Any women riders?

Hello DH! Welcome aboard!

I'm lucky enough that the guys in my area are almost always on two wheels - usually the only times they aren't is when their wives wanna come along and don't want to get helmet head! None of the guys I ride with have wives who ride their own; it's not a hindrance though! Their wives love gravel too, two up!

Thanks, HappyCRNA!

Yeah, I had a good group of guys up in CT when my hubby and I lived up there - usually if he was working and I was out for the day, I'd grab his cousin to go for a rip over the mountain (okay, I now realize since living in NC and SC that CT doesn't really know what a mountain is). Maybe it was just the guys I worked with, but they seemed less interested in giving me the scoop on where the good twisties are around here (still have much exploring to do), or for that matter actually RIDING, and more set on proving that they were real bikers. Dunno - maybe it's endemic to that particular age group or industry - lots of chest-thumping. Meh.

Just saying hello- Riding my BMW f650gs from Alaska to Patagonia over the next year and have discovered very few females on the road, especially on their own bikes! Were are we all???
Happy riding.

In the garage fixing stuff....


Enjoy your trip!!!! Are you doing a ride report we can follow???

Riding gravel on my KLR650 with my daughter on the xt225


Off to the 1st annual Ladies Ride mid-month.

I've done 3,800 miles in the last 2 weeks with another 450 miles to go before I arrive home. 5 days were spent at Amerivespa where 40% of the riders were women. Though the majority were riding 200cc or less. I've been seeing more BMWs than normal o this trip (told there was a big BMW event in Keystone about the time I left Breckenridge) and the one thing I noticed was that there are more women riding their own and far fewer riding on the back than the cruisers I normally see. My first gas stop had 3 BMW, 2 ridden by males and one by a female, 1 rental Harley Glide with a couple from Amsterdam riding it.

I spent today riding through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons where I saw much larger than normal number of women riding their own bikes both cruisers and various BMW. Sports bike were as best I could tell all male. Though I think there were still more women riding on the back than their own bikes. I did see a few dads with daughters and two guys on one bike.

Maybe I just need to head further south then. They say Alaska is 10 to one male to female ratio anyway, so I guess that makes sense with the bikes too!
Ride report stalling with technical joys. Will get back to Seattle and sort them out and see how I go from there. And where was the all women's ride?

Yellowstone National Park is where I noticed the highest percentage of women riders.

Hey Katherine!

What year is your F650? They were originally introduced as a single cylinder, which are notoriously buzzy, but came out later as a twin (with an 798cc engine in '08 I want to say), and now from what I hear the newer ones are going to be labeled F700 - because continuing to mark them as F650 was "confusing people" :huh. BMW certainly has an odd sense of humor. They stopped making the CS ('01 - '05), which is a shame, cause it was an amazing "beginner bike", but it had the same Rotax engine as the other F650's did (up till '07). I remember mine having a bit of a "personality", haha. The fuel injection and the dual sparkies helped quite a bit with the vibrating on the more recent models ('00 - present). They're quite smooth, by single standards - there's a reason they're called "thumpers", haha.
The buzzing/vibrating certainly got to me on longer trips, but it was great for short 40-50mi commutes. I do miss that bike (you always remember your first love, right?), it was loads of fun, but the R1200R I have now is far better suited to my needs nowadays.

Question - I've heard some European countries employ a strict licensing program for motorcycles/cars. Under a certain cc (you mentioned you passed your big bike exam), or you are required to have scooter, then motorcycle, then car training? Personally, I think it's a brilliant idea (if it is in fact the case) that you should have to go through some sort of scooter/motorcycle training before getting trained and licensed for a car. Might cut down on the number of car-motorcycle collisions if there were more awareness. Dunno.

Anyhow, stay safe out there!

Ok I have to admit this is one of the things I like most about the bike. Bit unsafe I know, but on a long straight boring ride I can make it delightful by pressing myself up against the 'tank' and 'thinking of England'.... ORGASMIC!

Just thought I'd put it out there- in case your missing the one of the joys of the Beemer

great first post!


but yes, the joys of a thumper

You are never "required" to have a scooter to get a motorcycle license anywhere in the EU that I'm aware of. I'm most familiar with UK licensing from friends but generally it is a graduated license. You take a Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) course similar to MSF course in the US but longer. If yuo have a car license you can then ride upt to a 125cc scooter or bike. If you do not then you need an A1 - light motorcycle license which is also limited to 125 cc with power output up to 11 kW. You must also pass both a theory and practial exam on a bike. If your test vehicle is between 120 and 125 cc and capable of more than 100 km/h you will be given a standard A motorcycle license but will be restricted to motorcycles of up to 25 kW for two years (roughly 250cc) before you will be able to ride anything larger. If you are over 21 you can go the direct access route and take the full week long motorcycle course. Then assuming you pass both the theory and practical portion you go directly to an unrestricted license. The UK, and I'm not sure about the other countries are sort of funny about vehicle licenses from a US persepctive. If you take your test riding or driving an automatic you are limited to riding/driving automatic motorcycles/cars.

The direct access course costs between $1,500 and $2,500 depending on country and currency conversion rates. Even the CBT can cost between $500 and $1,000 for the A license. Which is why most people go the graduated license route.

Thanks for the info! I couldn't remember what the program was for car and motorcycle licensing over there - just recall my husband saying something about the graduated licensing. I think newer riders might benefit from training on lower cc bikes that make less power for a bit instead of starting off on something they can't handle. Can't tell you how many guys I knew that had never been on a bike but swore they were going to get themselves a hayabusa as soon as they got their lic :huh. Oh well.

That. Is. Awesome.

I have a friend who works at a local Harley dealership. Normally she sells used bikes but a guy came in and bought a new big Harley, fully chromed out. set him back $40,000. He dropped it before leaving the dealership. Turns out that he had just completed his MSF course and never riddent anything except the little Honda Rebels they used in class. What an idiot.

Apparently this thinking isn't limited to a guy's own bike! The bike I ride now, a BMW 650, is my first bike and my boyfriend bought it for me because he wanted me to ride with him, which was very nice of him but I can tell you it isn't one I would have picked out for my first bike as it was a big difference from the 250s in the MSF course. Thankfully, it was used because, well, I dropped it the first day out. and the second. and the third...

He really thought I was going to come out of the course a great rider and he pretty much said that. I just shook my head at him. I almost quit all together after our first trip. It's been close to two years and I'm just starting to be a good rider.

Well not every guy thinks like that. Whem my sister in law took her MSF course my brother bought her a used Honda Rebel 250. Something low enough she could easily flat foot unlike his KLR or BMWs or Honda dirt bike. She however decided that the back of the BMW 1200ST. Last year he picked up a BMW 1200GS which has become his primary bike when she isn't with him. They are all too tall for me to get on though I supposed I could do like the gal I saw when I stopped for gas near the Rocky Mountain National Forest. She put her BMW up on the center stand, climbed on the used the button to retract the stand but it seems like a bike you can get on and off without have to have an automatic center stand is a smarter option.

No, I don't think they are either. I just think my boyfriend was excited that I wanted to ride and ride with him and this used bike came up for sale and he just wanted to get me something so it could happen. He now wants to get me a smaller bike. I tease him about it because I can!

Hi! I'm new to the site and a re-rider. I sold my SV650 after it sat in my basement for over four years unridden. The next day I bought an Aprilia Scarabeo 500 scooter as it seemed more appropriate for a liitle older lady. I'm really getting to like it but I always wanted a bike to take on dirt roads. I picked up a used TW200 this past weekend. This thing is a riot! I took it out on the road the other night and its rides so different than anything else I've ever ridden on. Handles like a Mack Truck compared to my Beo 500. I can't wait to find some gravel and dirt surfaces to try it on.