In honor of women's history month and international women's day we've highlighted some of the fearless females in motorcycle history. These women riders fought gender roles and stereotypical attitudes to ride on two wheels
We hope these badass women riders inspire you to get out there and break some barriers of your own.
Avis and Effie Hotchkiss
Avis and Effie Hotchkiss, mother and daughter from Brooklyn, New York.
Salt Lake City 1915.
Effie Hotchkiss learned to ride at age 16 and her first motorcycle was a Marsh & Metz. In 1915 she acquired a new Harley-Davidson Model 11-F with a sidecar, the first H-D to feature a 3-speed gearbox. She had an ambition to become the first woman to cross the United States on a motorcycle. On May 2, 1915, she set out with her mother Avis in the sidecar and it took them two months to reach San Francesco. The success of their journey made Effie and Avis Hotchkiss the first transcontinental female motorcyclists.
Dorothy Smith (1912 - 1999)
Pictured on her 1939 Harley-Davidson EL Knucklehead.
Dorothy "Dot" Smith ( Dot Robinson) was a motorcycle stunt woman in the 1930's & 1940's. She was the co-founder and first president of the women's riding group "Motor Maids" and held the president title for 25 years. Motor Maids was established in San Francisco in 1940 and was one of the first women's motorcycle groups created and is the oldest still existing in the United States.
"In founding the Motor Maids, Dot set out to unite women riders, to show that you could ride a motorcycle and still be a lady. There was never a time you saw Dot without makeup. Away from her motorcycle, she looked ready to step in or out of a fashion magazine.
Dot set a standard for women motorcyclists. She proved that you can be a lady and still ride a motorcycle. She paved the way for women to ride motorcycles. The women of the nineties can still be professional women, doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, accountants, clerks, cashiers, home-makers, mothers, grandmothers, and they can still step outside, throw a leg over a bike and take off cross country. She proved that you can be a lady, still compete with the men and not be a man-hater.
Dot was a woman before her time. In 1939, following up on the idea formulated by Linda Dugeau, Dot rode all over the United States looking for women who owned and rode their own motorcycles. She found 51 ladies who became the charter members of the Motor Maids of America, now known as the Motor Maids. To this day, the founding premise that the group consist of women who own and ride their own motorcycle is still the backbone of the organization."
Mary McGee (1936 )
@mary.mcgee_
Mary McGee, an American motorsport racing pioneer, was the first woman to compete in motorcycle road racing and motocross events in the U.S. She competed in motocross and motorcycle racing from 1960 to 1976 after starting out as a sports car racer. Mary stopped road racing motorcycles in the fall of 1963 when there were coming rule changes for women, even though at that time she was the only woman racing; however, these rules did not end up going into effect.
Mary was also the first woman to race in a US MC/FIM sanctioned motorcycle race in the US – 1960, the only woman to ride the Baja 500 solo - 1975 and the first woman to finish the Baja 1000 - 1968.
In 2000 after moving to Northern Nevada and meeting old motorcycle friends, she bought a 1974 250cc Husqvarna and started entering the women's class in vintage motocross events. She started off in the over 60 class then moved on to the over 70 class a few years later.
McGee was named an FIM Legend for her pioneering motorcycle racing career. She was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2018.
Beryl Swain (1936–2007)
Beryl Swain was a female motorcycle road racer from the London area. In 1962, she became the first woman to compete in the Isle of Man TT, finishing 22nd on a 50cc Itom after two laps of the Mountain circuit. Despite losing top gear, she managed an average speed of 48.3mph in the Island’s inaugural 50cc race.
Her achievement did not sit well with the male-dominated motorcycling world, who perceived the sport to be too dangerous for women. As a result, they introduced a minimum rider weight limit that Swain could not meet, thus revoking her license. It wasn’t until 1978 that a woman raced on the Mountain again, when Hilary Musson entered.
Bessie Stringfield (1911-1993)
In 1930 Bessie Stringfield became the first African American woman to ride her motorcycle across the United States solo. Her feat was credited with breaking down barriers for both women and African-American motorcyclists. She was one of the few civilian motorcycle dispatch riders for the US Army during World War II.
She made eight famous cross-country voyages that were documented in the media of the time. As an early African American rider and a woman, she rode solo through the Deep South during a time when it was quite dangerous for her to do so.
In 2000 the AMA created the "Bessie Stringfield Memorial Award" to recognize outstanding achievement by a female motorcyclist. Stringfield was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2002. In 1990 the AMA paid tribute to her in their inaugural "Heroes of Harley-Davidson" exhibition she having owned 27 of their motorcycles.
In 2017 Timeline released free and online a short film about Bessie Stringfield, "Meet Bessie Stringfield, the Black ‘Motorcycle Queen’"
Susan Lang
Harley-Davidson superstar, In 1917, Susan Lang was identified as the most accomplished female motorcycle mechanic in the United States. Susan and her family owned H-D dealerships in Waterbury, Connecticut and Providence, Rhode Island where she says she was often found in the repair shop and learned to overhaul her own engine.
In 1915, Mrs. Susan Lang made a #NewEngland record for a long distance motorcycle trip by a woman unaccompanied by a man - with her three kids in the sidecar.
Gevin Fax
@sapasioux
Gevin Fax is a dirt biker and motorcycle rider who has gained notoriety for her role in the rise of female bikers. Growing up in Los Angeles as an African American lesbian in the 1960's, Gevin found that the world wasn't always forgiving . She says, “Were it not for my parents, I wouldn’t have the attitude I have of forward-thinking and continuous attachment to positivity and curiosity. I would not have survived being an African American, lower-middle-class to poor, female, lesbian tomboy.”
Her first vehicle was a non-running moped she had to fix up, which her dad picked up for at the age of 10. From there she moved up to a dirt bike, then a street bike. By the time Fax was in college she had ridden 100,000 miles and she purchased her first Harley in the early 80's from a dealer in Kentucky.
There were not many African Americans on motorcycles at this time, let alone women. Her love of motorcycles landed her a role in a 1996 Turner Broadcasting Documentary "Biker Women", in which she made a cross-country ride solo on her Shovelhead and sings in several shows.
Currently Gevin has been creating her own community through “a qUest cALLed triBE”, a group of women that Gevin describes as her “tribe sisters” and with whom she endeavors to make the world a better place. It’s worth noting that this isn’t Gevin’s first foray into female riding groups as she’s the oldest Los Angeles member of the ever-popular group, the Litas.
Learn more about Gevin's story on her website: gevinfax.com
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