WHAT MOTORCYCLES DO WOMEN LOVE TO RIDE?

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Visiting several websites, searching the photo galleries and discussion boards, we found data for over 500 women riders. We've broken the results down by makes, models, and by models within makes.

Motorcycle dealers we talked to seemed to notice a recent trend in the direction of sport bikes. They find more experienced women riders are choosing the Suzuki GSXR600, and less experienced riders choosing the Kawasaki Ninja 250 and 500. Dealers mentioned the reasons for purchasing the sport bikes varied, but the majority of women buyers seemed to be emphasizing speed, light weight, and overall look, along with comfort and fit. Dealers recommended the following models for women just starting to ride: Kawasaki Ninja EX250, Kawasaki Ninja EX500, Honda Rebel, and Yamaha V-Star. These recommendations also checked out with research concerning the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) safety courses. The MSF courses provide a variety of motorcycles to both men and women, some specific models are Honda Rebels, Honda Nighthawks, Kawasaki Ninjas, Yamaha Viragos, all in the 200-250 cc range.

The best information we gathered came from speaking directly to experienced riders. We learned that women will do whatever it takes to ride the model they want to ride. From cutting out seat padding, lowering bikes, extending handlebars, women were willing to modify the motorcycle of their dreams to get the right fit. The Cycle Angels of CycleForums.com were glad to help us try to iron out how and why women choose their favorite rides.

When it came to recommending particular models, Cycle Angel Kitfoxx had this to say,

"Kawasaki Ninja 500R - Popular with a lot of women because they are short and light and easy to maneuver. I flicked mine around for 10k with no chicken strips before moving on! It has great get up and go, handles great on the corners, and is all around a great reliable bike. Plus the Candy Thunder Blue is the perfect color for me! Love it!

Suzuki SV650 - Man, just a great bike. So much fun! Great for track days or daily rider or the twisties. Very reliable. Doesn't usually take too much work to find or modify it to be low enough to comfortably flat-foot.

Suzuki GSXR 600/750 (after 2006) or 1000 (after 2005) - The gixxers were lowered in the years mentioned and suddenly became far more accessible to shorties like myself. I got to ride a gixxer 1000 through the twisties one afternoon and LOVED it. Even before that blissful ride, I was planning on making the newly lowered GSXR-600 my next ride."-Kitfoxx

Many of the Cycle Angels seemed to be driven toward sport bikes, but not all.

"Well, my first and favorite bike so far is my baby. 2005 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Silverado. I've never much been into sport bikes as I am more comfortable and happy riding at "flower sniffin'" speeds! I am rather short at 5'3" with and inseam of 29" my choice of bikes has been rather limited. There is plenty of power (approaching 60 horses with my mods) and handling is fabulous. The V-star's center of gravity is rather low so the weight is really not an issue." -Marci

When we asked which ages of women preferred which models, we were resoundingly told it's just not that simple. In fact Cycle Angel Dawn said,

"We all buy our bikes for different reasons and there isn't an all encompassing "woman's bike". If you check other forums, you'll probably find just as much diversity unless it is a specific bike style forum. I always thought I was more of a Harley girl (never having ridden at that point) until I started "trying bikes on" and fell in love with sport bikes. Who'd a thunk it!?" -Dawn

One Cycle Angel warned against being plunked on a cruiser just because a significant other has one. Just because a bike is low to the ground doesn't mean it's the bike for you. In fact, if you want a bike made for women, there are a couple of custom manufacturers who do just that. Wicked Women Choppers and Street Diamond Motorcycles are just two custom manufacturers we found catering to women. That number is likely to grow. At the end of the day, we hope we've given readers an idea where to start, or at least the knowledge that taking your time, "trying bikes on", can make an educated choice possible. While our numbers show cruisers are the vast majority, it looks like sport bikes are on the rise. The biggest lesson we learned is that ultimately which model you choose depends on you.