Me in 2006, on my first bike, a 2003 Ninja 250, on our first Real Road Trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
Learn to wrench on your bike
Choose your own motorcycle
Make your own mistakes (with reasonable approach)
Gear Up
Get training
Educate your moto brain
Ride alone, somewhere you’ve never been
Cleaning supplies from the Muc Off Gods!
At the Women's Sportbike Rally West in July, we had a really great workshop with the owner of Motorcycle Service Centers, LLC in Camarillo, CA. (an excellent metric or harley shop in the Ventura County Area The topic was "How Not to Get Ripped Off by a Motorcycle Shop". It was one of the most informative workshops I've ever attended. Thanks Will!
His main message was "Care and Feeding of your Best Friend" :D How many of us think of our motorcycles as family members? LOL. I know I do. (we are childless so for us it's furry kids and moto kids). His very first tip (out of 5) was to Keep Your Bike Clean, and here's why:
Nothing tells a shop that you are knowledgeable and actually care about your bike like showing up with a bike that is clean. Clean wheels, clean bodywork, a windscreen you can see through, no covering of dirt and grime. Every shop respects a person that invests just that little bit of time you need to make that happen. Just an hour a week! - Will Kenefick, MC Service Centers, LLC
If you're new to riding and aren't quite sure about things, getting to know your ride up close is important. I am so lazy when it comes to cleaning Goldie and keeping her nice and shiny.
But I'm hoping with this awesome care package from MucOff, it'll help me keep Goldie looking like she's 2012 again.
I got a thorough list of goodies including:
Now I have ZERO excuses for not keeping everything looking pristine. See how disgusting my wheels look? See that awesome clean patch? Normally I use Simple Green to wipe down my wheels but I thought I would give their "Motorcycle Protectant" a try; its like the 409 of motorcycle cleaners. One spray, and then one wipe and it perfectly removed my brake dust. LOVE it.
I'll admit I haven't used the entire kit yet, but I can't wait until it's not 1,000 degrees anymore so I can sit in my garage without melting to give her a long overdue wash. I'm on my way to the Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge near Deals Gap, NC for the Women's Sportbike Rally so I hope the rain doesn't stick around too much so I can give Goldie a good top to bottom scrub.
But at home, I don't have a hose hookup so using some of these products is really helpful (meh, condos). With just the Protectant I can clean her up top to bottom in a pinch. If you do want to give your bike a full wash, they offer a Nano Tech Bike Wash (instead of say, dish soap).
Sprayyyyy, Washhhhhh, Rinseeeeee
One of my other favorites is the Foam Fresh.
I like to clean my helmet liners every month or so during peak sweaty, humid, hot riding seasons. The Foam Fresh is perfect for that. Did I mention how much I love Citrus Scents?
Normally you can hand wash your liners but I am #lazy so I'd rather take them out, then spray and wipe clean to air dry.
These are just a few of my favorites from their collection I'm excited to use.
Looking forward to testing everything out, check my Instagram feed for photos and updates in the coming months.
Shiny Side Up!
Me, feeling supremely confident on my '12 Street Triple R. But it wasn't always that way.
Learning to ride a motorcycle is certainly about confidence. The majority of mine came from learning to ride the right bikes and increasing my skillset dramatically from bike to bike.
But there was always a small chunk of it that came from me telling myself that I could and "eff it". If something happens, I'll deal with it or call for help or whatever. I'm not going to be afraid of it anymore.
But keep in mind, that absolutely has to be within reason like when I decided to take the Ninja 250 to work instead of my scooter. I just went the 40 minute route to work (avoiding busy thoroughfares like Van Ness Avenue and Steep ass hills like Gough Street). I had already been commuting on my scooter to work for a year. This wasn't a huge jump from what I had already been doing. It was totally realistic given my experience and what I had been doing previously.
Me in 2006 on my first "long" ride outside of San Francisco to Half Moon Bay, a whopping 50 minutes one way!
This article says what I've witnessed and experienced personally in my 15 years of riding and helping other women learn to ride and talking to them about riding. And certainly my work life too. Why aren't we as confident from the get go? What is it about many of us (not all, I know, but more than most I'm sure) that holds us back from succeeding other than some of the most common mistakes new riders make ?
When all of our ducks are in a row, we still feel like we don't deserve it or are that good. I still feel like I'm terrible at riding at times. I'm terrible at nailing my lines every time I go riding, I'm terrible at braking. I'm terrible at cornering. I mean, okay I'm not horrific in that I crash every time I ride, but when I do go out I'm constantly critiquing myself and trying to figure out what I could've done better to take that particular corner better/faster/smoother. Is that just a regular aspect of riding? I'm guessing many of my male readers are going to argue that "of course, I think that too".
But how many of you think that way in your everyday life as many women have experienced per this article?
I recently joined this cool interactive panel of my fellow women riders about how we got into riding and some of the barriers we ran into along the way. There are some really great tips and advice here that I think many of you can relate to:
https://www.cake.co/conversations/HKn99Mb/a-panel-of-women-who-motorcycle-what-it-s-like-in-a-sport-with-a-bad-boy-vibe
So if something is holding you back, what do you think that is?
Lynn and Her Husband :D
Last month, I attended the 13th Annual Women's Sportbike Rally. You can find our Event Photos from the West Rally here.
As some of you may know, I'm also the Marketing Manager for both events on the West Coast and East Coast. This year's West Coast Rally was in Camarillo, CA.
I met Lynn at check in on Friday night. We chatted about riding gear and how she is having trouble because her body has changed quite a bit and she's been wearing a men's jacket because it's all she could find in her local shops.
The bottom line is, many women will have to shop online because all the options will NEVER be available to you in a local store. Even in the RevZilla Philly Showroom, I'm unable to stock half the options available because I'm limited to the floor space that I'm given. But for women like Lynn who may need larger, curvier sizes it's even more challenging. Women's motorcycle jackets in larger sizes can be extremely challenging.
Lynn, on the Left in her men's Scorpion jacket :(
But I was so happy to show her a couple things that I thought would give her the best options given her riding style and budget.
Lynn's body type really needed a jacket that was generously fitted through the bust and especially the waist. A fit that you can't find in men's jackets because the hip spaces are nonexistent in most men's jackets. She was also of smaller stature, ~5'5" too which also makes things hard. So I suggested this new Olympia Eve Jacket (just introduced this Spring).
Olympia Eve, MSRP $179.99. Features a full, removable rain jacket liner that can be worn inside OR outside. Yep, you read that right.
I don't want to make Lynn's measurements public unless she gives me permission, but I can tell you that they are very very full. And she wouldn't fit a XL in most jackets. But in this one, she's an XL. And that's because of how generously cut this jacket is for women. I didn't have anything with me except a measuring tape so I measured her up and gave her my best recommendation.
At the price, you get not only a removable rain jacket that can be worn on the outside, but a fully ventilated, mesh jacket for the hottest riding days. The jacket also comes with really good soft CE Certified Armor (Level 2) in the shoulders, elbows and back. It's an incredible value for $179.99. And the best part is how well it fits.
I was so happy that I literally cried (felt a bit like an idiot standing there crying over a jacket).
But, in my defense, I didn’t think I’d ever have a women’s jacket until I lost all of the weight from my health issues.
It’s silly really, but I feel so much more confident, and so much less like a lop. - Lynn
I'm so happy for you Lynn!! You look amazing in your new jacket!
And thank you Olympia Motosports for providing curvy, generous options for American Women! You can find additional women's jackets and pants from Olympia via revzilla.com.
If you're like Lynn and you need help, I hope you'll post a comment here, or message me on social media (@gearchic everywhere). I'm dying to help.
