More Women Are Getting Into Motorcycles

When you think of a woman on a motorcycle, you might imagine her on the passenger seat. But that demographic is quickly changing. A new report from USA Today highlighting female motorcycle enthusiasts points out that in 1998, just eight percent of motorcycle owners were women. That number has shot to an all-time high of 14 percent in 2014, the most recent year the data was available.

Those numbers come from a report from the Motorcycle Industry Council. That report reveals some more interesting information and statistics. The median age of female motorcycles is younger than men, at 39 years old versus 48 years old. About half of women bikers do their own maintenance on their rides; 49 percent of women riders are married; and 47 percent have a college or postgraduate degree. Women are also more safety-conscious than male riders, with 60 percent of ladies taking a motorcycle safety course compared to just 42 percent of gents.

Surely, most of these women ride petite little scooters, right? Not quite. 34 percent of women ride cruisers, traditionally the manliest kind of motorcycle, while scooters come in a close second at 33 percent and sport bikes coming in third place, at 10 percent. The USA Today story says that women prefer classically styled modern bikes like the Ducati Scrambler and the Honda Rebel.

The motorcycle industry is still a male-dominated one, but women on motorcycles are clearly on the rise—and that’s a good thing. Motorcycles should be easily approachable for anyone who wants to ride, and a more diverse demographic of riders means more diverse products from manufacturers. It also means more people enjoying the hobby that we love.