Motorcycles for Women Only , livre ebook

M otorcycles for W omen O nly
Jude Brady Smallwood
Austin Macauley Publishers
2021-01-29
Motorcycles for Women Only About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgment Why Retro? What Gives? Who Cares? Introduction Preface Chapter Outlines Chapter 1: In the Beginning Chapter 2: Purchasing a Motorcycle Chapter 3: Handling Techniques Chapter 4: Attitudes Chapter 5: Motorcycle Maintenance and Upkeep: Part I – Helping Yourself Part II - Help! Chapter 6: Accident Prevention Chapter 7: How to Pick Your Friends Chapter 8: Clothing Chapter 9: Other Women Chapter 10: Recipes and Dirty Pictures Chapter 11: Recommended Reading Chapter 12: Glossary
About the Author

Jude Brady Smallwood rode her first motorcycle, a 250cc Zundapp, into a field. She had no clue where the brakes were and jumped off. Later she rode a 650 BSA Hornet, 750cc Honda, 900cc Harley Sportster, etc. Often wits and undying fortitude were her only currency to get help with repairs from reluctant dealers and macho mechanics. She learned to navigate through complex specs and manuals and decided to share her experiences with other women bikers. What started out as a  how-to book exploded into a story of challenge, remarkable women champions, and amusing tales. So, hang on for the ride. It’s a doozy!
Dedication
This is dedicated to all the women who believed in themselves, saw beyond so many obstacles, and plowed forward against all odds to succeed.
Copyright Information ©
Jude Brady Smallwood (2021)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Ordering Information
Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Smallwood, Jude Brady
Motorcycles for Women Only
ISBN 9781645751182 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781645751175 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781645751199 (ePub e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020901843
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2021)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302
New York, NY 10005
USA
mail-usa@austinmacauley.com
+1 (646) 5125767
Acknowledgment
I admire and truly thank the women motorcyclists who preceded me, many of whom had set records and were key to the continuous growth of the industry. However, as the motorcycle industry gradually and deliberately mutated to a man’s world, women were left in the historic dust, where their achievements and contributions slowly vanished. Writing this book is not for them but because of them.
I am so grateful to my friend, Michael Post, because without him this book might never have been completed. When I was at my lowest point, halfway through handwriting this book, I was buried under the weight of typist and interviewing expenses while juggling three jobs. He took it upon himself to walk in one day with a typewriter and a signed thesaurus with his message of genuine support and encouragement written on the frontpage. He singlehandedly pulled me out of the gloomy cave I was inhabiting and energized my confidence and ambition enough to finish the book.
Kim Evans Fonda was my best biking buddy, a woman of many talents with a great sense of humor. Because of her I was drawn to remount the Iron Horse after years of grieving over the loss of my beloved Harley-Davidson Sportster. I wanted to pass on my experiences to help her and other lady bikers become independent, grow, and fashion their own motorcycle adventures.
Cliff Smallwood, my husband and best friend, who supported me no matter what and refused to let me give up. He never lost patience with my endless queries and was always available to help.
Ann Graves who proofread the book with an open mind and gave me precious insight and enthusiastic support for someone who knew absolutely nothing about motorcycles.
Woman to Woman
Through and through
Some of my lessons
I write just for you.
Then there’s another
I’d like to cover
She’s my mother
And I do love her.
Why Retro? What Gives? Who Cares?
When I was young, I wrote a book, Motorcycles for Women Only! As a woman, a writer, and motorcyclist, I documented my journey getting to know my beloved iron horse and share adventures, wisdom, mechanics, helpful lessons, and stories about other women cyclists and women record-breakers I met along the way. MFWO was intended to help the novice lady motorcycle rider as well as offer enjoyable reading to all motorcyclists. S omething for everyone!
During those novice years, I worked fulltime and was always doing extra side jobs to earn additional money for college and writing expenses. I ran all kinds of little side-businesses under the banner, Woman in Motion . I rode my motorcycle everywhere, conducting a small messenger service (me), a cleaning service (me), bartending, delivery, collections, and waiting tables. What an unexpected sight I was when I showed up at a job on a motorcycle, all 110 pounds of me, wearing work clothes, a uniform, or a dress, depending…
During those lean years, I struggled and lived on Twinkies and Kool-Aid for a long time before finally procuring a good NYC literary agent, Mr. Charles Byrne. By then, however, many of my ideas and investigations about women cyclists was already stolen or used by the male-dominated motorcycle publishing community. I was slapped down and the book was shelved.

A lifetime later, I reread it for kicks and fell in love with it all over again. Even though I wrote it especially for women, anyone who likes to smile will enjoy Motorcycles for Women Only! So, I made my own eBook to share with everyone, biker or not, and renamed it: Motorcycles for Women Only! The Retro Version.

In this Retro Version, you will receive actual data regarding motorcycle models, magazines, clubs, costs/prices, photographs, events, and other time-sensitive issues that cannot possibly apply today. I kept the original format and material (some outdated) of the book as I wrote back in the early 1970s. MFWO went from a very informative and useful how-to book to a jolly-olly retro look as a sort of diary of my good ole cycling dayz!
So, be warned! If you walk up to a motorcycle parts counter and request ct90 trail 90 H881-7 ignition coil for a 1966 Honda, do NOT be surprised if the guy behind the counter falls over laughing as you crawl back into the twentieth-century time warp you came out of. Above all, YOU GO GIRL!

USB Logo
Introduction
Usually, motorcycle books are written by men who experienced motorcycles and wished to transcribe some their technical information about the subject. I’m neither a professional mechanic nor a test rider for a motorcycle manufacturer. I am a woman!
I first had the compulsion to write this book when I wanted to log some useful tips accumulated over the years for my girlfriends who were just learning how to ride. I spent more riding time with my friend, Kimberly ( aka Kim, Krim, Burley ) than any other single rider. We shared my experiences to help her improve her riding attitudes and style and this motivated me to write a book. The limited advice I related to her probably made her riding career less of a hassle because it was woman to woman. This relationship with another female biker was new to me because I assumed that wherever there was a female rider, there was a man to teach her as well, but that was before. Hopefully, I am passing on to you, ladies, the hints, philosophies, and personal experiences I had as a woman on the iron horse. The ideas I discuss will give you a nice feeling of those coffee-clutching stories accompanied by technical and informative data about motorcycling to help open up some avenues for you.
What originally started out as a hot magazine article blossomed into a book loaded with technical, exploratory, explanatory, and intimate news about the machine you already have or hope to have in the near future. I intended to help any new owner make a smooth, happy landing into the motorcycle world, to encourage anyone interested in motorcycles, and to give lots of useful hints. Although, I discuss how to purchase and operate one, I also discuss the mechanical distinctions of trial and competition bikes. However, I paid more attention to “street” and touring machines where I am more experienced and qualified. As an added bonus, this book is laced with the experience and knowledge of other valid women motorcyclists which will hopefully broaden your scope as a woman cyclist.
I have experienced years of motorcycling. I’ve owned, operated, and repaired my motorcycles, ranging from a 250cc Zundapp La Sabre to a 900cc Harley-Davidson Sportster. Due to certain circumstances like poverty, I was compelled to do a lot of my own maintenance on my machines. For many years, I’ve encountered numerous bikes and had to learn how to use tools and make serious repairs for myself and others. I spent many hours and miles on the iron horse, so it was necessary for me to learn how to troubleshoot her on the road. Anyway, the motorcycle was my sole transportation for years, and I had to use the scooter for many daily chores. So, I had no choice but to learn her ways.
For instance, I had to do laundry (six loads), grocery shop, go to college, carry books, guitar, and sports equipment. I’ve used the machine for emergency trips to the vet with my cat, picked up my big dog at the dog pound, lugged furniture when I had