At the end of the 19th century, numerous inventors turned to the gasoline-powered vehicle, but one man, Charles Metz, manufactured a racing bicycle, which led to the establishment of the motorcycle. In 1900, the first race was recorded in the United States, and this led to two well-known brands of motorcycles that we know today, namely the Indian and Harley-Davidson motorcycles (founded in 1903). Although the Harley-Davidson Motor Company experienced greater success, supplying the military (First World War and Second World War) and police with motorcycles (McIntosh 2013), a ‘bad boy’ image was associated with riders of these bikes. Motorcyclists in the 1970s were seen as deviants and involved in crime, drugs and violence (Natalier 2001).

Within the motorcycle culture, female motorcyclists were seen as inferior to men and were often the sole financial providers, whereas men could spend their time courting or performing club duties (Quinn 1987). According to Quinn, all documented research claims that women’s subcultural role in motorcycling was characterised by patriarchal submission (as some scholars focus on women’s autonomy and personal agency). Glamser (2003), though, reports that women learned about bikes from men. It was not until 1960 that Honda launched an advertisement with the slogan, ‘You meet the nicest person on a Honda’, featuring housewives and young couples, which evidently led to a respectable image of motorcyclists (McIntosh 2013). These changes and the public image are therefore more than just metal, plastic and rubber (Blankenship 2013).

While research conducted on motorcycling is available, it covers a wide range of topics, for example the ethnographic aspects (Conner 2009; Levingston & Zimmerman 2003; Schouten & McAlexander 1995), environmental aspects (Leong, Muttamara & Laortanakul 2002), safety (Elliott et al. 2003; Weinzimmer et al. 2014), cultural significance (Maynard 2008; Packer & Coffey 2004), charity runs (Rabinowitz 2007), adventure motorcycling (Price-Davies 2011), spirituality (Litton 2008), spending analysis (Kruger, Viljoen & Saayman 2015) and motivation (Garber 2002; Hagen, Pardo & Valente 2016; Kruger et al. 2014; Thompson & Thompson 2014). Authors of studies on gender aspects of motorcycling include Cockburn and Ormond (1993); Hopper and Moore (1990); Kelkar and Nathan (2002); Martin, Schouten and McAlexander (2006); Mellström (2004); Meyer (2009); Oyesiku and Odufuwa (2002); Roster (2007); Thompson (2012); and Veno and Winterhalder (2009). Although the latter mentioned studies focus on gender, none of them compares the profile of a male and female rider. For a long time, motorcycling has predominantly been a male activity, but for women, it has been more of a socialisation activity with men (Martin et al. 2006). Today, motorcycling is both a transport and recreational activity (Huth, Fussl & Risser 2014). Oyesiku and Odufuwa (2002) looked briefly at the gender perspectives in travel behaviour in Nigeria, with an emphasis on the mode of transport. Hanson and Hanson (1980) found that Swedish women, in contrast to their spouses, use scooters or small motorcycles more for shopping and domestic trips and less for social and recreational travel.

Over decades, there has been a dramatic change in transportation and thought. In general, very little research on the gender dimension exists in developing countries. In many developing countries in Asia and Africa, scooters are the main form of transport. They are easily manoeuvrable in big cities, they are economical and more women than men make use of them (Pinch & Reimer 2012). These characteristics also work in tandem with the socio-economic (income, for example) and demographic characteristics of households (Hanson 1982; Stead et al. 2000; Steiner 1994).

Because of the economic situation in many countries, it has become the trend among parents to buy a scooter rather than a car for their children, as they are less expensive and easier to park. Another benefit is that in South Africa, one only needs to be 16 to obtain a motorcycle licence. Girls, especially rural girls, grow up with motorcycles, typically dirt bikes, to ride for sheer fun (Martin et al. 2006), as opposed to women, who slowly become interested in the motorcycles of their partners (who encourage and support them) and then even become riders. Moving from the pillion seat to the front has resulted in a quantum leap for women. Therefore, social-demographic and behavioural aspects have an influence on the motives of one’s decision to attend events, which evidently have different outcomes (Figure 1), as every event differs from one to the next (Kruger & Saayman 2015; Saayman & Saayman 2015).

Levy (1959) refers to findings of previous research, claiming that consumer behaviour is rife with gender symbolism (Iyer & Debevec 1989), a salient feature (Gould 1996) of gender identity, influencing consumer behaviour (Patterson & Hogg 2004). Bristor and Ficher (1993) mention that one sometimes falls into a trap when trying to recognise the way in which consumer research is gendered. Riding a motorcycle might be characterised as gender tourism for women (Martin et al. 2006; Moore 1988).

Although many motorcyclists who were once rebellious settle down, marry and have families and careers, their love for motorcycles never goes away and more leisure time is spent enjoying this hobby. The demographic profile has changed from rebellious people to successful doctors, bankers and lawyers, to name but a few. They are also known as rich urban motorcyclists (RUBs), also known as Rubbies, which include women of all ages – even grandmothers (McIntosh 2013). The author further states that almost a quarter of the riders in the USA are women, with one in every 10 women owning a motorcycle. Today, women are the fastest growing segment among motorcycle riders (Knol 2010).

A structured self-completion questionnaire was designed to explore the objective of this study. The questionnaire was divided into two sections. Section A captured demographic details (e.g. gender, home language, age, education, home province, income and the level of education) and spending behaviour (e.g. the number of persons paid for, the number of tickets purchased, the length of stay and expenditure). Section B captured motivational and behavioural factors, measuring 18 items on a five-point Likert scale, where 1 = not important at all, 2 = less important, 3 = important, 4 = very important and 5 = extremely important. This section also requested information specific to bike behaviour and interest. Questions included bike interest, type of bike owned and travel companions, tourist attractions visited, media consumption and whether they travelled to other similar events and rallies, and questions relating to the bike festival.

These questions were derived from similar festival research that was conducted previously and are therefore based on research conducted by various authors (Kruger, Viljoen & Saayman 2013; Manners 2011; Saayman & Saayman 2004).

A convenience sampling method was used. Trained fieldworkers distributed the questionnaire to willing visitors at the festival, and they were briefed about the goal of the survey and the questionnaire. One hundred and eighty questionnaires were distributed daily over a 3-day period, as collecting data progressively allows for a more representative sample. To get an even number of questionnaires, 500 questionnaires were distributed over the 3 days, and 484 questionnaires were usable for this study. Israel (2009) explains that in a population of 24 000 (N), 484 respondents (n) are seen as a representative sample with an error rate of 7%. To limit bias, a simple random sampling method was used within a stratified method where the fieldworkers followed specific guidelines to distribute questionnaires to visitors of different non-homogeneous age and gender groups. The questionnaires received back were, therefore, more than adequate and were therefore included in further analysis. According to Yeh and Lawrence (1996), a sample size of more than 200 respondents enhances reliability significance (Pallant 2016).

Data were captured using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Further analysis was done by means of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software (SPSS Inc. 2012) to determine the motivational factors, after which the data were analysed in three steps.

Firstly, a general profile of the visitors to the South Africa Bike Festival was compiled. Secondly, by using factor analysis to identify the motivational factors, the Keiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling was applied to the 18 motivational factors. The purpose was to determine whether the covariance matrix was suitable for factor analysis. Factors greater than 0.6 were considered (Steyn 2000), and a reliability coefficient was computed for each factor to estimate the consistency (Cronbach’s alpha); all factors’ reliability coefficients above 0.3 were considered as acceptable in this study. The average inter-item correlations were also computed as another measure of reliability and had to lie between 0.15 and 0.55 (Clark & Watson 1995).

Lastly, independent t-tests, two-way frequency tables and a chi-square test were used to investigate any significant difference between men and women. Demographic and behavioural variables were used to examine whether there were statistically significant differences between the two gender groups. The results of the statistical analysis are discussed in the next section.

The majority of respondents who visited the festival were men (67%), between the ages of 35 and 49 (35%) years old and English speaking (52%). These visitors were mainly from the provinces of Gauteng (78%) and KwaZulu-Natal (5%), bought Saturday passes (31%) and were accompanied by their specific groups of friends (42%). They travelled in groups of two persons and spent an average of R2000 per group. The visitors indicated that they attend rallies or other motorcycle events twice a year. The largest groups of respondents (27% each) indicated that they either ride a bike once a day or (at least) once a week, their preferred brand is BMW (20%), and 41% of respondents indicated that they own at least one motorcycle. Of the respondents, 47% were exposed to motorcycles by their parents while they were between 0 and 10 years of age. Road bikes (50%), sports (43%), adventure (35%), cruisers (25%) and classic (23%) are the categories that best describe respondents’ interests. The largest group of respondents heard about the South Africa Bike Festival through word of mouth (39%), followed by 27% who heard about it on Discovery Channel.

The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy of 0.89 indicated that patterns of correlation are relatively compact and yield distinctive and reliable factors (Field 2005). The pattern matrix identified four factors (Table 1). These factors were labelled according to similar characteristics and explained 63% of the total variance. Factors were calculated as the average of all the items contributing to a specific factor to interpret them on the original five-point Likert scale of measurement in which 1 indicated not at all important, 2 slightly important, 3 important, 4 very important and 5 extremely important.

Factor scores have calculated the average of all items contributing to specific factors to be interpreted on a five-point Likert scale. Table 1 shows the following motives: Factor 1, lifestyle enthusiast, had the lowest mean value of 0.455. This factor included statements such as being a motorcycle enthusiast; being part of a unique and exciting event; experiencing attributes (shows, performances, etc.) at the South Africa Bike Festival that form part of the motorcyclist’s lifestyle; visiting the new, revamped Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit; having the opportunity to test drive motorcycles; seeing the largest selection of motorcycle brands; and this being the perfect occasion to discover and purchase new or the latest gear and gadgets.

Factor 2, event participant, received the second highest mean value (0.521). This factor included taking part in the custom-built championships, taking part in the charity ride, seeing an international celebrity and exposing one’s children to motorcycling events. Factor 3, escapist, revealed the highest mean value of 0.560. This factor consists of the following aspects: relaxation, spending time with family/partners/spouses and friends, and getting away from one’s daily routine. Lastly, Factor 4, socialiser, received the second lowest mean value of 0.516. This factor consists of meeting new people with similar interests, taking part in the pride owners’ classic bike display and it being a sociable event.

Independent t-tests were performed to determine whether significant differences existed between men and women in terms of socio-demographic and behavioural variables, including the motives. With regard to socio-demographic and behavioural aspects, Table 2 indicates that men and women differed significantly based on age (p = 0.032), income (p = 0.000), having children younger than 12 years old (p = 0.026), having children between 12 and 18 years old (p = 0.008), number of motorcycles owned (p = 0.001) and age at which motorcyclists were exposed to motorcycles (p = 0.002).

The results revealed that men were older (m = 40.2), had a greater income (m = 5.25), had more children between 12 and 18 years old (m = 0.49), owned a greater number of motorcycles (m = 2.5) and were exposed to motorcycles at a younger age (m = 11.35) compared to women. Men also had a significantly higher average of spending in the spending category. Men spent almost double on gear and merchandise (R696.10) compared to women (R359.63).

From the information shown in Table 3, it is clear that men and women were statistics-wise significantly different in terms of travelling individually (p = 0.000) and with a partner (p = 0.000), buying a Sunday pass (p = 0.005), being a motorcycle collector (p = 0.005), riding a motorcycle every day (p = 0.002), being exposed to motorcycles by family (p = 0.004), having a motorcycle interest in a café racer (p = 0.001), quad (p = 0.000) and classic (p = 0.007), and hearing about the festival through Discovery Channel on television (p = 0.001) and in magazines (p = 0.011).