Motorcycle makers targeting women
Lynn Ressel of Adell, Wis., customizes her 2014 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special in her heated garage last month. She glues small orange faux gemstones as accents and trim on her bike. Ressel calls the bike Ginger after the charecter on “Gilligan’s Island.” She is among the growing ranks of female motorcycle owners and riders.
MILWAUKEE — In the comfort of a heated garage, with her car parked outside, Lynn Ressel is customizing her motorcycle in preparation for the 2016 riding season.
“I kind of have a bling party going on. It gives me something to do, something to look forward to, because right now she’s kind of under wraps,” Ressel said about her HarleyDavidson Street Glide named Ginger.
What’s not under wraps are women motorcyclists. Female motorcycle ownership is at an all-time high, according to new data from the Motorcycle Industry Council, with women now accounting for 14 percent of all U.S. motorcycle owners.
“In fact, the number of female owners better than doubled from 2003 to 2014. And among the more than 30 million Americans who swung a leg over a motorcycle and rode at least one time in 2014, a quarter of these riders were women,” said Sarah Schilke, national marketing manager of BMW Motorrad USA and chair of PowerLily, a group consisting of female motorcycle industry professionals.
Harley-Davidson and other motorcycle manufacturers have worked to dispel stereotypes that have kept women out of mo- torcycling, including the notion that a petite female can’t handle a big, powerful bike.
Ressel began riding with her husband, Dave, in 2011 — first on the back of his Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic — and not long afterward on her first bike, a Harley Sportster.
“I saw a bunch of women out there, and I really wanted to give it a go myself. Now, every corner you turn, every place you stop at, it seems like there are women riding with men, riding with other women, or riding by themselves. It’s pretty impressive,” Ressel said.
Among younger generations, the percentage of women motorcyclists is higher. Slightly more than 17 percent of Gen X motorcycle owners, and 17.6 percent of Gen Y owners, are women.
A survey from the trade group showed what type of bikes women prefer. Cruisers topped the list, at 34 percent, followed closely by scooters, at 33 percent.
The survey also showed that 49 percent of female motorcyclists are married, and 47 percent have a college or postgraduate degree
When it came to purchasing a motorcycle, women rated fuel economy and test rides as the most important decisionmaking factors. New bikes were preferred over used ones by 57 percent of female riders.