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A study conducted by the Motorcycle Industry Council has found that the trend of more women getting motorcycles is continuing its strong and steady growth. The survey shows that 19 percent of motorcycle owners are women which means that demographic has almost doubled since a 2009 survey that showed only 10 percent of riders were women.
The survey also discovered that the younger the rider demographic, the more women you’ll find in it. Twenty-six percent of Millennial riders are women and 22 percent of Gen Xers who ride are female. As older riders age out of motorcycling, they’re being replaced by a greater percentage of women on the younger end of the spectrum.
The study also found that women spend more money than men in the aftermarket. The average female rider spends $574 per year on maintenance, parts, service, and accessories while the average man spends $497. The MIC attributes this difference to strong growth in the aftermarket segment for women with more female-specific gear becoming available that’s designed by women for women.
What the MIC press release doesn’t specify, however, is what kind of motorcycles women riders prefer in 2018. A similar 2014 study from the MIC showed that 34 percent of female motorcyclists rode cruisers, 33 percent rode scooters, and 10 percent rode sport bikes. We’d be interested to see what those numbers look like today.
Regardless of what they’re riding, it’s nice to see more women enjoying motorcycling. The more diversity there is in the clientele, the more diversity we’ll see in the products that manufacturers offer and that’s always a good thing.