The Word Is Out! Women Now Make Up 19 Percent Of All Motorcycle Owners

Last week, the internet was ripe with opinion articles and analyses of a report released by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) following a nationwide survey of 2,472 adults. In it were a few attention-grabbing and outwardly promising results. The biggest news of its 2018 Motorcycle/ATV Owner Survey was that 19 percent of all motorcycle owners in the United States are women. This is roughly one in five, a figure which produced a great deal of buzz among motorcyclists.

Initially, those results were a ray of hope for our purportedly dwindling rider populous. On the surface, the findings could seem like evidence of progress for women, the motorcycling community, and the industry as a whole. But now that the buzz from the announcement is fading and the confetti has been trampled onfallen to the ground, what do motorcyclists really think about the MIC’s conclusions? There are plenty of people who aren’t shocked at all by the numbers.

Eric’s confidence generated intrigue, so with further prodding, “Honestly, [he asked rhetorically] what are women riders’ needs? Clothing I believe is covered well. What about luggage, accessories, etc.? Tell us, the aftermarket, what you want,” he said. He ended with a solid point, “A thought: If women are riding more, this can mean more mothers are in the mix. So we could guess that families may be riding more too.”

Before I give my two cents on all the data circulating the worldwide web since the MIC’s announcement, let me summarize the findings of this current report. It stated:

Is there anything substantial we can learn from this study yet? Maybe. Although we can certainly speculate on what these totals could mean for the American motorcycle industry. Say the figures are true. Will this motivate manufacturers to continue increasing their lineup of products aimed at the fairer sex? Could more women be inspired not only to ride, but to become involved with the motorcycle industry through business, community outreach, advocacy groups, competition, events, and so on? A few like Savannah Rose, social media manager at S&S Cycle and rider for six years, just wants the stats to trigger action.

In good faith, I like to believe organizations like the MIC and the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) have motorcyclists' best interests in mind. We are the reason they exist, are we not? When budding committees like Give a Shift, rallied by SpokesPeople LLC Owner Robert Pandya, can round up some of the key figures in motorcycling for their inaugural summit, in apparently little to no time with a minuscule budget, imagine what the powerhouses in the industry can do. The 2014 broadcasted alliance between the Motorcycle Industry Council and PowerLily, a network for women in the powersports industry, was promising. It's safe to say, we are ready to see what they plan to do to help elevate the female demographic and encourage potential riders to twist the throttle.

Personally, I think it was refreshing to read women make up 19 percent of motorcycle owners in the US. Although a lot of questions come to mind considering the MIC polled only 2,472 adults nationwide. But if you do the math, this would mean 470 (I rounded up) ladies own motorcycles out of nearly 2,500 individuals who were surveyed. But what about the other umpteen thousand riders out there? Many who aren’t registered owners at all.

Disclaimer: I am not now, nor have I ever been, an expert in economics or statistics. But from this neophyte's point of view, the group seems too small to substantiate the results from the report. That is not to say they couldn't be true, but I'm skeptical when such a minute unit of motorcyclists are represented. In 2016, more than 842,000 motorcycles were registered in California alone. Even polling 10 percent of those owners would make the MIC's results hold more weight in the layperson's point of view.

In short, the MIC’s polling was conducted by way of an online survey of 2.5 million regular survey respondents to which 2,472 people answered. To offer some perspective, they received roughly 0.001 percent replies. That doesn’t look promising, but under the right circumstances, this would still produce results in the ballpark of accurate.

The conclusion is this: Female motorcycle ownership numbers are growing; but until we receive even more data and scrutinize the methods of the Motorcycle Industry Council’s survey and, for that matter, any other organizations offering statistics to the public, the story is not complete. To be fully cognizant of what’s going on in our community, it’s necessary we seek answers to more questions on the heels of good news.