Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~---:....:..-:. . .:. :.-.-_ _ ,I Women buying motorcycles women, but the ones who do buy are very knowledgeable. If they come in alone, they know what they want. " If you happen to be shopping on your own, there are a few simple rules to remember. Number one is to straddle the bike to see if both feet are planted solidly on the ground. You have to be able to keep the bike in an upright position when it's stopped. When you 're riding, you're using both hands and feet, plus you 're watching out for everything. Riding an ill-fitting bike is a distraction that no one needs, If you're trying out a bike where you feel uncomfortable, ch ances ar e you'll feel un comfortable riding it. Rem ember, it's mor e important to fit yourself to a motorcycle than it is to a car. Women are physically smaller than most men. Our legs and arms are shorter and our center of gravity is different. Most men hav e stronger upper torsos (and upper body strength improves bike control and prevents fa tigue). Thi s doesn't mean that a woman is any less capable of riding a mo torcycle, it just means that you have to consider all these factors when buying one. Even wh en you're sitting on one of the bigger cruise rs, like the Harley-Davidson XLH By Livia R. Morse or anyone, buyin g a motorcycle is a thrilling experience . You've admired your neighbor's n ew GSXR750 for th e las t 10 months and you ' ve w a tc he d every Supercross race ever run on television. You want a motorcycle of your own, but if you' re a woman, buying a bike can present some special problems. The first thing you have to do is d ecide what sort of riding you' ll be doing. Do you plan to ride on the street or the dirt, or a combination of both? Will you be commuting back and forth to work, or riding just for pleasure? If you ' re an inexperienced or first-time rider, you should seriously consider enrolling in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course (for more information call 1-800-CC-Rider). The course provides gft • mrc laSll1 classroom and hands-on tra ining (and they provide the bikes for the practice range) . . There's also an added benefit. As of January 1, 1994, anyone who passes the course is not required to take the DMV skill test (in the state of California) to get their motorcycle license. You don't need a license to ride on the dirt, but you do _ need one to ride on the road . Your local DMV can provide you with more information on how to obtain one. HOW MUCH? Before you do any serious looking, you need to decide on you r budget. This includes the price of the bike, registration (yes, dirt bikes included), insurance and yo ur gear. If you 've been riding awhile, cha nces are you alread y have most or all of your gear. This includes a good helmet, jacket, boots or shoes that at least cover your ankles, heavy jeans and gloves.Your helmet needs to be DOT (Dep artment of Trans por tat ion) approved to be street legal. Snell ratings (w hi ch mea n the helmet has been th ro ugh in dep end en t testing by th e Snell Foundati on) are an added bit of peace of mind. I never appreciated the security of a good helmet until I (literally) fell on my face while dirt rid ing a _few years ago. My helmet and visor emerged broken and battIe scarred, and other than a couple of bruises to my ego, I emerged unscathed. If you're buying equipment, it helps to go to your local motorcycle dealership where you can try on the gear that will suit you best. Beyond that there are two options: purchasing the items at the dealership or using mail order. While the -mail order route may end up being cheaper, going to a dealership allows you to further build camaraderie with other motorcyclists and it may' help you out later when you need your bike serviced, you need to buy parts, etc. There are two 'major points to be aware of when buying gear from warehouses. First, if you order through a magazine ad, have the advertisement handy when you 're order ing over the phone. Some companies require you to mention their advertisement and the magazine it was published in before they' ll give you the advertised sa le price. Otherwise, the catalog prices will apply (which are still better than most dealerships). Before you buy through mail order, check any mag azine advertisements the company may have going. You might find that the helmet you want is advertised for considerably less than the same company's catalog price. Also, some businesses have a policy of beating other comp ies' prices. If you mention to the salesperson that another bu siness ha s the same equipment for less, they might beat that price. The second point is be aware of the company's location. If it's out of state, you may have to wait an extra day or two for your merchandise , but you generally won't have to pay state sa les tax. It's best to ask before you order. TH E CHOICE IS YOURS A good place to start looking for a motorcycle is in your own .living room. Read the bike reviews from your motorcycle publications. They can help you choose the loo k, make and mod el of yo u r purchase before you get to the showroom and are bedazzled by all the different models. If you know someone who rides, it helps to bring them along for advice. Paul Yamasaki of T&O Honda in Tor rance, California, says: "Maybeone to two percent of our buying customers are women, and they mostly come in with a companion." John Mullen of Del Amo Suzuki in Redondo Beach, Cali fo rnia, agrees . "Probably, three out of 100 buyers are Sportster 883 Hu gger, you can feel as if the bike was made just for you. Judith Botsai is a saleswoman from Harley-Davidson Cycles in Harbor City, California. "The whole Harley image hasn' t chan ged much for women for a long time. Back in the 405 and 50s there were a lot of women riders. The Harley has become so popular with women and it' s such a good bike. A lot of women bu y Harleys becau se you can do anything with them. You can control these bikes and that cuts out the intimida tion factor," she says.' Try a couple of different mod els. You may fi nd a com p a ra b le o ne th at is lighter or has a better arm extension . Meeri Lou Shankwitz, a salesw oman at Del Amo Suzuki in Redo ndo Beach sa ys, "1 sa t on a lo t of bikes be fore I bought my 500. Certain bikes jus t are not made to fit women. The seats are too high or you're leaning too far forward . I lo ve to tal k to wo men' w ho come in looking for bikes, because I ride myself and I kn ow w hat th ey have to go through to find a bike that's right for them." Next, look for a motorcycle with easy ma intenance. Th er e' s nothing mo re aggravating than having to remove your gas tank to change a spark plug or having to buy a special tool because the oil plug is in some inaccessible place . For example, many models have oil windows (where you can see your oil level at a glance) rather than dip sticks. Some models, like the Yamaha Virago XV535 Specia l, locate the fuel/reserve switch on the right handlebar. This is a great feature if you happen to be cr ui sing do wn the road and suddenly ha ve to switch to the reserve tank. You don't have take your hand off the clutch to search for the reserve switch. Don't be afraid to ask questions: what sort of brakes does the bike have? Is the engine a two-stroke (mainly for dirt rid ing) or four-stroke? If you're planning on dirt riding, but don't like the narrow powerband of a two-stroke, you might consider a four-stroke dual

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