Oh, Ladies?
 

So, I've spent a lot of the summer giving private motorcycle coaching to folks with fear issues; 'cept a disturbing pattern has emerged:
A. All of the folks who answered my ads were female.
B. All of the folks having issues had large displacement (750cc and up) FIRST bikes.
C. All were of petite (under 5'4") stature.
D. All had dropped said bike MULTIPLE times at starts and/or stops before contacting me.
E. All had sailed through the MSF course on 250cc bikes and had approached having their own bike with gleeful anticipation...until the dropping started.
F. All of the bikes were set up properly for said riders;i.e they had been lowered or were naturally lower so that the riders could flat-foot it; tippy-toeing was not the issue.
G. All had SEVERE issues with clutch/throttle coordination on their own bike, but had non during MSF (250cc) training.
H. All had severe difficulty holding/maneuvering there bikes in an "engine off" mode; i.e. backing the bike out of a parking space, shoving the bike around the garage, ect.

I am going to make some crass generalizations based on this limited (about 16 or so) sample, keeping in mind that I wasn't around for the initial time when the problems developed, so I have to go on what I've been told by the individuals which may or may not be factual but there are enough similarities to draw some conclusions.

Each of these ladies was motivated, and were accomplished (many in the nursing/medical/emt field...go figure) and were not bashful wallflowers...they WANTED to ride. Each was willing to do what was required to get there. I had MANY responses to the ads I ran, but only a few folks actually carried through to do the training/coaching.

All got into trouble (in my opinion) because they chose, large, heavy bikes as first bikes. It wasn't that the they couldn't handle them, it's that they went from small and easy to handle bikes in 8 hrs of training to large, heavy bikes without the opportunity to build muscle groups and train their bodies in using leverage and balance rather than strength. I suggested that while they may have wanted to skip the "stepping-stone" bikes, they may have made it harder for themselves getting the "goal" bike as a first bike

I'll go into more detail as I have time, but just want some feedback into how it went for you and do you wish you'd done things differently?

Well, I can honestly say I had none of these problems

That being said, riding has never come easily for me. Some people take to it instantly and it was never that way for me. I am an accomplished and competent rider. But I work at that and it wasn't an easy peasy road.

I chose a bike that was somewhat heavier (although not a pig by any means). It was a good deal and it worked out.

I was fine during MSF and took my time practising.

I'm 5'6" so I've never had a bike lowered and never will likely.

My one downfall is moving bikes around in an "engine off" situation. I basically suck at this and always have. A friend forced me to practice with my first bike but it's never gotten any easier.

I've recently made some gains in that department just out of necessity from being at the track and moving the bike around a lot. But I'll never find it "comfortable" the way other people seem to.

:shrug:

Do you know any women locally that are accomplished riders that could teach with you? Sometimes all it takes is for a woman to see another woman do that same thing to get over the nerves. Women can get it in our heads that we can't do something because we are too small or weak. Maybe seeing another woman push her bike around would help. I am 5'1" and have no problems backing my 400lb bike up while walking next to it (can't while on it) but was nervous as hell before I saw others do it.

Just my $0.02

Cue Racer X:

"Start small".

How's your female training?

Did your GF ever get out on the RT?

Everyone will say "I'm glad I did it the way I did it" even though they probably would have become a better rider if they had done it differently.

Actually, I got a little PW80 to make it even easier (no clutch).

Took her out once, and kept it to the pavement on my street (which is pretty deserted, and off the beaten path, thus is relatively safe). She managed to get it about a half mile down the road, and back without incident that first time.

Later, AMJ took her out a bit, to try and hit some trails (he rode the RT). She didn't fare so well, and managed to dump it twice. Once just coming in the driveway, where she decided to turn in the sand at the apron, rather than attack the transition at 90 degrees like anyone with a fucking clue.

AMJ pronounced her unfit for two wheels, and she's been grounded.

Sharp as a fucking bowling ball...

:shrug:

You arent being crass, they got bikes that are too large without the experience necessary to deal with them in terms of manuevering, riding, and being able to control it at a stopped or off position.

I did EXACTLY the same thing when I started riding. I was dying for a "cool" bike, and at the time, 250 ninjas were "ugly" and I was told I'd grow out of it too fast, I didnt know about buells and no one was around to help me out. I bought the 600RR, 1st gen tank, and within an hour of owning it dropped it on myself in the driveway and my street 3 times. It was too tall for my 5'2", too unwieldy for someone who had never ridden anything bigger than a bicycle and in all just wasn't a great idea. But I've been accused of being stubborn a few times.

I went to a dealer within the week and bought myself a cheap ugly 250, and learned to ride on it. Took the MSF on it, rode it on the streets for a few months until I was comfortable (or at least I thought so with my big girl panties) with the whole "riding" thing and then went back to my 600 which was still too big. I honestly wish I'd held onto the 250 longer to have improved my skills but I was ready for a big girl bike.

As far as being able to handle my "measly" 600 or the larger bikes I've had the pleasure to play with, it's been a matter of experience and time. I can get off my bike and others and back it up, tho I prefer to do so on the seat, as I feel overbalanced and uncomfortable otherwise, but I can do it, its just a matter of getting balanced right and leaning it more into me, versus keeping it straight up where it can tip either way.

For me, it came down to seat time and experience. Today, Im comfortable on pretty much any bike, but I should have started out smaller and spent more time on it.

I am 5’3” and started out with a Buell Blast. I never once dropped it. I have dropped every bike I have owed since even though they have all been lowered. Too much front brake and a slightly turned wheel always caused my first drops. Luckily now most of my drops are in the dirt but my poor GS is starting to hate me. :lol:

I don’t think starting out on a smaller bike is necessarily going to stop the drops when they transfer to a larger bike but I do think they would have a lot less anxiety about it.

I rode my baby ninja daily for over a year before moving up and I'm relatively tall. So, I didn't have too many issues.

Hokie is right though...all it takes is seeing another woman do it and they'll figure it out I think....maybe...most of them anyway.