Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126410
sho p," Linda says of the ex pe rience, "Every other p lace asked me if 1 knew how 10 type , and none rook me seri ous ly as a mechanic . "I actually worked in a shop for a few weeks where the lady who ran the place didn't know what she really wanted out of me when she hired me, The mechanic there wasn 't really able to accept me, so he told this lady that 1 was having difficulty doing the work , and she laid me off. After 1 had been working for Ha ndy Cycle for seven mont hs , I went over to that sho p once for parts and she said , 'You 're not really wor king there as a mechanic , are you?' She couldn't believe it . She wanted to know who pushed the big bikes in and out. I to ld her 1 do , every morning and every night. 1 wanted to make sure she understood that there shouldn't be any problem with a women mechanic, that a woman could very easily hand le the work, Bu t I guess by not having any true knowledge of mechanics, and not ha ving a good contact with th e serv ice department , she d idn 't rea lly understand ." Linda says he r boss a t Handy Cycle , Ba rry Sulki n , was ver y open -m inded a bo ut hav ing her use the m illin g m a chine , la the , and gas we ld ing equi pment , never hold ing her back, instead prompting her to do more . She did over hea r the typical com ments from time to time, such as , "Oh , a fema le mechanic; I've never seen one of them before." But , as it ltirn~d out, the only customer who ever had any serious reservations about Linda worki ng on a bike happened to be female . " O nce this woman came in needing a clutch cable for her 360 Honda ," Linda relates, " a nd someone gave me the wrong one twice . Well , I couldn't get them to work , and she figured it was because of me, She would just hang over me while 1 worked on her bike , and she had absolutely no faith in me as a m ech a nic. It rea lly made me very nervou s. She ca me into the shop after that incid ent for servici ng and told my boss, ' I want my bike fixed , but I do n't wa nt th at woman working on it because she has no ability as a mech anic.' When she ca me into th e sh op a fte r t h a t , e veryone disappea red. " W ith t he help o f Pat. O wens, adva nced semeste r m otor cycle rep ai r ins tru c tor at T ra de -Tec h, Linda ob t a i ne d a positio n wi th S &W Engineered Products where she does drafting , grap hic art s, some techn ical writing, a nd test riding for product eva luation of the com pany's shocks. Getting into a position with S&W d id n't p rove too di fficult at a ll. revea ls Linda , especially since it is a woman who owns a good portion of the com pa ny. " I t hi nk the fact that I had earned a degree in Mot orcycle Repair was very important ; I'd sa y it had just a s much value a s m y drafting background ," says Lind a . Another woman , Crystal Young , is soon to graduate from the mot orcycle repair program at Trade-Tech and is currently working in the parts department at Glendale Yamaha . In st ru ctor Pat Owens has a clear and encouraging assessment of women 's role in the motorcycle industry , " I thin k Linda serves 10 prove tha t women are acceptab le, and in some cases , preferred. Mor e women are becomi ng ow ne rs of busi nesses or managers of b usinesses ; and th ey are probab ly more likely 10 h ire fem a le help. I feel t he prospects for women with formal trai ni ng in mo torcycle repair look promising from th is standpoint and some la rge companies now realize the market for selling motorcycles 10 women is expanding , and if they have women on t heir srafff. it serves as an incentive to encourage more wom en 10 become in volved in mot orcycling ." • . • 2nd. SPRING CLASSIC 20-LAP HALF-MILE NATIONAL WITH JUNIOR, NOVICE INVITATIONALS · JAY SPR INGSTEEN G ARY COTT S S TEVE EKLUND ADVANCE TICKET PRICES FOR NATIONAL ADVANCE TICKETS ALSO AVA ILABLE AT Reserved adult. , , $10.00 Genera l Admission adult .. . .. . .• . . . . . , $S.OO Reserved child (12 & Underl. $5.00 General Admission child.. . ... .. . . . . . . .. .... . • . . . . .. .. $4.00 ,;:J 1:\ a d iv ision of \::I r:J CONTR..oL DATA COR,POR.t\T10N (General Admission $S.50adult and child 9-12 at Box Office on race night. 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