The Male Thought Process.........I don't get it.

[owldaddy]

While riding a rally, put on by the local dealer, I found many women riding BMW's. I didn't hear, see, nor feel anything negative about their presence. I think most of us were just glad to have more folks to ride with. Maybe there is something to the idea that BMW riders are more sophisticated. I believe we spend more time in the saddle riding. I am always pointing out the Beemers on the road when driving with my grand daughter, We make up a much larger percent of riders on the road, riding our bikes, then the sales numbers would suggest. BMW's make up a small percent of bikes sold in the USA, but they are everywhere, and make up a much larger percent of bikes actually seen being ridden.
Don

[yjleesvrr]

BMW's make up a small percent of bikes sold in the USA, but they are everywhere, and make up a much larger percent of bikes actually seen being ridden.
Don

Especially during the winter...

[GypsyRR]

Hijacking my own thread, but where else can I put this? This just looks cool and so I had to share.

I cleaned up the bike to get all the grasshoppers, butterflies, and moths off of it and then took a picture of it clean. Then in processing it I turned everything but the seat to black and white. Cool?


Back on topic now.

[sjbmw]

Cool!

Where did you the roundel on your cylinder head?

[iowabeakster]

Then there is this look of shock on his face and he says, "DA^^N! It's a girl. $h^t, it's a girl. Oh, don't tell me it's a girl! That ruins everything. A girl riding a motorcycle? A girl riding a BMW?"

I can't believe nobody else has suggested this. Maybe he wanted to flirt, and was thrown off his game by your being a woman.

I don't know. I have a girlfriend who rides her "starter" bike right now. I think it's nothing but wonderful to have the "fairer" sex into the same hobbies that I enjoy.

[darcym]

Loudmouths are usually loud and stupid is just stupid, male or female, makes no difference. Doesn't matter where they're from, either.

Then there is this look of shock on his face and he says, "DA^^N! It's a girl. $h^t, it's a girl. Oh, don't tell me it's a girl! That ruins everything. A girl riding a motorcycle? A girl riding a BMW?"

Personally, I would have been offended. Or I would have laughed. I think as someone suggested he was going to try to bond to this macho cool guy riding a bad-ass BMW, and you threw him all off his game when he found out you were a girl. All the gear and helmets and such really do much to conceal our sex, and this can be a problem for long-haired guys, too.

Sidebar: There's a great novel called "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K LeGuin. It's all about sex. It's about how the way we relate to one another is primarily predicated by the determination of whether someone is male or female. What's the first thing we ask about a new baby?

Anyway, back on topic. As a female rider I find it is always interesting to look at people's reactions to the fact that I'm riding a motorcycle. I get surprise more often than not even though there are a ton of female riders now (many more than when I first started). And after the initial surprise there's usually some perhaps undue respect, admiration or envy. But the bike and being a woman out on my own really helps to break down some barriers. I mean, how many people actually talk to each other while fueling up at a gas station? The motorcycle by it's singular uniqueness piques curiousity enough to invite interaction. I actually enjoyed on my trip the chance to stop and talk with strangers at the odd stop on my recent trip. If nothing else, maybe I'll inspire someone to take up motorcycling, that it's not as scary or out-there crazy as they might have thought. After all, if a girl can do it ...

A big surprise for me I found on my most recent tour was that the bike itself generated a lot of respect for me from fellow riders, no matter what they were riding. Including Harley folks, and I was wary of some dersion in that regard (so I find myself guilty of stereotyping as well). I never got that when I rode the Yamaha ....

Anyway, I find it odd to deal with that the BMW reputation is something which puts me in a kind of elitist strata. The bike deserves it's reputation and more, I don't know if I deserve it by association. It may be a beemer, but I'm still broke!

[sjbmw]

The latest BMW Owner's News just arrived.

Lotsa ladies articles.