Motorcycle dating can easily go very wrong.
On a normal date, it doesn’t really matter where you go, or what you wear.
But on a motorcycle date, it’s a bit more complicated.
And there are 3 reasons for that:
- There’s a dress code: motorcycle safety gear is mandatory.
- You need to choose a biker-friendly destination, and
- You need to make sure you don’t terrify your date and put her off motorcycles (and you) for life.
See what I mean?
There’s a little more to think about here.
So you need to put some planning into making the motorcycle date go well.
Motorcycle dating can go wrong real fast.
Don’t find this out by trial and error!
These motorcycle dating warnings could save you some real embarrassment.
Avoid these mistakes, and you increase your chances of a fantastic biker date.
Here are some key motorcycle date mistakes to avoid at all costs.
10 Motorcycle Dating Disasters to Avoid
1. Don’t go anywhere upscale.
A swanky restaurant or bar is a bad choice.
You know what I mean: those upscale restaurants where there’s no real food on the menu, but everything costs a million dollars.
They might serve you four tiny slivers of bleeding steak next to a pile of spinach foam that looks more like snot than a vegetable.
By the end of the meal, you’re hungry, you’re angry, and you have a strong craving for pizza.
But the problem here is not so much the food.
It’s the atmosphere, and the other customers.
The vibe will be snooty in the extreme.
And your fellow diners will be super-cool overdressed hipsters – while you and your date are in jeans and motorcycle boots.
It’s not much fun being judged before you even order.
If you stay, you may as well drink your wine out of the bottle.
That’s what everyone’s expecting, right?
2. An activity that’s miles from where you have to park
Here in New Zealand, there are lots of beautiful forest walks, underground caves and hidden waterfalls to explore.
You could easily take a picnic, and get lost in the forest for hours, looking for hobbits.
Sounds romantic, right?
For sure.
But not if you arrive on a motorcycle.
For a start, what will you do with all your biker gear?
Motorcycle boots are not good for hiking in.
And do you want to lug your heavy jacket and helmet through the forest for hours?
Believe me, that’ll kill any romantic buzz stone dead.
Secondly, it’s hard to enjoy the wonders of nature when you’re worrying that someone might’ve stolen your motorcycle.
After you’ve trudged through the forest for an hour your date will be wondering why you’re getting grumpier by the minute.
She doesn’t know that she might be walking home if there’s no sign of your motorcycle when you get back to the road.
3. Visiting motorcycle-obsessed friends
Naturally enough, lots of your friends are into motorcycles, just like you, right?
Nothing wrong with that!
But maybe wait awhile before you introduce a date to them.
It might seem like a low-pressure way to bring a new person into your circle.
And in time, that’s a good idea.
But early on, don’t scare her off by introducing her to the maniacs you know who eat, sleep and talk motorcycles.
Why not?
Two reasons:
- She’ll get increasingly nervous listening to their excitable stories of near-misses and clearly insane riding choices, and
- She’ll quickly be bored by all the technical discussions about motorcycle mechanics.
Honestly, just take her out to dinner, already.
Preferably without your mates.
4. Inner city riding
Riding in traffic is the least romantic kind of motorcycle experience.
So for your motorcycle date, is it possible for you to get out of the city and commuter traffic?
If so, do it.
Now, you may have been planning to take your date to this cool bar that you know.
It has a great vibe, good food and maybe even a vintage motorcycle parked up near the bar.
But if you have to navigate miles of angry traffic to get there, it won’t be worth it.
Your date will be a shaking wreck by the time you pull up outside.
It won’t matter that they serve the best wings, and amazing beer – it’s too late.
She’s already decided motorcycles are not her thing (and so neither are you).
Riding in heavy traffic is very stressful when you’re not used to it.
And the homicidal behavior of car drivers can take years to get used to, as we know.
Don’t drop your date in at the deep end of four-lane highway riding.
You may be used to it, but she won’t be.
5. A motorcycle show
If your date is potentially interested in motorcycles, you COULD take her to a motorcycle show.
But if you do, you have to do three things to make this work:
- Only stay for an hour (two at the most)
- Walk around with her, and point out what’s cool and why, and
- Take a couple breaks, and buy her lunch.
This is a motorcycle date.
It’s not like going to a bike show with your mates.
So you absolutely cannot do what you would normally, like:
- Stay at the motorcycle show until it closes
- Spend most of your time talking to other bikers, and
- Try to cut a deal on your next bike with the motorcycle dealers there.
By the time you feel guilty about ignoring your date, it won’t matter.
She left 6 hours ago.
6. A movie
A motorcycle date at the movies is surely OK, even in this Netflix era?
It now works as an old-school kind of a night out, right?
It’s a foolproof traditional romantic formula.
Well, yes.
If you take the car.
But if you arrive at the cinema on a motorcycle, what happens to the bike?
Is there any secure parking?
Will you have to leave it on the street, and hope no-one steals it?
Because if there’s nowhere safe to leave your motorcycle while you spend 2 hours behind closed doors with The Rock, you’re in trouble.
Your date doesn’t yet understand the issues with motorcycle security.
Bikers naturally get nervous when haven’t seen their motorcycles for hours.
But she won’t know that yet.
So she’ll think you’re nuts and neurotic when you have to get up 3 times in the movie to go check your motorcycle.
And if you lie and say you’re just going to the bathroom, well, you’ll need to explain your medical condition after the movie when you go for dinner.
If your motorcycle’s still there, of course.
7. A bar
A bar’s not the best idea for a motorcycle date – especially a first date.
You’ll both be nervous, and that can lead to having one (or four) drinks too many.
But you’ll feel like a bit of a tool going to a bar and asking for a glass of water.
So there’s not much point – unless you have one beer, and then move on.
And if one or both of you end up drinking too much, bad things will happen, like:
- Misjudging a corner and falling off on the way home
- Getting pulled over for drunk driving, or
- Your date will be angry at how irresponsible you are.
None of these outcomes are particularly romantic.
Forget the tequila shots, and go for some food instead.
8. Shopping
Maybe you think it’s a good idea to do something your date likes.
Like shopping.
Women love shopping, right?
Well some do.
Personally, I find it pretty boring.
But shopping on a motorcycle can only end in tears – for both of you.
There are two issues here:
- Where is she going to put all her motorcycle gear when she wants to try clothes on?
You’ll have to carry it.
How much will you love that? - When she does buy something, how are you going to get it out of there?
You’d better buy some bungee cords at the mall so you can strap on the 14 more bags you now need to carry.
You can’t really get to know each other either if you spend all of your time sitting under a pile of motorcycle gear outside the women’s changing room in a department store.
It’s not like you’re married.
By the time she gets out, she’ll be excited that she found some great clothes on sale.
She won’t understand why you’re so grouchy.
Let alone why your temper gets even worse when you have to try and pack all those must-have bargains onto the motorcycle.
9. Show her why speeding is so exciting
I understand the need for speed.
It’s a rush. It’s thrilling. And it’s addictive.
But there’s a time and a place to push the tacho into the red.
That time and place tends to be on empty, quiet roads, where you can see for miles.
And you don’t have a very nervous date perched on the back of the bike, clinging onto you like a terrified koala.
Yes, motorcycles are cool, fast machines that take your breath away.
WE know that.
But if your date is new to motorcycles, she’ll be moving into panic attack mode as the speedo creeps up and up.
It takes time to get used to sitting on the back of a motorcycle that’s zooming through the world.
And it takes some experience as a motorcycle passenger to go with the flow, and adjust to different speeds.
For now, your date needs to be introduced gently to the motorcycle experience.
If she’s sobbing in terror at the end of your high speed run, there probably won’t be a second date.
And if there is, it will never involve your motorcycle.
Ever, ever, ever again.
10. A rainy, cold ride
If your motorcycle date is scheduled for a day where torrential rain is predicted, change your plans.
NOW you can go to the movies, or a fancy restaurant.
Just take the car.
Because a motorcycle date in the rain is just plain miserable.
She’ll be cold, wet, scared, and have to spend the whole date in dripping clothes.
And it won’t help to explain that you have good days and bad days on a motorcycle.
Show her the good days first – lots of them – before she sees the flip side.
Otherwise her impression of motorcycles will be overwhelmingly negative.
And she’ll resent you for putting her through it.
A motorcycle date can be the most fun thing ever…
Just don’t do any of the things we’ve talked about here!
Ease your date into the motorcycle experience.
Show her why bikes are the best things in the world.
Get this right, and she might just fall in love with motorcycles – and you – at the same time!
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