canada)

Motorcycles and motorcycle riders are funny. They are so wildly different from one another. These days, you might never know who is going to show up on two wheels beside you—your doctor, lawyer, the school nurse. You are not going to be able to pick out the bike riding girl from the non-bike riding girl. You may never even be able to match the gal with her ride if you had to. Old stereotypes die hard, it seems, and that is either really bad or just really funny.

So, the motorcycle companies do the fine art of giving the people that they want. There are bikes for every size and shape of person, regardless of their age, gender, occupation or any other personality factor. There are bikes that are perfect for the eco-conscious, pet loving activist. There are bikes for the bawdy and bold women who kick butt and take names. There are names for the women who come in pretty much in the middle of those two extremes. Women want motorcycles, but they don’t always want a watered down version of the bikes that are on the market, targeted for women alone. And, the companies, if they intend to stay competitive, have heard that and are on the ball.

It’s not only the motorcycle companies that have listened, it is the dealers and the rest of the industry that have caught on as well. Think about it: More women are riding, which means they also want to buy the accessories, get the best deals and best care for their bikes. They also want to be able to connect with the other women who are also riding, whether they are buying their very first bike or they have been riding forever.

Giving the people what they want is a good marketing tool; after all, no one is going to buy an item that they don’t want or don’t think that they need without a really good reason. One of the angles that is being used to lure women in to riding motorcycles is the eco-conscious aspect. Most bikes get better gas mileage than your typical car but would a mom of five really be well served in this regard by a motorcycle? It is important to keep things like this in mind when you are looking at a motorcycle or any major lifestyle change for that matter.

So, why do women ride? The answer to that question is so long and varied that it would be impossible to come up with a single example of why. And why should we? Men don’t have to answer these questions because so many people just accept it as a man thing. It is not male nor female to get on the seat of a bike; whether it is a little foreign model or a throaty beast of a bike, it is simply good!