Only 11 percent of motorcycle riders are women, according to this MSN Autos blog post, but that number is growing every year. Between 2003 and 2009, there was a 45 percent increase in chicks on bikes — and not in the bitch seat. [shudder]
What do women buyers look for in a motorcycle? It’s not a pink gas tank, it’s not streamers on the handlebars, and it’s not a wimpy motor. Like jeans, bras, and almost everything else women buy, fit comes first.
- With an average height of 5 feet, 4 inches in the US, women like bikes low enough for their feet to touch flat on the ground when they’re stopped.
- Women like lighter bikes that they feel comfortable handling — 300 pounds instead of, say, 500.
As gas prices climb, sales of efficient two-wheelers do, too. I’d expect to see more women on motorcycles in the next decade — especially electric bikes like Brammo’s.