Rocket vs Thunderbird

scot in exile said:

Four of the top female motorcycle racers, each making history and breaking records on their own, gathered for a panel discussion at the Long Beach, California, stop of the Progressive International Motorcycle Show in December.

The panel of racers included, from left: AMA pro road racer Shelina Moreda; land speed record holder Leslie Porterfield; AMA pro road racer Melissa Paris; and 16-year-old AMA pro road racer Elena Myers.

Leslie Porterfield is a multi-record holder for land speed racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats. She also holds the Guinness World Record for “fastest conventional motorcycle speed” set by a woman. At 16 years old, Elena Myers is the first woman to win an AMA Pro Racing professional motorcycle road race. She did so in May 2010 at Infineon Raceway in California. Melissa Paris holds the highest finish by a female in the Daytona 200 and has won national races in the 250GP class of the USGPRU race series. And Shelina Moreda recently obtained her AMA pro license, making her one of only four women to do so. She started racing AMA Pro SuperSport last season.

Quite a crowd gathered at the Women Ride area to listen to what the panelists had to say.

Women Ride organizer Sue Slate of the Women’s Motorcyclist Foundation asked the panelists several questions, the first of which was what it’s like being a female racer in a field of men. The four all agreed that it’s a benefit in terms of getting sponsorships because female professional racers get a lot of press. Shelina said it’s eye-catching to be a woman racing with men.

Leslie said that doing panel discussions like this is one way the industry can inspire young women to get involved in racing.

Leslie also shared with the audience what it’s like setting land speed records. “When you’re going 190 mph on an unfaired motorcycle, you’re basically holding on for dear life.”

When asked about what it’s like to crash, Elena replied, “You build up tolerance to pain. Pain goes along with this. I love racing so much, so it’s not a factor.” Elena broke her foot early last season and rode her first race with that broken foot.

Shelina advises wearing the best gear you can to prepare for when you do crash.

To learn more about these fascinating women, visit their respective Web sites listed below.

LesliePorterfield.com
ElenaMyers.com

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Joesmoe said:

This thread was about Rockets and Thunderbirds. I can't pick up my bike if it falls over, and I bet I'm not the only one. I bet there are a whole bunch of people who can't pick up their rides when they fall over. That is not a disqualifying criterion for owning a particular bike. A number of folks here have commented that the Rocket is less than suitable for a daily commuter in densely populated areas, and the same is true of an 18-wheeler. I really enjoy -- as it greatly adds to my life to know the people here and be able to ride the Rocket when I can.

When *anyone* wants to ride a Rocket (or a Thunderbird in this case), we usually give them the same advice: be careful at first and get a feel for its size and power, and be welcome to this site to ask questions and receive encouragement.

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Rick Morris said:

I have a customer that is currently the land speed holder, SHE is a female. SHE is also far more capable of handling a big bike than most men bigger than her can. I find it down right stupid, ignorant and disrespectful to think that its OK to judge the level of competence a person has based on their gender. Y62 is looking for advice based on our knowledge of motorcycles, not our ignorance on the skill set of other human beings or our level of misogynistic attitude some may have of women. I have attached a photo of my friend, some of you may know her, or perhaps her Dad. But motorcycles are her life and she is a very capable rider. Enough to out ride most of the small minded men on this forum.

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Rick Morris said:

For what this is worth. My riding mate has a 2013 T-Bird Storm as well as a 2011 Dyna Wide Glide. He has told me hundreds of times the T-Bird is his favorite Bike. (He has ridden my R3R and is considering a change to a Rocket, however...) The Dyna has lots of dust on it as it never leaves the garage. I would not compare the T-Bird Storm to a Sportster as they are not in the same performance category or level. The Storm has better brakes, better controls, more power, and it is overall a much better and far more comfortable than a Sportster. Ignore the comments about women on bikes. That is a stupid comment. My wife and a few of my friends wives or girlfriends have bikes and can ride circles around most guys on bikes these days.

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IMFASTTOO said:

WELL Ive been a dealer since the sixties and sold thousands of bikes to women and also teach the motorcycle saftey course and there are lots of women racers that are capable of picking up the bike they ride and thats first thing considered for any rider does the the bike fit them and can they pick it up when or if it falls over so if they cannot male or female they need a smaller bike that they can handle period

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