It’s hard being a female in the motorcycle industry, especially as a rider. For many reasons, but I’ll stick to one: riding a motorcycle. You may be thinking, “Riding a motorcycle? That’s easy!” Or “Regardless of gender, you can ride a motorcycle!” Of course, women can do what men can do and vise versa. However, a lot of women, shorter women, feel as if it’s harder for them.
Unfortunately, in reality, a lot of shorter women have the struggle of touching their feet to the ground when seated on the bike. Having your feet or foot touching the ground gives you stability. I’m sure that men can agree that women need stability.
I’ve been riding for 10 years now and I still need stability. I can’t always have it, but I prefer it as do many women. A lot of women that I talk to feel as if they are more likely to fall over if they don’t have their feet flat on the ground. I’ve ridden my share of motorcycles over the years. There are some that when seated, I can touch the ground and some I can’t. Even now, if I cannot touch the ground, I get nervous. But I just deal with it and ride. It’s something you have to ignore and not overthink.
When coming to stop on the bike, a good tip is to put one butt cheek to the left or right of the seat, whichever is comfortable for you and slide it far off so you can place a foot on the ground. That gives you the stability you need and will change your outlook on what bike to purchase or take for a ride. Never let a bike discourage you because in the end, you’re the rider and a bike is just a machine in between your legs. You control it, girls! Just go out and enjoy the ride!
