motorcycle rear light_Motorcycling and Engines

A Woman's Perspective on Motorcycling and Engines

Summary:  In a male--dominated sport, women don’t have to take the back seat -- or should I say, be the "two--up".  In fact, from what I’ve read, female riders are the fastest growing demographic in motorcycling.

motorcycle rear light news,Ladies, whether you’re twenty or sixty, if you’re interested in riding there’s no time like the present and there are plenty of resources available to get you started in the right direction.

Background
First, let me preface this by saying that I still have a lot to learn and this article is not meant to be an end--all by any means.  This is simply my story of how I got involved in motorcycling, some of the research and lessons I learned along the way, and where I hope to go from here.

Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve loved sportbikes.  Dare I admit that two of the dumbest things I’ve ever done in my life involve sportbikes?  Thankfully, that was a long time ago and I’m much wiser now!

I jumped at every opportunity to go on motorcycle rides.  I was always the passenger, but it was still exhilarating.  I have fond memories from years ago of my dad taking me out on his dirt bike along mountain roads, and more recently of rides with him on his Harley Sportster.

How I got into the sport for myself all came about because of a Halloween costume.  I had decided last--minute to go to a costume party and had one hour to put something together.  I ended up borrowing my dad’s leather chaps and going as a "biker chick" to the party.

I don’t know what it is about leather, but I loved wearing those chaps!  My attire sparked all sorts of curiosity about what kind of bike I had.  At that point, I didn’t have a motorcycle and had never even considered getting one for myself for some reason.

Now that I think about it, at that point in time, I didn’t know any females that piloted their own bikes.  As a teenager I must have thought girls rode on the back and that was the way it was -- or maybe I was afraid of driving and getting myself killed.

Truth be told, I never minded hopping on the back of a motorcycle and wrapping my arms around a cute guy!  Alas, back in the day when I was eighteen I was young, reckless, and stupid and the combination of a hot guy and a sweet bullet bike is what led me into dangerous situations that could have gotten me killed.

But I digress…that night at the costume party a friend offered to teach me to ride.  The next day I was at his house for my first lesson on a Honda 100cc dirt bike.

One of the first lessons I learned was to have smooth clutch and throttle control.  A few times, when taking off from a stop, I accidently popped the clutch and gave it too much gas, and as the front tire came off the ground I screamed like a three--year old.

I was not interested (and am still not interested) in flipping a bike over onto my body.  That dirt bike definitely reacted differently than the four--wheelers I’d ridden.  I rode around an empty field for a couple hours practicing shifting and turning and just getting comfortable with the feel of the motorcycle.  It was like I was a kid again, and I almost had to be pried off the bike.  It was a blast.

The next week I went back for round two and a couple more hours on the little 100cc. A week later there was too much rain and snow to even consider taking the bike out until spring.  Bummer.  I was hooked and I knew it was definitely a sport I wanted to be an active part of.  What the heck was I going to do for five or six months until I could ride again?

Soaking Up Knowledge
I spent the next several months learning as much as I could about motorcycles and riding and yes, even engines.  Before I got into motorcycles I didn’t know a thing about engines beyond the fact that cars had four, six, or eight cylinders.

Every time men talked shop, I was like, "Huh?  What the heck are camshafts?"  I knew some terminology -- carburetors, pistons, valves -- but that was as far as it went.  I couldn’t tell you a thing about what the parts did or how they worked together.

When I decided to get a motorcycle, I wanted to know what I was talking about and what I was buying.  Previously, I had a different philosophy; if something went wrong with my car, I had a cage to protect me and I couldn’t have cared less about what was under the hood.

Concerning motorcycles, I felt it was important to learn about engines and be educated about what I was buying.  I wasn’t about to let a salesperson working on commission tell me what I should buy and what kind of bike I could handle.

I did lots of research on the internet (Google is our friend), read some books, and talked to anyone who owned a motorcycle and/or had worked on engines.  I wanted to know how they worked.  I read books like The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Motorcycles (review), which has some great basic information on engines, riding, protective gear, and even buying that first bike.

I had a thirst for knowledge and was consumed with learning everything I could about motorcycles, such as the difference between two--stroke and four--stroke engines, Thumpers, Boxers, V--twins, and in--line fours.  The more I learned, the more interested I became.

But I didn’t stop there; I learned about clutches, final drive systems, and torque.  When someone talked about forks, rake, steering dampers, swing arms, hard tails, and triple trees, I wanted to understand what was discussed.  

I was surprised by how much passion I had for learning about bikes.  I soaked up anything and everything motorcycle related, and became an American Chopper junkie in the process -- "Senior, do you want any girls in the shop?  I’m a fast learner!"

On to my point: it was extremely empowering to walk into motorcycle shops with an understanding of different engines and bike parts.  One salesman admitted later that he wondered if I had been sent by his boss to "test" him because I knew more about engines and motorcycles than the average woman.