GIRLS GONE WILD FOR HARLEY’S

Harley-Davidson is looking to extend their market share and they’ve settled on the female biker as a venue of positive growth. And they have good reason: American women are the fastest-growing part of the motorcycle business, buying more than 100,000 a year.

At a recent convention of dealers, marketing consultant Delia Passi told retailers that it is imperative that they should have neatly groomed hair, maintain eye contact, keep handshakes firm, but not too firm and clean the bathrooms and set up a play areas for children to attract women. “And don’t forget the little things that can help draw in passers-by, put a plant out there to say you are female-friendly,” she said.

H-D is selling more clothes in bright colors and with rhinestones, rather than the standard-issue black and orange leather jackets. Even the skull motif that appears on some clothing sold at Harley outlets has undergone a friendly makeover to include wings and flowers. Suzuki last year introduced a new line of clothes called Suzuki Girl with tight-fitting riding jackets in pink and baby blue.

Dealers hold frequent garage parties for women, to let them learn about bikes (not a bad idea for hatters to team up with companies to do this).

Women will spend about $300 million on Harley bikes this year in the United States, not including accessories, riding gear and clothes. “I think 12 percent is just the beginning,” said Jerry G. Wilke, Harley-Davidson’s VP for customer relationships and product planning. “The opportunities to cater to women are endless, and we will continue to do more.”

Harley-Davidson has a web site for women (harley-davidson.com/womenriders) and is advertising in women’s magazines with a black-and-white image of a rider using the chrome plating on a bike as a makeup mirror.

Genevieve Schmitt, who runs the Web site womenridersnow.com, said the growth in women bikers reflected that “more women are rising up corporate ladders, women are earning bigger paychecks, more women are remaining single - so they have a say in where their leisure dollars go.” Her site, started in February 2006, now draws 111,000 visitors a month.

According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, the number of women in the country operating motorcycles increased 34 percent to 4.3 million in 2003 from 3.2 million 1998.

There is something to be learned here – biker style hats could be the next big thing. Its white trash chic – just look at the Country Western singers, they now have universal appeal – that makes the bad girl look a good thing. Just a thought