Best Motorcycles For Women
Posted by Team Motorcycle on May 3rd 2016
| There is no hiding from it. Women are different from men (and I'm not talking about the Mars vs Venus thing). It has nothing to do with abilities, skill sets or passion. It has to do with physical dimensions. Foremost, women are on average smaller and lighter than men. On average, women have less body strength. |
| What does this mean in terms of riding a motorcycle? Simply, it means, again I use the term average, on average a woman will have more issues riding a motorcycle that is tall and heavy. Mind you, no all women have a problem with this, but in general it is often an issue. |
| Therefore choosing a motorcycle for a woman is something that should take a few factors into account; size, weight and width. |
| There is no way I would put an item like performance on the list. I have had my rear-end handed to me several times on the circuits by women who were much faster and technically capable than me. So motorcycle performance is definitely not an issue. |
| Size |
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In general, a motorcycle used by women should be lower than those used by most men. Adventure motorcycles like the BMW 11xx/1200 GS series, or KTM Adventure are often out. Not that it has stopped several women I know from riding them, hopping off when they reach a red light, but these are very special cases. Some of them have even gone around the world with a tall Adventure bike. |
| So not too tall. |
| Weight |
| The weight can be an important factor, since when the bike is stopped, the rider needs to hold the bike straight with her legs. A 600+ lbs bike might be a problem. It's also a problem when parking the bike, or even turning at low speed. Again I need to point out, this is a generalization. I know one or two women who have no problem flicking a Honda Gold Wing through tight corners, but again, they are exceptions. |
| So not to heavy. |
| Width |
| Talking about Gold Wing, another item to check for is the width of the bike, particularly the saddle. On average a women is slimmer, less wide than a man. If she sits on a wide saddle and her legs are spread out too much, she'll have problem controlling the bike at low speeds, or when stopped. |
| Best Motorcycle Types |
| The types of motorcycles best suited for female riders are: |
| Cruisers – An obvious choice, since they are lower to the ground, and weigh less than normal bikes since they have little or no fairing. It is no surprise that Harley-Davidson dominate the female motorcycle market. |
| But it's not only Harley-Davidson. All cruisers from the likes of Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki etc are more than fine. I'd stay away from bikes like Boss Hoss or Triumph Rocket II ( a bit too heavy for most people). |
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| Sports – Sportsbikes are another good choice. These bikes are usually reasonably low on the ground and are very light. Even the 1 liter+ bikes are more than fine in the hands of a skilled female rider. |
| The Kawasaki Ninja series are very popular with woman, but so are the Aprilia, Ducati and most Japanese sportsbikes. |
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| Street – Most street motorcycles, particularly in the mid range (300-800 cc) are great for female riders, even the “bigger” BMW 650-800 GS (different models in this range). Often if the bike is too tall, they have lowering options. |
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| Scooter – Scooters are also idea for women. They are comfortable, mid-to-low height and usually not too heavy. |
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| If you want to talk about one single specific motorcycle that in my opinion is perfect for most female riders, it's one of the Ducati Monster series. The bike is low, not too heavy and perfectly balanced. Often when riding, if I see a Ducati Monster, chances are it will have a female rider. |
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| So whatever motorcycle a woman choses, it needs to fit comfortably. If she feels uncomfortable, reaching to control the bike with her legs and feet, hands too far out, the ride will end in a disaster. But than this applies to anyone riding a motorcycle. |
