It is, of course, one of the hammiest entrances. But while in the past the image has been little more than a James Bond fantasy, increasingly it seems to be a reflection of real life.
According to the Motor Cycle Industry Association the number of women motorbike riders has never been higher. It says there has been a 30% increase in women taking their full motorcycle test in the past 10 years with a peak of nearly 13,000 in 2003-4 — the latest figures available. In all, 750,000 women now hold motorbike licences.
Although women still remain a minority, accounting for just under 15% of all riders, the MCIA predicts that the numbers are set to grow even further as women develop a taste for the freedom of the open road.
Neither is this generation of lady riders content with pootling along on lightweight bikes. The most popular bikes with women, accounting for 20% of sales, are supersports bikes. They have top speeds of up to 186mph (the maximum, where they are electronically capped by the manufacturers).
Greater financial independence has oiled the wheels. Charlotte McKeon, a 29-year-old from Battersea, south London, who works for a sports marketing agency says that her love of bikes led her to spend £6,500 on a 170mph Suzuki GSX-R600.
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She uses the bike to commute to work in Regent Street and at weekends burns down to Dorset with her friends at speeds she says her mother wouldn’t approve of. “I love it,” she says. “If I’ve had a long day in the office there is nothing better than to take the bike out onto the A3 and have a blast.
“People who don’t ride don’t understand the feeling that you get. You will never find anyone who is ambivalent about bikes or partly into them — you either love them or you don’t.”
One of the things that have converted her is the sense of camaraderie among bikers on the road. “It’s not like driving a car. If I see someone at the side of the road I always pull over and see if I can help — it might be something as simple as they haven’t got their tool box with them.”
Even so she admits that in many ways it is still a man’s world.
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“There is still the attitude that women’s role near bikes is either sitting on the back or being a pit dolly. I’ve had the experience of doing something really simple like tightening up a rear wheel and suddenly there are five men around me telling me how to do it.”
The growth in popularity among women of what is still predominantly a man’s pursuit has been greeted with suspicion by some male chapters of the biking fraternity — after all, in the past a girl may have been expected to ride pillion (if at all). But bike manufacturers are welcoming the new opportunities. Harley- Davidson has brought out a new version of its 883 Sportster with a lower seat so women find it easier to steady. Suzuki, too, has made its Bandit more adaptable for women.
“More and more manufacturers are offering adjustable seats, moveable footrests and more stable bikes,” says Ian Mutch, president of the Motorcycle Action Group, a lobbying organisation for bikers. “It may not seem revolutionary but if you’re a woman it makes a big difference.”
Vikki Barclay, 35, spends her days in the sensible world of corporate PR for Cadbury Schweppes. But at weekends her passion is her £7,649 Suzuki GSX-R750 — a large bike for her seven stone 5ft 2in frame.
“I’ve always been a speed freak,” she says. “When I was a child my dad would take me to watch grands prix. I loved riding friends’ bikes or my boyfriends’ bikes but it wasn’t until I was 26 that I bought one of my own.”
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Her first purchase was a £200 125cc scrambler but after six months she traded up to a “baby blade” Honda CBR400RR. Two years ago Barclay had an accident — a car pulled out without looking, a common hazard for motorcyclists — and her thigh bone was broken. Today, after a lengthy recovery, she is back on her Suzuki. “It just means that I am going to be extra careful giving drivers a wide berth,” she says.
Both Barclay and McKeon claim that notwithstanding the dangers many people associate with biking it is the macho culture that is more off-putting for women. Some adroit rider-training companies are realising that overcoming this could be to their advantage. One of these, Girls Angels in Hanwell, west London, has a women-only course and claims to train 2,000 women a year for their CBT (compulsory basic training) test.
Of those, about 200 go on to take their full bike test.
Many women take their test simply to ride motor scooters, sales of which have been spurred by exemption (along with motorbikes) from the London congestion charge and the vogue for all things Italian.
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But some women prefer the genuine challenge of big bikes and are proud to compete on the same level as men — or higher. Joanne Hunter, a fleet manager for Vauxhall from Colchester, took her motorcycle test last summer on a 125 Suzuki and 10 days later spent £7,000 on a Harley-Davidson Sportster 883.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” she says. “People tell you that motorcycling is dangerous but if you’ve got basic riding skills and road sense it’s not. For lifestyle and camaraderie it is hard to beat.”
Hunter reckons she’s every bit as tough as her male Harley-riding counterparts, pointing out that her bike has the optional Screaming Eagle stage one modification that gives the bike even more muscle.
“I’d say to other women ‘go for it’. Get your CBT — it only takes a day and it can open up a new world.”