The Best Motorcycles for Women (Ahem, Anyone)

Somewhere along the line, the industry decided women wanted smaller bikes, lighter frames, maybe a little pink on the tank. But when you actually ask women who ride what they’re looking for, the answers sound a lot more like: torque, reach, confidence, style. In other words, exactly what everyone else is after.

And sometimes what you’re after is more like the Harley-Davidson Road Glide—a full-size touring machine with more presence than subtlety. The first time I rode one, I dropped it.

I was inching backward into a tight parking space on uneven ground, perhaps a little too confidently, when the bars suddenly tipped left and the weight shifted. Once the bike began to lean too far into gravity, there was nothing I could do to stop it. There were a lot of people around, which was humiliating, but great for the possibility of assistance. A few guys ran over to help me lift it up right away.

When I said, “This is my first day riding this bike,” one of them laughed and said, “Well, I hope it’s also your last.” He didn’t offer advice—just a judgment. Too much bike, he seemed to think. Too heavy. Too ambitious. Maybe, in his mind, I needed something smaller. Maybe something pink.

Whatever he meant, he was wrong.

Thanks to the engine guards, the bike didn’t go all the way down—nor did my ambition. Over the next couple of weeks, I put over 1500 miles on that Harley. I got comfortable balancing the weight at slow speeds. I leaned into Box Canyon Road, was wide-eyed out on Yucca Valley’s dirt roads, and split LA traffic like I’d been doing it for years.

The lesson wasn’t that size doesn’t matter. It does. You should choose a bike that fits your body and skill level. But “fit” isn’t just about seat height or weight on a spec sheet. It’s also about where you are as a rider.

When I first rode that Road Glide, I’d already been riding for nearly two decades. I’d ridden everything from enduros to cruisers, I’d even spent some time riding a Harley Ultra Classic. I didn’t need a smaller bike. I needed to get to know this one.

Most of all, I needed a bike I wanted to ride—and that’s what this article is really about. Not what bike a woman should ride, but how to find the one that fits you: your experience, your proportions, your personality.

Motorcycles, as it turns out, don’t care what you look like. They don’t ask for pronouns or pant size. They care about balance. About technique. About whether you can hold your line in a turn and stay calm when a distracted driver veers into your lane. What matters is how you feel when you twist the throttle. If it makes you grin—it’s the right bike.

If you’re just starting out, you’ll likely hear, “Start small,” which is usually solid advice. The Honda Rebel 300 and 500 are low, light, and friendly. The KTM 390 Duke is playful, agile, and just spicy enough. If you’re into vintage charm, the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 delivers simplicity and character in a manageable package. The BMW G 310 R and Triumph Speed 400 are streetbikes with enough power to grow into. The BMW G 310 GS and Triumph Scrambler 400 X offer a little more suspension and rugged style—great for navigating some dirt. And all of them offer ABS—an essential safety net for riders learning how to brake with nuance. There are a lot of great beginner bike lists out there, including this one.

In fact, whatever you choose, get ABS. Antilock brakes aren’t training wheels—they’re a failsafe. Rain, gravel, a squirrel in your lane—ABS helps you stay upright. Fewer fatal crashes happen on bikes equipped with it, and I wouldn’t regularly ride without it.

That said, not everyone wants to learn on something small. One rider I met recently, barely over 5 feet tall, began her motorcycle journey on an Indian Chieftain Dark Horse—a cruiser weighing in at 827 pounds with a full tank. “I just fell in love with it,” she told me. “I figured I’d grow into it.” And she did. Because confidence doesn’t come from engine size. It comes from practice.

And once you learn how to tiptoe that big bike around at parking-lot speeds, you can ride just about anything. Once you’re rolling, big bikes aren’t harder—just different.

It’s tempting to look for formulas: engine size, seat height, weight. But motorcycles aren’t equations. They’re relationships. What feels top-heavy to one rider might feel rock-solid to another. What looks intimidating might turn out to be your soulmate.

Brittney Olsen of 20th Century Racing prefers antiques. She loves the ritual of starting them, the mechanical intimacy. Riding, for her, is about becoming one with the machine.

When Sylvia Grandstaff, the US Army’s first female experimental test pilot, isn’t racing her glider, she rides a Royal Enfield Himalayan or her Harley-Davidson.

Sanna Boman—national park explorer and host of The Scenic Ride Podcast—keeps a Harley shovelhead chopper, a Pan America, a Yamaha WR250F, and a Dyna in her tightly packed garage. On the road, she rents and reviews bikes regularly, always looking for what fits the moment.

That “next bike” after your beginner phase is where things get interesting. You’re no longer worried about stalling at every stoplight, and maybe you’re craving more power, more comfort, or just a new kind of ride. These midweight motorcycles—ranging from 600 to 1300cc—strike the balance between capable and approachable.

Easy power, low seats, timeless cool—with some long-distance legs.

Sporty but approachable, and endlessly rideable.

Related: Best Middleweight Naked Bikes 2024

Capable bikes that go the distance—on or off pavement.

Related: Best Off-Road Middleweight Adventure-Touring Motorcycles

Speed with sanity

Related: Best Middleweight Sportbikes for Street Riders

So if you’re looking for your first bike—or your next one—skip the gendered advice. Walk the floor. Sit on everything. Try the bars, the pegs, test the lean. Don’t be afraid to try a bagger, a sportbike, or a rowdy scrambler.

The right motorcycle isn’t in a blog post for women—it’s the one you can’t stop thinking about. The one that makes you look back at it in parking lots. The one that begs for a name.

And if your taste or riding needs evolves—if you go from Rebel to Road Glide, from Ninja to naked, from cafe racer to crossing the country—that’s not a detour. That’s how riders find their stride—by trying, switching, growing, exploring.

As for that first day with the Road Glide? I’m pretty sure the guy who said it should be my last didn’t actually ride. The two others who helped me? They stayed and talked bikes. One told me about the last time he dropped his, reminding me that the only way to get better is to keep showing up.

If you love motorcycles, you already know: You can ride anything you want. You might customize it. You might grow into it. You might need to take it slow. But ride it. Practice. Learn how it moves at parking-lot speed before you meet it at full throttle.

And park on flat, even ground. That part really helps.