Heads turn even in cosmopolitan Bangalore when women ride powerful bikes. But more heads turned today when a city-based HR professional rode out on her Harley-Davidson as India’s first woman to own the prized two-wheeler around which legends are woven.
An avid biker for more than a decade, 34-year-old Sheeja Mathews couldn’t stop smiling as cameras clicked away at the Harley-Davidson showroom on Lavelle Road here.
“But I had no clue that I’d be the first woman in India to own a Harley,” the Bangalorean told The Telegraph on the surprise that was in store when the showroom manager sought a photo session after delivering the bike.
“Well, Harley-Davidson is my dream bike and I was always waiting for it to hit the Indian market,” said Mathews, who makes an ideal biker couple with husband Sanjay Joseph. He owns a Kawasaki 1000, a bike Mathews often rides.
Their seven-year-old son is waiting for his biker mom to drop him at school on the steel and black twin-cylinder Iron 883. But Mathews said a few trips a week to office were also a certainty.
“I love biking, although the traffic is not the same as before,” she said, referring to the congestion.
Owner of a Rajdoot Yamaha RD 350, Mathews is a familiar sight on city roads. Clad in jeans and protective gear like leather jackets, she is among the city’s women bikers who zoom around unmindful of the traffic and the glares they get from males riding lower-calibre bikes.
Set to join the Harley Owners’ Group (HOG), the international group that now has a chapter in the city, Mathews said she just missed being part of the team that is now biking in the southern states. “I missed the HOG trip this time, but will certainly be part of the next one, which will happen soon.”
A drag racer who owns a Tata Safari and a Skoda Octavia RS special edition, she said she just walked into the Harley showroom one day in January. “Only, that I had to wait for four months,” she said, unable to hide her excitement.
But Mathews didn’t wait to get equipped. She was armed with Harley accessories, like the trademark leather jacket, helmet, gloves and boots long back. “I had picked up much these accessories during a visit to the US last year and was actually waiting to buy the bike.”
Although the on-road price tag of Rs 8 lakh is a bit too steep by any standards, Mathews is sure more women would follow her. “Why only men? Why not women,” is her view when it comes to owning even heavy-duty bikes from the Harley stable.
Equipped with the basic model of the legendary bike, Mathews has already set her sights on the heavier 1500CC Harley-Davidson Fatboy. “I want to get a Fatboy five years down the line.”
Iron 883 has an engine of 883 CC caters and its price tag is not as heavy as the Fatboy, which costs over Rs 18 lakh. “We are sure that more women will now come forward to buy our bikes,” said Harsh Surana, sales executive at the showroom.
An avid biker for more than a decade, 34-year-old Sheeja Mathews couldn’t stop smiling as cameras clicked away at the Harley-Davidson showroom on Lavelle Road here.
“But I had no clue that I’d be the first woman in India to own a Harley,” the Bangalorean told The Telegraph on the surprise that was in store when the showroom manager sought a photo session after delivering the bike.
“Well, Harley-Davidson is my dream bike and I was always waiting for it to hit the Indian market,” said Mathews, who makes an ideal biker couple with husband Sanjay Joseph. He owns a Kawasaki 1000, a bike Mathews often rides.
Their seven-year-old son is waiting for his biker mom to drop him at school on the steel and black twin-cylinder Iron 883. But Mathews said a few trips a week to office were also a certainty.
“I love biking, although the traffic is not the same as before,” she said, referring to the congestion.
Owner of a Rajdoot Yamaha RD 350, Mathews is a familiar sight on city roads. Clad in jeans and protective gear like leather jackets, she is among the city’s women bikers who zoom around unmindful of the traffic and the glares they get from males riding lower-calibre bikes.
Set to join the Harley Owners’ Group (HOG), the international group that now has a chapter in the city, Mathews said she just missed being part of the team that is now biking in the southern states. “I missed the HOG trip this time, but will certainly be part of the next one, which will happen soon.”
A drag racer who owns a Tata Safari and a Skoda Octavia RS special edition, she said she just walked into the Harley showroom one day in January. “Only, that I had to wait for four months,” she said, unable to hide her excitement.
But Mathews didn’t wait to get equipped. She was armed with Harley accessories, like the trademark leather jacket, helmet, gloves and boots long back. “I had picked up much these accessories during a visit to the US last year and was actually waiting to buy the bike.”
Equipped with the basic model of the legendary bike, Mathews has already set her sights on the heavier 1500CC Harley-Davidson Fatboy. “I want to get a Fatboy five years down the line.”
Iron 883 has an engine of 883 CC caters and its price tag is not as heavy as the Fatboy, which costs over Rs 18 lakh. “We are sure that more women will now come forward to buy our bikes,” said Harsh Surana, sales executive at the showroom.
