Bangalore woman breaks into Harley’s male dominated cult

PTI

New Delhi, 05 July 2011: Why should men have all the fun with Harley Davidson? Bangalore-based HR professional Sheeja Mathews today become the first woman in India to own the iconic cult motorcycle, thus breaking the stereotype of only tattoo sporting muscular hunks riding the bike.

The 34-year-old, who has been riding to her office on her husband’s Yamaha Rajdoot 350 for the past 10 years, is now looking to cruise the new ’Iron 883’ to her workplace at least once a week.

"I didn’t know that I was the first woman to buy a Harley Davidson in India till the company people told me. I thought of upgrading to a Harley when they opened a showroom here," Mathews told PTI from Bangalore over the phone.

When asked what prompted her to go for a Harley Davidson, she said: "Well, I have been riding my husband’s bike for the past 10 years and I thought it was high time I upgraded."

Mother of a 7-year-old son, Mathews said even her son is excited about the new bike, on which the family has spent about Rs 8 lakh in total, although the ex-showroom price of the bike is Rs 6.5 lakh.

"Oh, he wants me to drop him to school on the bike so that he could show off his mother’s bike to his friends," she said, adding, she would be taking the bike on long rides on weekends.

A self proclaimed foodie and a shopaholic like any other woman, Mathews said she has been a drag racer as well.

"I do drive a (Tata) Safari and (Chevrolet) Cruze but I love bikes," she said, adding, her businessman husband chipped in 20 per cent of the amount for her Harley Davidson.

The American cult bike maker started selling its bikes in India from last year and announced to set up an assembly plant in India in order to cater to demands here.
The Iron 833 model is one of the two models to be assembled at the Bawal facility in Haryana. The other model is the Super Low.

The company offers a total of 15 models in India priced between Rs 5.5 lakh to Rs 38.66 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).