Yes, I really have to give Harley-Davidson a big thumbs up on this commercial. I think they did a great job not only promoting their brand but also motorcycling in general.
A huge percentage of the airtime was taken up with the blonde model rider. I think this did two things, first was implied that riding motorcycles is very sexy and second, and perhaps more importantly, show that riding big motorcycles is not exclusively for guys.
I think this video said that if your lady who likes adventure, you don’t have to be a 250 pound tattooed bouncer to consider getting into motorcycling.
Now, I’ve been writing for a long time, and back in the 60s, I never recall seeing any ladies riding big bikes on the East Coast. Living in San Diego California now, it’s quite common to see ladies riding big bikes.
A couple years ago, I ran into a very good-looking gal that uses 750 Honda as her only means of transportation. But, what was really unusual, was the fact that this lady had been learning to work on her own bike. I’m sure that this was part out of economic necessity, as well as gaining a feeling of accomplishment and assurance that the job was done right. Here’s a direct link if you’d like to see this interview with one really good looking lady rider: Lady motorcycle rider
Augusta Van Buren and Adeline Van Buren, sisters, rode 5,500 miles in 60 days over hazardous roads to cross the continental United States, each on their own motorcycle, in 1916. In so doing they became the second and third women to drive motorcycles across the entire continent, following Effie Hotchkiss, who had completed a Brooklyn-to-San Francisco route the year before with her mother, Avis, as a sidecar passenger.
