Spirit Harley-Davidson to Host Maintenance Course for Women on May 1

PITTSBURGH, April 29 -- The month of May has always had connections to women. It is Mother's Day. Race for the Cure is held to raise money for breast cancer. And for the third year, Spirit Harley-Davidson is jumping in to honor women by offering a free maintenance course for women bike riders on Saturday, May 1, 2004 at 1 p.m. at their Glenshaw store.

The course, led by owner and rider, Donna Sanford, brings out women who want to learn more about maintenance and safety of their motorcycles. "We are thrilled to offer this course to women in the area," said Sanford. "The material presented helps women feel more comfortable with taking care of their own bikes."

  The course will offer the following:
   - Storage -- what to do prior to storage
   - Bringing Bike out of Storage -- what to do after storage
   - Tires -- pressures, thread depth, when to replace
   - Brakes -- when to replace
   - Batteries -- changing and caring
   - Fluids -- what kind to use and where
   - Cleaning bike -- what to look for
   - Cables and brake lines -- lube and check for deterioration
   - Belt -- adjustment and check for debris in belt.

  A question and answer session will follow the course.

"Over the years, we have had a great response to this course," Sanford said. "In general, we are seeing a huge increase in the number of women riders."

Riding her first motorcycle at the age of 12, Donna started her riding experience with a Triumph 650TT. Her early experience with motorcycles comes from her mother who rode bikes herself, and hung out in the infamous Bucket of Blood Bar in Washington, D.C. back when "ladies didn't ride motorcycles." Her mother was excited about Donna's interest, but kept a parental concern every time she was on a bike. Donna's first Harley was a 1986 883 Hugger, a present to her when they opened the dealership. She kept investing in the bike, adding chrome, custom paint and parts, until her husband, Terry, suggested that she may want to ride it someday. So, in 1988, Donna got her Pennsylvania Motorcycle license. Today she rides a Road King or her Heritage, and leads a group of women who call themselves, "Wild Women on Wheels." WWOW was formed in 1989 and came from Donna realizing that there were only a few women that owned their bikes. "Men wanted to go 100 mile an hour, and ride from bar to bar. It wasn't fun for us to do that all the time." WWOW began with seven women who rode for female camaraderie. Today, WWOW has around 30 members who ride together, across the country, on a regular basis.