'Women can, too': Malaysian female heavyweight bike riders defy stereotypes
10 May, 2021
Emily Lim Phaik Siew looks forward to every chance she gets to throw a leg over her Kawasaki Vulcan S 650 - a heavyweight bike she acquired last December - and ignite the engine.
“Travelling on a motorcycle permits you to get nearer to nature, particularly when you’re riding on mountain roads. You can directly feel the wind direction and the chilly weather, smell the scents and pay attention to the birds chirping.
“I really appreciate it,” said the 40-year-old agent and mother of four sons with enthusiasm.
Lim is part of a close-knit, all-female rider group in the Klang Valley, who defy the gender stereotype that women cannot handle heavyweight bikes.
The group started off with four of them wheeling through the foothills of the Titiwangsa Range towards Bentong, Pahang, in September 2019. They enjoyed each other’s company so much that they started planning more rides and little by little welcomed more like-minded female riders into their fold.
So rare may be the sight of an all-girl crew that they sometimes get swamped with admirers.
“They were curious because they have never seen a lady rider group. These were probably in awe and thought we were bold as we had attempted something they thought was dangerous,” Cecilia Su Yee Wei, 38, said of a recently available experience during a ride to Tanjung Sepat, a coastal town in Selangor.
The little crown on her behalf helmet added a playful touch to her outfit, paring down the strong femininity exuded from the patterns of roses and thorns on her behalf Harley-Davidson Sportster 48. “I am a woman, so I hope my bike can look like a girl’s bike, but not overly feminine,” she said.
With varying years of experience in riding and different heavyweight bike models, the ladies have regular gatherings where they convoy and put on the mileage.
They look out for each other on the highway, practical the handlebars and watchful eyes on the environment. At pit-stops, they are the cheery and chatty group that sticks out.
It is just like an ordinary girls’ get-together, except they are decked out in protective safety gear and their prized accessories are their bikes.
GIRLS’ OUTINGS
In Hollywood movies, lady riders are occasionally seen sporting long and lush hair because they remove their helmets. However, biking in tropical Malaysia is an entirely different proposition.
Riders will be sweaty while their hair will be oily, Jean Loke Chiew Jing, 38, shared, laughing.
“This is why a heavyweight bike isn't for everyday commute,” the business enterprise development manager said, adding that the area it takes up can be inconvenient.
Jean Loke Chiew Jing, pictured within Gohtong Jaya, Genting Highlands, participated in her first convoy after obtaining the B licence for bikes over 250cc. (Photo thanks to Jean Loke Chiew Jing)
So whenever time permits on the weekends, the ladies will point their front tires towards an out-of-town destination and tripped.
Such occasions are both about riding their bikes and enjoying the camaraderie among the group.
Only fellow female riders can empathise with the challenges unique to them, they said, such as for example having to handle a machine 3 to 5 times their weight and master the techniques of mounting a heavyweight bike easily.
But this is not to say that they don't ride alongside men. Male riders are chivalrous toward their female counterparts, Su said.
Loke added: “They take extra care of us. When they notice we have difficulties pushing the heavy bikes, they'll step forward to assist.”
WHAT DRIVES THEM?
The motivations because of their passion for heavyweight bikes will vary.
Su was inspired by a sharing session on motorcycle travelling and the Instagram accounts of female Harley-Davidson riders in the usa.
“One of the posts showed several them camping at a national park, where they sat surrounding a campfire during the night.
“That image stayed with me and that particular post stirred up an urge to discover how to ride a bike. And I thought, when I do that, I have to buy a Harley. It became my dream bike,” she recounted.
Carrying out a year of on-the-road experience with a 150cc “kapchai” (a Malaysian slang word for underbone, a tiny bike), she upgraded to the 1,200cc Harley-Davidson, which she nicknamed Zeus for the booming engine that appears like rumbling thunder, in 2018.
She has since travelled to foreign lands like Morocco, Japan and Indonesia on rented bikes. She also conquered the treacherous Mae Hong Son loop with 1,864 bends in Chiang Mai on her behalf Zeus.
The women often face raised eyebrows.
“People would ask, are you single? You seem to be so carefree, don’t you have a family group?” Lim shared.
A common perception of the fairer sex is their have to maintain a demure stature and steer clear of getting tanned. “People would say, girls are associated with make-up and beauty. Riding is a demanding outdoor activity, why do you do it?” Su said.
Loke, who rides a Kawasaki Ninja 650R, recalled her secondary college days in Ipoh, Perak, when students from boys’ schools would rev their bikes near her. “It had been very rare for girls to ride a bike. (They could think,) you certainly are a girl, why are you buttoning a shirt like boys?”
Nowadays, women taking charge of heavyweight bikes often invoke a “wow” from men, she said. “Now we always say, what men can do, women can, too.”
Zipping on a heavyweight bike can be an adrenaline-charged activity synonymous with speed and exhilaration, and yet Lim found similarities between riding and meditation.
“Riding requires you to focus. It makes you just forget about what you are planning and what's bothering you.
“That is my biggest gain from riding.”
WHERE NEXT?
With her husband also a rider, Lim dreamed of 1 day taking the family on a road trip in Malaysia with their two-wheeled vehicles.
Loke, who includes a 10-year-old son, has planned far ahead. “I hope 1 day my son will grab riding and we are able to travel together.”
For Su, her biggest dream is to go on a motorcycle road trip in a foreign country - any country - together with fellow female riders.
“Perhaps Thailand may be the most achievable destination,” she said.
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