Rant. Marketing Motorcycles to Women

How can manufacturers do a better job of marketing to women? I don't really know the answer to this, but something I'd personally love to see is a woman of color (let's be honest, we hardly see women of color, fully clothed anyway, in these ads), FULLY geared up. I don't care if it's a cruiser, sportbike, dual sport, dirt, standard, supermoto, chopper, whatever.  Just show me something ELSE than the same tired bikinis, babes, and squids. 

After reading this article on the Huffington Post about Bic's stupid marketing campaign by making a pen for Her (WTF?? I didn't realize I was having such a hard time writing this whole time using my man pen), I thought about what a horrible job motorcycle manufacturers are doing 'trying' to market to us. Because they're not marketing to us, they're marketing to your male friend, husband or boyfriend to try and get you to ride. Why not market to us directly? Stop ducking the issue and bring it to me.  

And seeing a woman in a half helmet wearing absolutely nothing in a tv ad doesn't count. Advertising motorcycles to women should move women forward, and inspire them to gear up or try something new. Whether it's a basic rider course, a track day, a dirtbike class, a supermoto school or an advanced street course. How about prioritizing safety over sexy?

Frankly, I'm sick of it. I look forward to the day where women are in charge of these marketing campaigns. A day where companies are willing to take a risk to put out a positive message to (potential and existing) women riders. And PLEASE PLEASE put down the pink pens, pencils, crayons, whatever it is you idiots use to 'color' these ads. I personally hate pink, and although not all women hate the color, it's unfair to label us all as pink lovers. We're not men, we aren't distracted by bright colors and boobs. Stop it. 

Guess what, it's not 1950 anymore. You don't have to spend billions of dollars advertising in print ads. How many of us get our news online these days? 

I know our numbers are only ~20%, but one way to get our number to 50% is to present meaningful, positive change in the way women are portrayed as motorcyclists. And stop spreading the old, tired message of the 'biker lifestyle' whatever that is. 

Interesting Facts: MIC Women Rider Fact Sheet, courtesy of the Motorcycle Industry Council

ps. this post is in no way endorsed, promoted or encouraged by suzuki. I just happen to adore my SV650 :)

California Scooter Company

Thanks for the mention, Joe!

Joe of the CSC rode with us a couple weeks ago in Lake Tahoe, he was behind me for a little bit and caught some footage of me riding ahead of him. :)

http://californiascooterco.com/blog/?p=8034

Beginner Motorcycles

I posted this on twitter and facebook recently but felt it was really important to state for the record.

There's no such thing as women's motorcycles, only beginner motorcycles. 

Sorry, but there's no such thing! I don't care what anyone has told you (including other women riders), but they're wrong, absolutely wrong. And sorry but low cruisers aren't women's motorcycles, either. In fact, I think large, heavy cruisers (no matter how low) are the worst beginner bikes, ever. Not because I'm not a cruiser person, but because they're painful to balance and the center of gravity is totally screwed up! Having your feet forward changes the way you provide input and the way it responds. And if you drop your KLX or your DR, it only takes you a second to pick it up! 

In riding the Brammo recently, I've come to discover how incredibly fun an upright, lightweight dual sport/supermoto style bike could be for a new rider. It's a completely different world of motorcycles, and a completely different experience from what I'm used to.  I'm convinced that something like a Suzuki DR400SE (below left) or Kawasaki KLX250 (below right) is one of the best beginner options out there. 

 

If I had to do it all over again, I would've gone this route (Thanks Betty!). I still love sportbike riding, but I think I'm falling in love with the dual sport way of life and will definitely be moving in that direction going forward. I still love and adore my SV and will be holding on or quite a while. 

Modifying my motorcycle to fit me?

A listener from the Pace Podcast emailed me recently, asking me how I've modified my SV650 to fit me.  My answer is probably not what you'd expect from a shorty like me... "I've been listening to you on the Pace podcast and want to thank you for doing what you're doing! I love the fact that you break down in detail you review of products instead of the typical simplistic responses of "Great" or "Lame". Anyhow my question is not about gear, but about your SV. I love the look and V-twin sound of the SV. I'm not so crazy about the seat height, I'm only around 5'4" w/appox 28" inseam. I used to ride a 93VFR - which I could flat foot a single foot and was *OK* doing so. Do you have any mods on your SV to lower the seat height? If so, what do you find works best? Do you have bar risers? I'd like to use a bike like this to commute. The 2012 Ninja 650 is on my short list as well but it lacks the "coolness"/vibe of a V-twin - but the ergos are much closer to what works for me."

Answer:

I also have a 28" inseam.

I've never modified my bike, ever (or any of my previous bikes). My best friend has been my Daytona boots as well as my riding experiences since I started on a scooter back in 2003.  For me, spending time on a ninja 250 for a couple years after that, and then a ginormous z750s made me appreciate the nimble and lightweight abilities of the SV650s. I never even thought about modifying it.

Are you wearing protective footwear? If so, the traction on them will give you extra leverage and help compensate for the lack of height.   If you aren't, something like these will give you an extra inch, easy: http://motonation.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=7&idproduct=6326

I also wear Sidi Fusions, and they offer absolutely no additional height. Actually, they took away a good inch from me. I really had to modify my riding technique (focus on smoother breaking) to adapt to them and be comfortable with just relying on my left foot.

Even in my daytonas, I still can't flat foot both feet in those, even with the additional 2 inches. I'm flat on my left, and that's all I've ever needed on that bike (or any bike for that matter).  It has such a low center of gravity and is so light that I've gotten used to the weight distribution and just using one foot. Being a twin certainly makes things a lot skinnier between um, your legs. :P

I guess I'm a bad person to ask about this, because I've actually lost vertical height but haven't done anything to my bike to compensate for it.... I've just modified myself!

I can only recommend checking out www.SVrider.com to see what others may have done to modify/lower their bikes.