The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Do Women Really Want Pink Motorcycles?

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Pink Honda CB400A

Painting something pink and saying it’s for the ladies is an old cliche, but cliches usually have an element of truth, and this one, depending on the woman, may be true or terribly wrong. The builder of this bike took a fairly low mileage, Honda CB400A, dressed it in cafe racer body work and then gave it a nicely done white and pink metal flake, two tone paint job. He carried the glitter work over to the wheels, too, and added some decorative touches around the gauge cluster and elsewhere. Subtle, it’s not. The question is, does it work?

This bike, a Hondamatic, even does away with the need for shifting, another plus for the women, … or is that just another stereotype, like the color pink? I know we have a lot of women visiting The Kneeslider on a regular basis, so what do you say, ladies?

I’m thinking, with the right woman, this might really hit the mark, and with others, it may have the opposite effect. I’ve never been able to figure out women, so I have no opinion.

This Honda is for sale on eBay and the seller will paint your helmet to match. Opinions?

Link: auction over

Posted on Filed Under: Motorcycle Builders

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Comments

  1. Paul,
    Working at a large university I can vouch for at least a couple of pink Vespas on campus, one with matching helmet. So your thought that pink paint could fall on either side of a line is likely correct.

  2. Hahaha … just try and tell any of the women I know that they should ride a pink bike……… well maybe my daughter…. maybe she could get a tiara for her helmet too,,,,

  3. This topic comes up a lot with regard to new products in the bicycling industry where I’ve been employed for the past decade. At least in the bicycling world, yes, even some of the most hardcore female riders out there love a pink or purple bike with flowery graphics. Conversely, even some of the most casual female riders would rather die than ride a pink bicycle. In general, while “women’s specific design” elements (e.g. shorter brake lever reach) have become commonplace on more and more bicycles marketed toward women, companies have wised up to offering at least one fairly neutral color option, usually black or white. Bottom line, there’s all types of people with all sorts of tastes out there.. Hell, I have two male customers who ride hot-pink bicycles.

  4. I would totally buy that bike! The shade of pink matters though, you don’t want hot or bubblegum pink, that one a really nice shade. Any one remember Pinky Tuscadaro on happy days? I am pretty sure she drove a pink bike. Getting the helmut to match might be a little matchy matchy and I think I personally would prefer black as the contrast colour. But overall yes I believe this bike will find a buyer no problem

  5. I know a lady with a with a pink R6 and a pink KTM 🙂
    Rides them bother better than i can ride!

  6. Yeah its an obvious cliche, but for a reason–most motorcyclists are men, and with ATGATT it will sometimes not be obvious if a rider is male/female. Women are happy to be doing a male-oriented thing but some would like to be spotted immediately as a female, and the pink color is jarring, making it an easy distinction.
    I doubt many men will choose pink, even on some garish custom choppper. Homosexuals? Maybe, for much the same reason as women–they want to be noticed.
    I have seen some mighty attractive riders with jacket that fits (tiny waist) pants that fit (full bottom) and a braid–it gets my attention instantly. No pink paint necessary.

    • There is a simple visual indicator for the gender of a rider….which way their back is arched (think about it). Not so clear on a cruiser but dead give away on any other bike. No blue or pink required.

  9. I can’t comment on the pink question, but that’s one of the great things about bikes and scooters, if you don’t like the style you can pull everything off and replace or repaint it!

  10. Here’s what might be an interesting comparison: I do boxing traiing for fitness, and a lot of women come along to the classes because, lets face it, its the best workout around, plus you get to punch stuff. There are a lot of women specific boxing products around and my completely unscientific study is that about half the women use pink stuff (all the suppliers make a range of women specific boxing gear now) and the other half dont. Among motorcyclists its way way less than half. But I’m with Paul: I’ve never been able to figure out women either.

    What I really like about that bike/paintjob is the metalflake.

    • I think you are right Tim with you unscientific study. After responding earlier I headed of to the gym and while I would not consider myself an actual fan of pink, I realized I have a very pink pair of running shoes and a pink work out shirt to match. And my shoes get a lot of compliments from both men and women because they do really stand out. If I were boxing I would probably grab the pink stuff there too. (that does sound like like something I should try) My theory is that this has been for the most part a man’s world, and when its pink its our very own and allows us to celebrate being female, but still kicking ass.

  11. I ride a green and black Z750 (my other love) and am helping my partner with a 1953 BSA restoration, I have a really hard time finding gear that doesnt have butterflies, flowers or bleeding hearts on it. But then…everyone is different, isnt it great we can customise to fit 🙂

  12. Looking at the photos on eBay, its obvious whoever did it has a fine eye for detail. The photos were well done, too.

    Probably more than a few dads would love to give this to their daughter.

  13. I knew a woman who’s bike was pink with black accents, she was very up front that the color selection was partly tongue in cheek and partly to keep her husband from riding the bike.

  14. I just bought another little scooter from an overtly gay guy…so WHAT THE HELL…could be for dudes, too. Great work, but calling it a slap-fighter might be more appropriate.

  15. I remember seeing a pink R1200GS, but it was owned and ridden by a man. It also has some other, rather odd graphics on it.

  17. Its a custom bike… someone out there will love it exactly because it is pink and because it is automatic and that person might not even know what a cafe racer is, or maybe they might , who knows… It is impeccably done as well, kudos to the owner who put the effort into it. God bless the internet for allowing a market for these kinds of bikes to flourish. I find it very hard to believe that you will find Kawasaki, Ducati, or Yamaha rolling something like that out of the factory floor unless its a special order though…Regarding the subjects of color, personal taste and issues of gender, I can only speak for myself. Personally, I can;t even find a descent brown leather tool fork bag for my bike that will match the cafe grips that I like, so I have to make my own leather stuff… Anyway, thanks for posting another great bike, but this topic of discussion is is about as easy to figure out as the “separation of church and state”

  18. Well hows about this?
    http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQHCd0meqc1_DBURzdBEnmAlHZYRpcXFE0bUis43le4FeNNh113IQ
    A pink customised HD built for English transvestite potter and artist Grayson Perry.
    I am the last person on earth to admire a customised HD but this tribute to his boyhood teddy bear Alan Measles and built by Battasini’s down on the South Coast, is very impressive.
    As is his current exhibition at the British Museum where he takes ancient treasures from the Museum’s collection to put his own work into context.
    I was wowed by a sailing chart from the Marshall Islands that looks like a bunch of bamboo sticks bound together in a random fashion with cowie shells attached. But evidently it details the winds and currents in order to to navigate the islands.

  19. A couple of the links above point to examples of pink motorcycles and gear, things we’ve seen before, however, the difference between those and this bike is the intent. Those were done for either shock value or satire. This bike seems to be an honest attempt to finish a bike aimed specifically at women and the builder looks like he did a nice job of it.

    My question in this post was to ask whether you can build a serious bike for the female rider with all of the pretty pink paint and decorative touches and have it recognized for what it is, a nice bike for a woman. A good looking girl in a white or pink jacket might wear this Honda very well.

    • Paul, I think the question is posed slightly off-kilter due to a flaw in the presumption.

      The color pink does not have it’s gender biased basis in “women”. It is recognized as the color de-rigor for little girls, toddlers of the female gender.

      As many of both sexes do, there is a carry forward of childish endearments. Grown men flying very expensive versions of model airplanes for example. Dark colors to impart a feeling of menace or power for another.

      So the question is not really whether women at large would find the color pink an appealing visage of two wheeled transport, but whether there are women that still have that bit of child and Barbie fetish still embedded as part of their adulthood.

      Of course.

      And likely far many more that moved on to red.

      • You may be right, even my vision of the intended rider of this bike tends to be a fairly young woman, something akin to the pink Vespas on the college campus mentioned in the first comment above.

        As far as those men flying model planes, yes it could be a holdover from childhood, but it could also be a civilian version of military drone technology. Expensive toys either way, I guess.

    • I think there is a market and a need to build bikes specifically for women. What we want is not what men want for the most part. Many of us could care less about how powerful it is, be just want to be sure we can pass when necessary. We don’t want it breaking down all the time, and we don’t want to have to struggle to pick it up if it goes down. Smaller, lighter but with some style is key. Its the same with cars, many men here have said in bewilderment that women only see cars as a means to get somewhere. But I think the big reason for this, they have all been built to appeal to men. I think both motorcycles and cars would get alot more attention and would be a lot different if they were made specifically to appeal to women. I am not a car fantatic, but I know I have seen cars that really really get my attention like a 65 Firebird that was down the street from me I oogled everytime I passed. I had a Suburban I actually mourned when I had to sell it, and I still miss. I also see motorbikes that really turn my head, for example I love the British and classic look but the sportbikes and more sleek designs do nothing for me. So it’s not that there is less interest for many woman, but the vehicles themselves have to be interesting. I am curious if there are any female engineers who help design and build these things that could make a real difference

  20. How about a simple visual search at the next large bike gettogether any of us attend? Count the pink bikes – they will be easy to spot – and see if the rider is a he or a she. Based on personal observation during the past 40 years, I’d guess most riders will be female, as I can’t recall ever seeing a male rider on a pink bike.

    A quick google search did turn up a minority of pics with guys on pink bikes – and Elvis’ pink Caddy – but they were in the minority.

  21. @Paulinator,

    I work out with a woman at our MMA gym. She recently stepped into the a cage fight and flat knocked her opponent out. I would be careful using the term ‘slap-fighter’ … :^D.

    ACE

    • I was thinking in context of the dude that I bought the scooter from. At 46, I’m six foot and 210 with about the same waist I had in high school, yet I know several women that could take me down. I’m all about self-determination and equality.

      Oh ya, I can’t imagine any of the ladies that I’m talking about riding this pink bike.

  23. An interesting take, perhaps;

    I make virtual things for virtual worlds, mostly bikes.

    The most requested color I get from men is black. The most requested color I get from girls (who may or may not be men wearing dresses…) is pink.

    Don’t these fools know red is the fastest color?

  24. Okay, I get the whole lighter and less bulky idea, but wait…there’s a ton of bikes from the Honda Rebel and Yamaha Boulevard to the Enfield etc., etc.. And frankly, any under 750 bike out there in current production is designed with the smaller (guy) rider, or else the Asian engineers really are perverse as well as inscrutable.

    And guys buy bikes not only on power and speed, but on heritage, capability and at least in my case, as much uniqueness as the pocket book can afford.

    So I gotta ask, IYHO, what would make a motorcycle more interesting to the female rider?

  25. This is great discussion, but I think the element that is missing is the Marketing Department. Contrary to what we might think marketing departments are very conservative and risk averse. They do a lot of work to determine what their market demographic might be for their product and go through extensive evaluations to make sure it’s a big enough demographic to support their sales projections. With women making up such a small demographic of the motorcycle crowd without even going into the details of bike size, type, etc. there’s not going to be enough data to make their sales projection calculations. So they’re not going to take the risk.
    What makes this more complicated is the huge inventories that get made even before the sales get going. So they have to decide how many black bikes, red bikes, blue bikes, and Great looking PINK bikes need to be made before they even sell anything. Again, it’s all about risk. If they run out of red bikes, they can be fairly confident that someone might buy a black or blue one instead. But a PINK one? There would be a fear that they would end up with a hefty inventory of pink bikes that would have to be heftily discounted to get people to buy them. And the real end result is that some marketing manager is going to lose their annual bonus.
    One notable exception to this rule was Sir Alex Issingonis, designer of the original Austin/Morris Mini. He went against conventional wisdom and his marketing department when he designed and launched the Mini which became an iconic success. But he was a supremely self-confident individual who was prepared to take the risk. Is there a marketer out there today ready to take that risk?

  26. Carolynne–

    PInky Tuscadero did ride a pink bike (probably a Triumph) and also drove a pink car in the demolition derby. And I think you are correct in thinking the manufacturers should look into building more women-specific features into motorcycles, but the biggest challenge is to get more women interested in riding so they will buy those smaller, lighter, and, yes, pink bikes. (I met a woman riding a pink Yamaha Star; she had 10,000 miles on it after two years’ riding).

    In the late 1950s Lionel Corp. produced a train set with the locomotive and tender painted pink, and the various rail cars were painted in pastels; the idea being to interest girls in model railroading. That idea failed spectacularly, and those old pink train sets today are hugely valuable while my plain black version of the same train has mostly sentimental value. (It still runs like new after 54 years; those trains were made to last.)

    But motorcycles always have been the near-exclusive territory of the testosterone crowd. Our brains really are wired differently, and men, our brains full of sprockets, gears and explosions, love messing with mechanical things. Women, their brains more attuned to preserving the race via child-rearing and keeping men from killing everything in sight, tend to lean toward practicality and utility. In short, women traditionally haven’t have time for extraneous pursuits like mastodon hunting and motorcycle riding. My wife loved her plain brown 1980 VW Diesel Dasher wagon because it was super practical; she could haul everything necessary to help her elderly mother, it had sufficient power to do whatever she needed, and it never delivered less than 40 mpg. She could stack stuff on the top and hood without worrying about scratching the faded old paint, and her mother could easily get in and out of the low passenger seat. Practicality was the watchword, and as long as I filled the tank and kept it running, she wasn’t concerned about appearances. My sisters have the same attitude about their vehicles; they aren’t concerned with make and model as long as it does the job.

    There’s also the woman’s instinctive need to remain healthy so she can protect her children and care for her family. For this reason, more women tend to be risk-averse and shun activities that could harm them. There are certainly exceptions to this concept, and plenty of women who like rock-climbing and bungee jumping, but mostly it’s men jumping off bridges with rubber bands tied to their ankles. One reason my wife didn’t want to ride on the back of my BSA was that her mother depended on her, and she couldn’t risk getting injured in a crash.

    I had a friend who was totally into target shooting; he tried to interest his wife in the hobby but she didn’t care about calibers, reloading, double- vs. single-action, muzzle velocity and all those things that shooters love to pursue for hours on end. She only wanted to know how to use her pistol and that it would work if she needed it. She thought all the rest was rather silly. That’s the difference.

    There’s also the Freudian aspect of riding big phallic symbols. Face it, guys, we like having a big, powerful ol’ machine between our legs.

    That all being said, I wonder if motorcycles ever will find widespread favor among women. Sure, a small percentage of women like to ride, but almost all men like the idea of motorcycles. I don’t know if the manufacturers ever will find ways to overcome the instinctive forces that demand a woman avoid risk and find practical uses for her time. I’d love to see more women riding; motorcycles are a wonderful means of transportation and lots of fun any time, but they were originally invented by men for men, and I’m not sure if a coat of pink paint will be enough.

    • B-50 Jim I did an unofficial poll at the gym last night and it appears you may know women better than I do. Comments we in the order of “I would love to…if I didnt have kids” and “I would like to stay alive”

  27. I am no expert by any stretch of the imagionation, but many of the girls I know on bikes are on the Yamaha Viragio, so there must be something about that bike that appeals to women. I really dont believe the whole sport bike thing is appealing to the majority of women at all, though I could be completely off base there. In general it seems all the bikes I have looked at, with the excepts of special ones at the motorcycle show are pretty much the same. I dont think the difference would lie in the motors so much as in the styling. Thats something that has to be researched, I only know what I like and I can tell if I like it pretty quickly. I am sure in the designs out there today they were geared to be attractive to a certain portion of the population and refined through intensive focus group testing.

    • Your experience may be regional. The women I know here in New Mexico who ride either have hot sportbikes or the biggest Harleys they can handle – often black with flame paintjobs. I’m talking Ducatis, FireBlades and Road Kings here. None are pink that I have seen. The Harley-riding lady friends look down their noses at at Sportsters as much as the “1%ers”.

      • I have been asking around since this was posted to the girls I know. And its seems my experience might be smaller than regional and more like just my group of friends. Its seems I am getting as many different perspectives as there are women

  28. People use motorcycles for the damnedest reasons. Usually to make some statement about themselves. For some woman the use of the color pink “feminizes” their bike thereby ensuring the general public sees them as a woman who is breaking the “gender stereotype”. Sort of an empowerment statement. Perhaps a bit of “I am woman, hear me roar”. Now again, I said SOME woman, certainly not all. This use of a proxy is very common in the Cruiser/custom category with men as well.

    Fretka

  30. My mom started riding motorcycles almost 40 years ago. Of the 3 bikes she has had, not one has been pink. I don’t think she’d ever have a pink bike.

    Pink is just a cheap way for marketing to try to princess up a product in the hopes of selling it to women. Not everyone who buys a pink anything (computer, motorcycle, phone, etc) is girly or wants to be a princess, but a lot of marketing people see it as a low cost way to expand the market.

  33. If i br0ought that home, my wife would tell me to have fun riding it, and take my bike.

    then again, she already has a 400A, so why need a new one?

  34. My wife rides a black Monster and wears black leather and a white helmet. She is petite and I like riding behind her for obvious reasons. She wouldn’t be caught DEAD on a pink motorcycle…On the other hand, one of the better riders I know has a nice shiny Hello Kitty on his (!) Ducati 848. Both my wife and my friend Luis have one thing in common…They are both confident riders and don’t really care what anyone thinks they look like while riding. I have a very nice 400A in my stable that I use to help new riders get a start. I bought it for $500. Nowhere do I see over $3000 in extras value on that pink elephant -er bike.

  35. I am sure there are a lot of girls out there that like pink, but I also think there are just as many that have an aversion to it.

    As a female rider I would have to say if I had a choice of no bike at all or riding the pink bike it would take about all I had to climb on a pink bike. If there was any other choice of a bike to ride than pink, I ride anything else.

    I don’t mind girly, I have butterflies on my Scorpion helmet, but pink I avoid like the plague.

  36. To your question, “do women really want pink motorcycles?”, I say, “We want to be able to choose, that is, we want to be able to choose whether we ride them (if at all). Whe we do want to ride them, we want to be able to choose what shade of pink the bike should be.” Lovely topic, great discussion.

  37. “Do women want pink motorcycles?”

    Yes! And… No. And don’t forget… maybe?
    I don’t think there is a right answer.

    Pink is my favorite color but I’ve yet to own a pink motorcycle or any pink gear. Am i opposed to it? No. Do I seek it out? No. I tend to choose the bike or the gear first, the color second. For the majority of my riding life – pink wasn’t really an option in the gear department. I’m glad it’s there now for the people who want it.

    “even does away with the need for shifting, another plus for the women, … or is that just another stereotype…”

    Uh… yeah. :LOL:

  38. First let me start of by saying not all women want to be “noticed” or are “attention whores” I love the sport, it is my life, my passion but I also love to customize and work on my bikes, trucks, etc. and my bike and vehicles definitely say that about me. Now with that said I have a HOK hot pink pearl 03 Suzuki Gsxr 600 with many many extras. I painted my bike this color because I love pink and bottom line it looks bad ass it has nothing to do with standing out or trying to get attention. I’m the type of person that likes to be different and just because I have a pink custom bike doesn’t mean I’m not a confident rider believe me I know how to ride and have been riding for 8 years and honestly people that know me and have ridden with me will tell you I’m a better rider than most people.

  39. As a female, I think pink bikes are AWESOME!!

    Think about it.. It’s weird to see someone with a painted (or bought) green car. Even yellow is sometimes tacky. Green and yellow bikes look great.

    I’m not going to deck my bike out with sparkles and glitter (like the picture above), and I’d prefer a black bike with pink decals, but pink is awesome, and a bike looks great in any color.. Especially since you can then buy matching gear!

  40. LOVE the pink bike. I actually changed out all the red plastic on my Honda 230 dirt bike and turned it into a pink bike. As a plus, it keeps the guys off my bike. I just got a BMW F700GS (street bike) this week and would have LOVED to have had the option to get it into pink. Why manufacturers make chick bikes in dude colors continues to amaze me. Pink doesn’t appeal to all women but there is definitely a market.

  41. The answer in short is “YES”. I have a Harley Heritage that will be bubble gum pink metal flake just as soon as I can get the money together. The Diamond Ice accents are already in place, crystals and all! The think I like the most about it is that it is DIFFERENT.