Survey paints picture of the UK’s growing population of female bikers

DATA collated from insurance quotes on The Bike Insurer has painted a picture of Britain’s female bikers.  

The motorcycle insurance aggregator processed more than 23,000 insurance quotes from female bikers between May 1, 2017 and October 31, 2018 – making up 8% of the site’s total quotes during this period.

According to their data, the most common name for a female motorcyclist is Sarah and she is most likely to be a student living at home in Surrey or East or West Sussex riding a Honda CB125F and covering about 3,000 miles per year.

Closely following the CBF in the top three is Honda’s CBR125R, then Yamaha’s YBR 125. In fact, Honda’s make up six of the top 10 most popular bikes.

Honda UK’s Motorcycle Business Planning Department Manager, Andy Mineyko, said: “It’s great to see Honda is the leading manufacturer on the minds of female motorcyclists. We’re proud to offer a broad range of models which women enjoy riding. In addition, we hope to play a part in growing the female rider community moving forward through the Honda School of Motorcycling and Just Ride.”

Aside from Triumph’s Bonneville T100 and Kawasaki’s ZX-6R, in sixth and seventh places respectively, the top ten is made up of bikes sized 125cc or below.

Of the bikes above 125cc, the top five are the Triumph Bonneville T100, Kawasaki ZX-6R, Suzuki SV650S, Kawasaki ER-6F and Triumph Street Triple R.

The 125s are most popular with riders aged 17 to 44, while those aged 45 to 54 prefer the Bonneville T100. The most popular among those aged 55 to 64 was Honda’s CB500X, while Honda’s C90 Super Cub won the hearts of female riders over 65.

The most popular area among female bikers was Surrey, East and West Sussex, followed by East Anglia, and then the Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bath/Bristol area. In all three regions, the average age of the biker was 35. In fourth place was Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire, where the average rider was 40-years-old and in fifth place Greater Manchester, with an average age of 33-years-old.

According to the insurance site, the five most popular professions were student, housewife, unemployed, health care assistant and cleaner.

The rise is women on two wheels has been put down to manufacturers making bikes more accessible and the motorcycle industry working hard to meet the demands of women riders.

Jade Isabelle, Commercial Director at The Bike Insurer said: "As more women take to riding motorcycles and scooters, we’re interested in looking at who these women are and how we can help them achieve their cheapest insurance price in the easiest possible way. We welcome them all to the world of two wheels."

Read more on The Bike Insurer's report here.