Motorcycle Content Writer: How I Got Started

One of the most significant problems I see with the content production industry is that freelance writers produce generic content about topics they don’t know anything about. You have probably experienced this at one point or another and knew something was wrong but didn’t know that this was the problem. Have you ever read content that didn’t give you a unique point of view? Perhaps it sounded like a broken record, simply repeating generalized information you’ve heard a thousand times before? Maybe it even gave obviously wrong information or just felt off? As a freelance motorcycle content writer, I have seen more than my fair share of poor copywriting written by motorcycle enthusiasts who are unqualified writers. Let’s get to know each other better as I share my history as a motorcyclist. 

As a teenager, there was no way my parents would let me ride my own motorcycle. So that meant I had to ride on the back of my dad’s any time I wanted to enjoy the freedom of two wheels. This continued into college when he would ride across the state to visit me. He lived near Tampa, and I went to school in Deland. For those who don’t know, Deland is about 30 minutes inland from Daytona. So it was a ride across Florida for him that only took a couple of hours. He would come over for Daytona Bike Week in March and Biketober Fest in October. I would get to be a biker for the weekend and experience all that the motorcycle industry had to offer.

I wasn’t comfortable on the bikes with my feet kicked out in front of me. I was the only woman in the class, and the guys teaching the course acted like I was too young. There was a complete lack of respect and seriousness towards my desire to learn to ride. That didn’t deter me, though. I got through the course, got my license, and then the real learning began. I decided to start with a small bike that was lightweight and easy to handle. Then I spent time in empty parking lots near my home, practicing my skills and improving my confidence. 

Two days later, I drove to the Panhandle to meet him and bring home my new baby. It was a red Kawasaki Ninja 250. There were barely any miles on the bike, and he treated it like gold. Nothing was wrong with the bike, and it was the perfect investment for my first motorcycle. 

It happens to everyone eventually, right? My first time is straight embarrassing. It was so lame, and plenty of witnesses to share in my embarrassment. We were at a gas station and had finished filling up the tanks. My dad took off first, and I was supposed to follow him to the road entrance. Well, a man in a truck saw him leave the pump and attempted to quickly whip in to grab the pump before someone else did. Unfortunately, he did not see me. He came around fast, I panicked, and long story short, I dropped the bike. Thankfully, it was a small 250, so I stood up as the bike hit the ground. Nothing major, but everyone around me panicked. I picked the bike up, got back on, and rode away as quickly as possible. My pride was hurt more than anything else. 

A young engineer just bought a motorcycle and got married. It turned out that his wife was pregnant and said the bike had to go. His life change was my good fortune, and I bought a beautiful bike that was barely used. I loved that bike. It was lightweight and responsive, letting me throw it around and zip through traffic. 

I took the 600 to Sturgis. I worked for a 3PL, and one of the services they offered was motorcycle shipping. I worked in the marketing department and had the opportunity to manage multiple marketing promotions. One year, I organized a promotional event where we worked with Full Throttle Magazine to offer a shipping package for local riders to go to Sturgis. While there are always “those guys” that say real riders ride their bikes to events, that just isn’t possible for everyone. Some of us have careers, families, and other responsibilities that preclude us from spending several days before and after the event riding to and from. For example, I live in Florida, and riding to South Dakota isn’t an overnight trip. 

I booked myself, my father, and a few of our friends to go. We loaded the bikes up on the trailer, then flew out there. We then spent the week riding around, seeing all of the sites. Mount Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, Full Throttle Saloon (before the fire), Deadwood, Buffalo Chip, main street booths and bars, and Needles Highway were all on the itinerary. I may have been in the extreme minority on my sport bike, but it was a memorable experience where I had a ton of fun. While out in Wyoming, I took the opportunity to open the bike up and see how fast I could go. The long straightaways where you could see for miles and there was no traffic made it the perfect opportunity I never get when riding in Florida. 

I immediately fell in love but hated the green sparkle paint. The salesman was focused on selling me the bike based on “the pretty sparkly paint”. I asked for someone else to speak with and got another salesman. He was terrific and answered all my questions about the bike. I ended up trading my motorcycle in that day and riding home on a brand new bike. 

One morning I was on my way to work on the motorcycle. It was a typical Florida day, sunny and warm. I was cruising down US 19, happy that the traffic was lighter than usual. I was following a white truck in the middle lane of three. We are traveling at 45-50 mph and driving through an intersection without slowing down because we have the green light. There’s a line of solid cars to our right and a few cars to our left. I’m trying to maintain an out to the left, but the car next to me would rather ride next to me than allow me to be ahead or behind them. It’s frustrating. Suddenly, the white truck in front of me swerves left, cutting off the car and causing it to suddenly brake hard, putting them squarely next to me. As the truck switches lanes, I suddenly see why. He waited until the last second to avoid an SUV dead stopped in our lane. There’s no reason for the vehicle to be dead stopped in the middle of the road. So I slam on the brakes, swerve left, hoping to avoid them, and ride the line between the stopped SUV and the car to my left. No such luck; the car to my left comes my way; I assume they unconsciously steered right as they, too, looked at the stopped vehicle. So I end up hitting the diver’s side rear corner of the stopped SUV. With my bike on the ground, I look up to see a car in front of the SUV I had just hit. I watch as that car slams on the gas and takes off. 

Luckily, I knew the woman driving the SUV, making for a much more pleasant accident experience. I found out from her that the car in front of her slammed on its brakes, and they were trying to make a right turn into a parking lot for the gym. They were dead stopped in the middle lane, trying to make a right turn across two lanes to get into this parking lot. When the driver realized they had caused an accident, they took off. 

I had my motorcycle towed to the nearest bike shop just down the street. It was the shop I had purchased the bike from. That was a huge mistake. They gave me a quote for $8,000 to fix the bike. As I stood there, reading through the itemized list, I could feel my blood boiling. When I questioned the quote, the only response was, “well, you should trade it in, we are happy to give you an as-is trade-in quote, and you can be on your way on a shiny new bike. You won’t have to worry your pretty little head about the complicated matters of getting this one fixed” This was not an option and only served to be a huge red flag that they weren’t upfront with me. I looked at the quote closer. They were charging me $1,500 for a new radiator. They also included a whole new replacement of my aftermarket Two Brothers exhaust system. The current exhaust was in perfect condition and did not need to be replaced. I told them to give me my bike back. They said, “no problem; it’ll be $250 to put it back together” I turned them down and took my bike back with the parts they took off in a box. They conveniently left several parts and a majority of the hardware out. 

I’ve had some interesting experiences as a woman motorcycle rider. When I’m by myself, people do not hesitate to come up and talk to me or simply yell at me from their vehicles while driving down the road. It’s always men, and they always have an opinion about a woman riding my particular bike. They range from “that’s hot, come home with me” to “get the F*** off that bike; it’s not for women.” I tend to look younger than my age, which also doesn’t help the situation. Despite these sometimes very unpleasant or even dangerous interactions, I still love motorcycles.

Motorcycles are more than just a hobby for us; they are a lifestyle. Living in Florida means we can ride year-round. Plenty of rides take you all over the state, and living in the Tampa Bay area means we can head north, south, or east. In addition, there are weekly, monthly, and yearly events. Visiting these events helps me stay in touch with trends, new gear, the latest models, and anything else relevant. 

With decades of experience, I decided to turn my passion for motorcycles into something that makes money. As a full-time content motorcycle writer, I love writing about topics I’m passionate about. This led to a natural progression of my part-time career into a full-time freelance writing career. I began writing for a content mill, picking up any motorcycle articles I came across. This gave me a motorcycle writing portfolio that I could use to apply for other motorcycle writing gigs. 

Throughout my content writing career, I’ve written for several clients, allowing me to hone my skills and share my knowledge and experiences. I have had the opportunity to write about everything from my personal experience, how-to guides, social media posts, and product reviews. Being a motorcycle content writer is something I love, and I enjoy writing about any aspect, from models to gear and events.