Femmoto 2008

[Smokescreen]

MonsterGrrl (never logged on) will be Control riding for the event Saturday and Sunday.  I was doing the track day Friday, but we've a new engagement, so I'm out.  Just Brolly Boyin' for the wifey..

[Stella]

Ok, I'll ask:   "Brolly Boyin'" ?    Is it what I think it is?     

[SheMonster]

Umbrella boy

The proper uniform should not include anything more than a loincloth and an umbrella 

[Stella]

Correctly assumed the task but not the outfit!        Now I'm even more excited to get there!     [moto]

[TiNi]

Umbrella boy

The proper uniform should not include anything more than a loincloth and an umbrella 

 

you can't SaY that and not take pics 

[Smokescreen]

Julia prefers I wear my kilt for this.  which isn't much more than a loin-around really.  I'm sure there are pics floating around somewhere of me shuttling two of our girls around the track on my bike.  One on the front, one on the back!  It's a tough job mine...

Also, there's a banquet one night of the event, can't remember which, in the infield of the big track.  If any-o-you's is going, please try and meet up with us.  I know Julia would like to meet some more Duc riding girls.

[DesmoDiva]

Could we have a weekend report, please. 

[Stella]

It's Vegas baby.    You know the saying!

Kidding.   It was great!    A little confusion early on figuring out when people ride (confusion with riders and the mfg'ers.)
but after that it was all good.  My Ducati of choice (that fit) was the 696.   Amazing bike.   I have an '04 620 and I felt more
comfortable on the turns on the 696 than I did on a bike I ride a ton through the twisties in CO.   Wanted to ride the 848 but
I didn't feel comfortable enough on it to take it out to the track (too short and not enough experience/confidence).   

As far as the event itself:   There couldn't have been better people who put this together.  Huge  to Bonnie
and her crew for putting so much time and passion into it.   The coaches were great as well and after a session (20 min.
each), several would stop and give feedback which was so helpful.   

There were a total of 6 "sessions" or opportunities to ride/demo a bike.  Depending on the mfg'er and the bike, you
were either on a guided street ride or guided track ride. 

What was interesting is that only one of the manufacturers took the time to recommend a bike based on a rider's height
and experience.   Otherwise the process was to go pick your bike at the beginning of the day, then show up and ride at
your scheduled time/session. 

All the manufacturers and volunteers were great and helpful.   There was a 60+% chance of rain but it was sunny all
day.   

Lots of other thoughts/comments but I have a rental car to return and some work to catch up on and then Randimus
and I are either going to go to the Chapel of the Bells or to the aquarium.   Can't decide.... 

 

[Smokescreen]

Well I gotta say, I was a little bummed at this year's fem-moto...

Not to say there weren't awesome bits.  Was stoked to meet Randy and Stella.  You two are soo gutsy to do that moto-match buisness!
Bonnie is the rockinest lady alive!  She really beileves that girls want this thing and she works tirelessly to bring it.  I wish I could have been test riding all those bikes and not just brolly boyin'.   Although, I've never had soo many come-ons and kilt lifters in on place!  I wish there'd been a bar, I'm thinkin' I woulda got drinks for free!
And the manufacturers!!  Aprilia, Kawi, Yami, Ducky, Buell, Hardley, Star, Victory, Kymco, others??  all with their best rigs for you girls to ride.  Foir about the lowest anyone could dream of spending for a track day they bring their own bike to!  Ony here, you not only don't have to wear out your own tyres, or use your own gas!  Hell, one of my girls crashed a Honda, and all they asked her was if she was ok!  She was riding the next day!  Happened to Buell also, and likewise, they wrote off the bike and did their best to mollify the lady who'd crashed!  This was a dream come true!!!

There was something missing though......  You.

These things won't continue if there is no participation.  I was out there watching as all weekend, all the manufacturers had their bikes sit at idle, waiting for invisible legions of girls to ride them.  Here's a chance we all dream of having!  Girls, you are being catered to!  And you bail....  Bonnie can't keep this going without the girls she believes in.  I even felt like quite the fool with my five girls, and four control riders we made friends with (girls all)...  Julia and the other control riders didn't need to go out every session, because you weren't there to ride.  And by the way, control riders aren't getting a free ride.  We pay for our lodging and ride our own bikes.  Buy our own fuel, and give up a weekend to not ride all these cool machines (though with soo many lonely bikes, the control riders ended up being begged to ride the demos so somebody would be riding them)

How sad to walk by the Ducati tent and see 848s sitting dejectedly with no participants to ride them.

I guess what I'm saying is, for all the complaints I've heard from girls about not getting the opportunities or gear choices, here, at your chance to prove yourselves a force to be reckoned with, you flaked.  and it's not just the bike builders who are going to forget about trying to net you.  It gets worse....

The company that makes Dainese, Scorpion, JR gear was there to see if there's any market to bring more girl track suits and two piece suits and custom designed helmets to, and you know what they saw?  A bunch of girls catering to an empty demo day.  No market at all.

If I were Dainese, JR, Ducati, Suzuki, et al.....  I'd look or new markets elsewhere too.  They were all there to see if a new market existed to be tapped, and they were dissappointed.

I hope they don't bail next year.  I hope Bonnie can continue to support you and in turn throw her profits at breat cancer research.  I hope we have a reason next year to go out there and brolly boy, and control ride.  But after this last weekend, I have my doubts.  I too, suspect I may have overestimated women's interest in motorcycling.  and there's no reason to cater to a group of people who don't exist.

Please ladies, disprove me next year.  Don't reason that it's too pricey.  That's rediculous.  The price of admission, hotel, breakfast and dinner, subtract the price of tyres, fuel, service, etc... from a normal trackday, makes this about the cheapest motorcycle weekend in existance.  Use it or loose it.  and if you loose it, you will no longer be able to claim you are being ignored and under-represented, only that you ignored an opportunity the uglier sex didn't even get.

Yes, I'm a man-nag...  Yes, this is a call to action.  Please ladies, next year, prove Bonnie right, or soon the only women's apparel will be Harley branded stringback negleget(sp), and it'll all be because of you(s)...

Good Day, from one of your jilted supporters.
W

[DesmoDiva]

Well written.   

Next year I will have to convince the hubby that I can go without him.  He'll be finishing up his master's thesis. 

I know how difficult it is to promote these events.  Is there anyway to contact Bonnie to do some free promoting for next year in my region for her??

The DMF is the only way I knew about it.   

[somegirl]

I'd go if it were somewhere besides Vegas.

[jdubbs32584]

I'd gladly go if the market wasn't shit and I didn't work for a bank when all these other banks are going under.

Gimme money for all the expenses and I'll go. Not all of us could afford it this year with the economy the way it is; hell I can't afford a track day normally.

There's a lot of circumstances at play here other than people "flaking".

Sorry all of us disappointed you though. Maybe next year all of us will have the money to take advantage of such a great oppurtunity.

[Smokescreen]

please don't think for a moment that I warrant "dissapointment".  I'm a college student living off my VA payment who slept at the track because I can't afford to stay at a Vegas hotel.  I'm just a guy to boot, no right to ride at these things. 

That said, dissapointment or no, if female riders don't represent themselves when given the opportunity, concerned others will quit trying to offer the opportunity, and manufacturers will continue to place female riders in the "niche" status that warrants small mens suits for the track, and new ICON Street Walker boots for fashion and safety.  Dainese looks at this and says, "why should we make high spec track boots for women if they don't go to track days".  I'm not writing to offer my "dissapointment", and I ride for no one but myself.  That doesn't mean the warning hasn't been made.  There can be no diffusion of responsibility among riders.  We aren't Tahoe driving yellow line straddlers, we can't afford to ever claim we "didn't know"

[aprilmaybe]

I had an awesome time!

Over the 2 days I rode 13 bikes. I'll do a full write up later but here are my 2 short insights...

First, everyone needs to ride a scooter on the track. Three of us took out the Kymco scooters for the last session of the day. I was seriously laughing my ass off the whole time. It was sooooooo much fun. I managed to scrape both the kickstand and the exhaust.

Second, The Aprilia RS 125 was absolutely insane. It is pure 2-stroke racebike insanity with 33 raging horses. That was the most popular bike there, the 2 they brought were out for every session. Riding it was exactly like this...

Randy and Stella -- sorry I never caught up with you. I never though about how to find you guys until we were already on the road.

William -- it was good seeing you guys again and tell Julia thanks for the tow on the Yamaha!

[aprilmaybe]

Part one....

Here my reviews of the street demos....
Oh, and I lied, it totalled 14 bikes

Triumph Speed Triple – This has always been an iconic bike for me and high on the moto-lust list. It’s a fun bike to ride and it’s totally a hooligan machine. The power hit is immediate and that really took some getting used to. It seriously is one of the most brutish (in a good way) bikes I’ve ever been on and it would be a destroyer of licenses. The Triumph route was the shortest but they tried to pack as many curves as possible in. The women working the booth were super nice too.

Triumph Street Triple – This was my favorite of all the street demos and the first one I rode. A light, stripped down 100 horsepower naked bike is right up my alley. I didn’t want to give it up at the end, and it was pearl white! It’s significantly lighter than the Speed 3 which is part of why I preferred it. It sounds and feels amazing. The R version is a serious contender for a next bike.

Triumph Thruxton – Cool bike that is let down by its motor. First off, it feels like a sportbike with its clip-ons and high pegs buts its not and that was kind of a problem when you tried to turn it. The women at the booth made a point of saying that it didn’t turn quite the same way as their sportier bikes. That isn’t really a problem; it’s more of a shock since the ergos made it feel like a sportbike. It felt faster than it was and sounded great, complete with an Arrow system but it was all bark and no bite. It has less power than the SV and it’s a lot heavier.

Suzuki GSXR600 – We had to be cleared to ride this one. The people there said it was the first time they brought the Gixxers out on a demo and it was a big deal that corporate allowed them out. This is hands down my favorite 600 sportbike. It’s the most comfortable and easiest for me to ride; it really all comes down to personal comfort though. While it’s my favorite of the I4s I’ve come to the conclusion that I really prefer twins and naked standards. Suzuki had a pretty good route; it was fairly long with some traffic and a few curves thrown in. I couldn’t see any of the other 600s being as nice to ride in town.

Star Raider – Not that I’ve ridden a lot of them but this is my favorite cruiser to date. With 113 cubic inches and what felt like fistfuls of never-ending torque, accelerating onto the freeway was a blast. For a production bike, it’s got a pretty extreme rake and it just looks mean. The Yamaha staff set out a great ride at a nice pace; I had that bike up to 85 for a bit, it was pretty fun. I have learned that the right cruiser can be a nice ride in the right situation.

Victory Vegas Low – God this is a pretty bike, all shining chrome and pearl white. Other than the futuristic Vision land barge, I have no idea on Victory models so I just picked the prettiest one. I’d consider this a little more traditional than the Raider – long and low—but I preferred the Raider. The Victory just wasn’t quite as much fun for me. The Raider had more power and better brakes and just seemed to fit better. I did do my first cruiser U-turn and it was easier than I expected, definitely easier than on a sporty bike.

Buell Lightning – I took the 1200 out and I just need to give it up. I've ridden it before and I really want to like it. it sounds great on paper for me but dear lord its like riding a paint shaker. I don't remember it being quite that vibey. It didn’t help matters that their route was straight out and back – boring.

Kawasaki Ninja 250 – Weeeeee! This was a FUN bike. Before we went out, the Kawi people said keep the revs up. I hit 10,000 RPM pulling onto Las Vegas Blvd and it sounded like a furious sewing machine. Hit wide open throttle getting onto the freeway, I know I had more fun on this ride than my husband did on the ZX10. I can’t imagine a better starter bike for someone that wants to go the sport route and those that say you’ll outgrow fast are crazy and not wringing the bike out.

My husband and I did all the same brands for the street demos with some variations on the bikes.
He did the Daytona instead of the Thruxton and he really liked it.
The FZ1 instead of the Raider
The Buell 1125CR instead of the Lightning (he hated it, really bad under 4K)
Jackpot instead of the Vegas (his was all tarted up with funky exaust, grips and a big fat rear tire)
ZX10 instead of the 250