The Scoop on Women's Motorcycle Show 2021

The Scoop on Women’s Motorcycle Show 2021

The sixth annual Women’s Motorcycle Show (May 21-23, 2021) in the Nascar Garage at the Texas Motor Speedway was a huge success!

We boot-scooted, we boogied, we hosted a worldwide reveal, we tore it up on e-bikes, we had makers workshops, we gave away a bunch of amazing gear and gizmos… you know… normal Women’s Moto Show goodness! Really, the 2021 Women’s Motorcycle Show in Fort Worth, TX was an absolute blast. Three whole days of awesome entertainment surrounded by a bunch of the coolest motorcycling women I know. We went HAM this year… with a long list of good stuff.

No rest for the wicked– last minute re-wrap job on Pandora’s leather grips as the show kicked off.

Proud new owner of a signed copy of the MotoLady’s Book of Women Who Ride

We had the official in-person reveal of The MotoLady’s Book of Women Who Ride– folks went around and collected signatures from featured ladies like a modern yearbook. Thirty motorcycles built and raced by women on display– from flat-trackers to minibikes. The official worldwide reveal of eight Royal Enfield women-specific Build/Train/Race bikes got the press chattering.

Royal Enfield’s worldwide BuildTrainRace custom flattrack motorcycle reveal

Hands-on makers classes with Real Deal Revolution gave kids and adults a chance to try their hand at welding, upholstery, silversmithing, pinstriping, and leathercraft. A mixed media art gallery featured work from women who ride including illustrations from the official Women’s Moto Show poster artist Amanda Zito (aka BlindThistle) and Rae Ripple‘s Apache art truck. Friends and family kicked back in the Sena lounge area with tables for eating and giant Jenga for killing time or entertaining the kidlets.

Alicia aka MotoLady getting down on silversmithing at the Real Deal workshop with Brittany Jacobs of Mothwing Metal Works

A future builder learning upholstery tricks in the Real Deal workshop with Krysta Henry Holland and Guin Simpson

Krystal Hess held down the Motorcycle Missions fort (more like a small city with two trailers and countless motorcycles) with her Veteran volunteers, answering questions about the non-profit moto-therapy organization and offering basic maintenance and wrenching info. Super73 hosted the Women’s Moto Show slow races & shenanigans mini-event where we challenged riders to show off their bike control capabilities. Show attendees and vendors alike donned Pit Viper sunnies and climbed on top of the radical MotoLady/PitViper custom minibike to pose for silly pics in the photobooth.

Pit Viper shades for all!

Tarah Who? performed on the main stage, framing the Women’s Motorcycle Show raffle announcements and award ceremony for the perfect Sunday send-off. The Judge’s Pick, People’s Choice, and Iron Butt trophies were hand-made by artist Rae Ripple and came with a matching bandana from Stellar Motobrand, a $125 Biltwell gift certificate, aaaand a $500 certificate for Cycle Gear. We had two winners for three categories- Amanda Steele (a previous WMS People’s Choice winner) with her 1969 Triumph T100, as well as Lilly Karapetyan with her 2019 Softtail Slim. That means that builder Lily made out like a bandit this year… taking home the People’s Choice and Iron Butt wins. Lily rode 1,600 miles through massive southwest storms with deluges of rain and hail on her fire-breathing dragon-bike named the Dragonator.

Winning builder Lilly Karapetyan and artist Rae Ripple with People’s Choice and Iron Butt trophies

Lily Karapetyan and her 2019 Harley Davidson Softtail slim custom “Dragonater” – People’s Choice & Iron Butt winner

And hey if you missed the raffle this year, I feel sorry for ya! You missed out… hard. We gave away almost everything you need to customize your ride from tires to tail– Paughco Inc hooked us up with a gorgeous springer front end, spoked wheels (with tires), a coffin tank, and two Build Your Own Pipe (BYOP) kits! Ginger at New Church Moto hooked us up with an oxblood seat for a Sportster, and Ria the Welder did a one-off cactus-themed sissy bar to match this year’s artwork. We even had a gorgeous mechanics suit from Stellar Moto Brand to step into before your next wrenching sesh. Add in the dual-pack Bluetooth communications set-up from (one of my favorite companies) Sena, and you’ve got all the ingredients to make up a really tasty ride.

Outside of the custom motorcycle stuff we (of course) had protective motorcycle gear! Tobacco Motorwear provided tops and bottoms for men and women– including the Boondock riding overalls with kevlar lining and removable D3O hip and knee armor. We also had two full-face Gringo S helmets from our buddies at Biltwell– on top of their Exfil 65 waterproof roll-top utility bag. Those went along nicely with the Chrome Industries BLCKCHRM 22x Citizen and Kadet giving folks all sorts of options for stylish and effective motorcycle luggage.

Builder Emily McBride and family running to the stage to claim their raffle prizes!

And last but not least… we gave away a Super73 S2 electric bike. Aw yeah! There was a whole lot of buzz surrounding the little ripper, with people clamoring for us to draw the winning ticket at the main stage raffle announcements. The well-known and well-loved Jacqui Van Ham was on the mic, emceeing for the Get On! Moto Fest, and she helped us out with the raffle drawings. Knowing Jacqui had gone pretty hard throwing tickets into the jar for the Super73, so when it came time to read the numbers, I took the mic from her and did the call-out myself.

Jacqui Van Ham the moment she found out she had the winning Super73 raffle ticket

As I finished reading and repeating the numeric, an excited shriek bellowed from the stage. Jacqui won! She jumped in the air, she waved her arms, she cried a little bit… and then so did I! The excitement, the pure joy, it’s my favorite part about putting this entire event together. Seeing all those happy faces. Congrats Jacqui, you deserve it! Now customize that thing and bring it back to WMS7 in 2022.

Jacqui Van Ham and Alicia Elfving aka MotoLady celebrating her big raffle win

I could go on and on about the show itself this year, but it really is one of those things… you gotta go to know. You gotta be in that place to really feel the vibe, ya dig? So next year… be there! Come join in the party– Women’s Motorcycle Show, a celebration of women who ride, race, build, and the people who support them.

A bunch of the core Women’s Motorcycle Show builders, staff, and support

I’ve been asked quite a few times about why WMS6 ended up moving to Texas, so here are some behind-the-scenes details on how the Women’s Motorcycle Show got plugged into the RevZilla/JP Cycles/Cycle Gear circuit this year.

Obviously, the pandemic hit the motorcycle industry hard– our usual rounds for events and marketing were smashed completely. That left me in a weird place since most all the work I do is based around events- whether that’s throwing my own or covering other people’s. So when my friend Sheena Walker approached me and asked if I wanted to do a show in 2021, I quickly said HECK YEAH BUDDY! So in just two short months, I put the sixth annual Women’s Moto Show together. Stay tuned for that whole story later… I’ll be including stories from the road trip– like the radiator blowing up at 75mph on the freeway 70 miles past Boise and the subsequent 24-hour-straight drive to Texas.

Keep on scrollin’ for more photos and galleries from the sixth annual Women’s Motorcycle Show at the Texas Motor Speedway during the Get On! Moto Fest.