Weekend WTF: An Open Letter To Motorcycle Dealers

Dear Motorcycle Dealers of America: Please stop assuming all motorcycle riders are dudes.

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There are women who will walk through your doors who ride motorcycles and even purchase them. Get over your surprise when a woman knows what she’s talking about. Stop talking to her male companion as if he’s the one that knows everything about motorcycles. Maybe... give her a little credit before dismissing her entirely! Ask yourself: how would you talk to a clueless dude that walked through your doors?

When you schedule your bike nights, perhaps stop catering to only the male palette and think for just one moment about your potential female customers – would they be drawn in by a bikini bike wash, or by your scantily-clad female employees? Would a “bike night” at your dealership that does not involve short shorts and ample cleavage, but instead literally anything else that appeals to both genders, still draw the same numbers? Or… maybe it would draw even more?

Do you try to pander to women with “Ladies Night” at your dealer? I attended one of these out of sheer curiosity because it was advertised with language like “special accessories to make the lady rider more comfortable” when in reality it was simply a bunch of pink things and motorcycle accessories that could have been marketed at any rider with a height disadvantage.

Women are the fastest-growing new rider segment, and sometimes your dealer-sponsored events cater to men to the exclusion of your existing or potential female customers. If just one of your staff is female and has any input into your event planning, perhaps take her seriously when you’re hiring the entertainment.

When you’re involved in a regional motorcycle show, think for a moment how best to spend the money you’ve allocated – is a “booth babe” going to draw any new riders or women? Or would those dollars be better spend on an actual expert who can answer questions and share their enthusiasm for the machines?

What's your experience been, friends? Have you been ignored at dealers? Do the dudes you encounter assume you don't know anything about motorcycles? Have you tried to say something about the bikini bike wash and been rebuffed? Would you sooner attend a bike night without the babes?