Suzuki Motorcycles for Women - the Best I Ever Had

Sunny summer days and warm summer nights, I dream of hopping on my motorcycle and taking a long ride along the coast or through the mountain passes. My first experience on a bike was at 16, as a passenger on the back of my high school boyfriend's bright orange 1982 Suzuki 650GS.

Not long after he took me on my first motorcycle ride, I wanted to learn how to be the driver. Over the course of that hot summer, I became quite a good motorcyclist. My mother never knew, of course, as that orange chunk of solid steel was a beast. It was heavy, had an impossible kick starter, it fought me back and it was pure muscle...at least as a young girl it sure felt that way.

Over the years, I was able to experience, both as driver and passenger, many different makes and models of bikes. Each one has its own feel and personality. My favorite has always been the Suzuki brands. At 22, my husband and I decided we wanted to purchase a couple of bikes, like a his and her adventure. We tested several and settled on a blue 1991 Suzuki Katana GSX600F and my baby, a red 1991 Suzuki Intruder VS750. Her name was Vixen.

Sure, the Katana was like a 19 year old boy, sexy, fast, sleek and youthful. But it was inexperienced in how to treat a lady. The pitch was too high so I always felt as a driver I was on tippie-toes and as a passenger, my rear end was flashing to the world "look at me!" But my Intruder was like a long-trusted companion: a sense of quiet, understated power and confidence. She had leather saddlebags, a back support, a rear rack and a great ferring windshield. It had enough torque to help get me out of sticky situations, but not so much that it shook my insides upon acceleration.

Nowadays, everybody wants a Harley Davidson, and I don't blame them. They make beautiful bikes. For women drivers, the Softail seems to be queen. Starting prices around $16+ make it a pricey investment. At under $10, the closest current models to the Intruder are under the Boulevard brand. The 50 series are 805cc's, and the 40 series is a modest 652cc's. The latter is easier to handle for a female's smaller frame and costs about $5,000. At 40-something, I'm missing the smooth purr of my Suzuki motorcycle. And I toy with the idea of getting another one when my kids leave home. They don't seem interested in higher education, so maybe that will be sooner than later. Perhaps I'll call my next one the College Fund.