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Twenty-five years ago, if you saw a motorcycle cruising down the road there was a 95 percent chance that the rider was a male, and if two riders were on the machine and one of them was a female, the female would have been the passenger on the backseat. Well, today things have drastically changed and there are thousands of women riders, and they aren’t riding on the back seats anymore, well, not as much. Many are riding their own machines, and they are in full control of the handlebars. In today’s motorcycle scene it’s not uncommon to see a male passenger on the backseat happily hugged to the female who’s controlling the throttle, brakes, and clutch.

Martha Jones of Dexter, New York is one of those women. This 47-year-old naughty nurse bought her first Harley during the summer of 2001 when she was at the tender age of 40, and has since racked up thousands of miles. “After riding several years on the back of my husband’s bike, I decided that I should learn how to ride my own motorcycle. Riding as a passenger was okay, but a little boring. So I took a motorcycle riding safety course, got my motorcycle license, and now I’m riding my own bike and it is so exhilarating and fulfilling,” said Martha.

Martha Jones is in the nursing profession, and the graphics on her yellow-colored Harley Davidson motorcycle gas tank is where her sporty bagger gets it “Naughty Nurse” nomenclature printed. Back in 1981, she graduated form Alfred State College, a prestigious school located in Alfred, New York, with a Registered Nursing Degree, and has since held various nursing positions. Martha is a person who loves children and seven years ago, she applied for the school nurse position at Black River Elementary school of Black River, New York, and was immediately hired. The school has approximately 550 students ranging from ages four through 10. “I really enjoy my job as a school nurse, and working with the kids makes me feel that I make a positive contribution to our local society; but when school is out and the warmer days come to Northern New York, I let the good times roll on my Harley,” stated Martha.

Since buying her Sporty, Martha racks up between seven and 8,000 miles annually. Her longest road trip was back in 2007 when she, husband Ned, and son rode their scooters from New York to Sturgis, South Dakota and back. On their journey to Sturgis, they rode through Canada and the Great Lakes, crossing back into the United States in Minnesota. Total round-trip, they logged 4,200 miles. Another interesting ride for Martha and her Sporty was from New York through the New England states crossing into New Brunswick and on into Nova Scotia. A short portion of this trip was by high-speed ferry, but the overall mileage in the saddle was 2,200.

When Martha bought her new Sporty, it was an original 883 stock model. Like most other Harley riders, the need for change and personalization set in, and the customizing begins. After a few thousand miles out on the open highway, she realized that her 883 Sporty had power, but she felt that a few more horsepower would provide that comfort zone, if and when needed, for passing slower vehicles, especially on back roads with shorter available passing distances. Martha took her bike to her local custom motorcycle shop, Thunderin’ Cycle, and owner, Kent Spencer started the customizing process. Kent and crew installed the 1200cc Harley-Davidson upgrade kit, re-jetted the carburetor, added a Kuryakin Hypercharger Air Cleaner, and a set of Bubs exhaust pipes and the desired additional horsepower goal was reached. The original peanut gas tank was swapped out for a custom Fat Bob model bearing the image of a Naughty Nurse. For a more comfortable riding position, Martha added a set of Harley-Davidson mini ape handlebars with 4-inch risers from Drag Specialties, and a Mustang custom solo seat with backrest.

Martha’s husband rides a Harley-Davidson Road King Classic, so when they are on those long trips, there was normally not enough storage/baggage space on his machine to carry some of her extra stuff. Well, Martha wanted to be totally independent when they are on the road, so she added a set of hard saddlebags. “These hard saddlebags are waterproof, and they ensure that my makeup does not get all smashed up,” said Martha.

Today, the number of female riders is increasing rapidly, and there are also more and more female custom bike builders, which brings a positive spin to the industry. The Macho Male image is fading fast on the motorcycle scene, and it’s a welcoming experience. Women riders such as Martha Jones bring a positive influence to the world of motorcycling. See you on the road.