By Samantha Bonsack

While industry statistics indicate that nearly 20 percent of American motorcyclists are women and that women spend 15 percent more on motorcycling than men, many women still find it difficult to locate riding gear made with their physiques in mind.

AMA members reached for this article say that if retailers paid more attention to women riders, the motorcycling industry, as a whole, would benefit.

“Women riders could be the thing that saves the motorcycle industry,” said Liza Miller, founder of the Re-Cycle Garage and an administrator for the Women Riders World Relay, which was created to draw attention to the need for better women’s gear. “Instead of manufacturers offering reluctant marketing support, many women feel they need to be considered in design and engineering departments to create more properly fitted gear for women.”

AMA member Joanne Donn, owner of GearChic, has been working in the field of motorcycle fitment, with a specific focus on women’s needs, for the past decade. She started her business after becoming frustrated while searching for gear.

“It’s not as simple as asking dealerships to stock more women’s products,” Donn said. “No one was educating us on basic concepts, like how to check the fit, why gear will fit the way it does, why a certain brand will fit differently than another.”

Product descriptions from manufacturers and reviews in motorcycle publications can be very technical, Donn said.

“But you never see a product description that addresses fitment,” she said. “Things like ‘generous bust space,’ and ‘plenty of room if you are over 40 inches in the chest and have a 50-inch waist.’ It was always a technical review, because that’s all reviews consisted of, specs of materials and crash testing. Women need more. They need to know how is going to fit different body types to know how it’s going to fit them.”

The predicament is made worse by the economics of brick-and-mortar outlets.

“As dealerships struggle to make profits, they cut cost in the apparel departments, which forces the market to shop online,” Donn said. “This means that women can no longer try on various sizes at the dealership to see what fits.”

Gear manufacturers, like the makers of other types of clothing, design apparel that looks great draped on slim, petite models. But studies suggest the average American woman wears size 14 to 16.

The result is an uncomfortable, ill-fitted garment with armor that falls awkwardly out of place on a woman’s body. And that can be dangerous.

“If armor moves out of place, the protective qualities could be entirely useless,” said Liz de Rome, senior research fellow in motorcycle safety at Deakin University in Australia and one of the world’s foremost experts on motorcycle gear.

Most riders are familiar with the Hurt Report, the MAIDS (Motorcycle Accidents In-Depth Study) report and the Federal Highway Administration’s Motorcycle Crash Causation Study. But there is less research on the effectiveness of gear.

Dangers involved

“Those new to protective gear tend to prioritize fashion over function, not understanding the different fitment of protective gear and then applying the same priorities they have when shopping for street wear.”

De Rome’s research shows that when motorcyclists crashed without appropriate riding gear, injuries occurred more than 90 percent of the time, whereas riders wearing high-abrasion-resistant jackets fitted with body armor had a 30 percent drop in upper torso injuries. Riders with armored pants experienced 28 percent fewer injuries.

Deakin University has created a complete motorcycle clothing-assessment laboratory, where exhaustive scientific testing is being performed as part of the Australian-based Motorcycle Clothing Assessment Program.

The MotoCAP program, run by a consortium of government agencies, private organizations and various motorcycle stakeholders, tests a sample of motorcycle gear for abrasion tolerance, impact protection and burst resistance to mimic real-world crash conditions. Results are posted on the website www.motocap.com.au.

“Women need clothing that is designed to fit their bodies, because they have very different shapes compared to men,” de Rome said. Simply shrinking the size of men’s gear will not result in a proper fit for a woman’s body and makes the garment less protective in a crash.

Studies found that body armor is essential over the shoulders, elbows, hip and knees for all riders. But ill-fitting apparel allows body armor to move out of place, exposing the rider to injury.

“It’s not just the women riders who are at risk, either,” de Rome warned. “Many more women ride as pillions, but often do not have their own protective gear, wearing discarded clothing from their male riders.

“This is not appropriate, as pillions are more likely to be thrown off the bike, leaving them more vulnerable to injuries in a crash scenario.”

A survey of participants in the Women Riders World Relay showed that 74 percent were not satisfied with the selection of gear available for women. Only 28 percent said it is important for their apparel to allow them to be identified as a woman while riding, indicating that the “shrink it and pink it” approach does not meet demands.

The good news

“There is good gear out there, but currently women have to hunt for it,” Donn said.

She said some brands are better at designing quality gear to fit certain body types. And she has fashioned a successful career matching women with protective apparel for their unique body shapes.

“More manufacturers have to step up and actively market to all women riders,” Donn said. “And women need to educate themselves about the options available besides colors and styles.”

Samantha Bonsack is a journalist from Moab, Utah.