Fast Babes Featured Rider: @fastlanefever
Name: Bobbi
Instagram: @fastlanefever
We met Bobbi at Babes Ride Out East Coast this year and instantly knew she was a bad ass! She recently bought a wrecked 2020 Low Rider S and rebuilt it from the ground up into this beautiful beast š
Where did you grow up and where do you currently reside?
My childhood was a little wild! I was born in central Michigan, and lived there until I was 7. We lived in big beautiful houses for a time and we lived in a backwoods barn with a literal wooden outhouse for a time. We moved to Florida and lived in a house boat, then a house on the ocean. By the time I was in high school we were back in central Michigan and Iāve been here ever since. I currently live in Mt Pleasant in an old farm house I bought with my long term partner. Growing up in all these environments really fueled my love for traveling and seeing the world.
How did you initially get involved with motorcycles?
I remember seeing my grandparents on motorcycles, and my mom and step dad having them for a short time. I had always been interested in it and I remember asking my mom for a dirt bike so many times. It wasnāt until I was 19 that I finally got on a bike.
When did you get your first bike and what was it?
When I was 19, my mom called me one day to tell me sheād just bought a Honda Rebel 250 and I drove right over to her house and rode up and down her road for hours. We took the safety course together and got licensed, and she gave me the bike as a college graduation gift. Around this time I started working at my local Harley shop and was riding non stop, I only knew 2 other women riders at the time but I didnāt care who I rode with, I couldnāt get enough.
What do you currently ride and why?
I rode that 250 Rebel for years, but when I was 21 I bought a 2004 Harley Sportster 883. I was making minimum wage and got the cheapest running one I could find. It was mostly stock, had spray painted pink stripes on it, and was not āmeā at all! But I was just happy to get some more power, and I had plans. Over the course of two years I turned the bike into what it is now, and named her Lucille. I had half the bike tore apart for powder coating when I started dating my current partner, who was a Harley tech, and he helped me turn that 883 into a 1200. That bike has taken me so many places and we truly grew together.
As much as I love her, by the time I was 26 I learned that I have a passion for moto camping, long distance traveling, and started dreaming of bigger, more comfortable bikes. It took awhile but Iām 29 now and after 10 years on this journey I just finished building a 2020 Harley Low Rider S that I bought wrecked from an auction. It took me a year to do a full frame replacement, and of course it couldnāt just be stock! I was inspired by old FXRP police bikes, and made my own version.
What is your happiest memory that involves motorcycles?
Gosh, every memory on a motorcycle is happy. I named my Sportster Lucille because of BB Kings song.. āI don't think I could just talk enough about Lucille,
Sometime when I'm blue seem like Lucille try to help me, calls my name.ā Every sad time can be made better by taking a ride, and every happy moment is even greater when on a bike. Itās a portal to a place that exists nowhere else. Itās when Iām the most alive, and the most free.
Outside of motorcycles, tell us a little about yourself?
I love the outdoors, I love traveling. I love going to moto events and meeting other riders, but Iām actually pretty shy and quiet. I work as a CNC Machinist, a career I fell into at random. I needed a job after being laid off for a winter at the Harley shop and got a job cleaning at a machine shop. I didnāt even know what a machine shop was to be honest! I didnāt enjoy cleaning and after about a week I could see they were busy and needed help, and asked if I could try to run a machine. They said yes, and the rest was history, I taught myself everything I could do that I could stay on. 8 years later Iām a top level Lathe programmer. Itās not my passion but I enjoy it, and my favorite perk of the job is machining my own motorcycle parts!
Beyond that, Iām a proud and involved Auntie. Iām a pet mama to my dog, cats, and chickens. Iām working on a long term remodel of my house with my partner of 9 years, Joey. I love learning anything and everything, I enjoy anything hands on - carpentry, drawing, designing, building, and anything thatās a puzzle to be solved in some way. My dream is to build custom bikes and travel the world on a motorcycle.
How have you become a more confident rider? Things youāve done to help you gain confidence?
Initially, taking the safety course gave me a lot of confidence as a new rider. After that, riding as much as possible, riding in groups and in different kinds of weather helped me grow. I think learning about bikes and how they worked has also given me a different kind of confidence.
In the past two years I have rented a few different bikes and I think itās helped me grow as a rider. Every challenge is a growing opportunity, always say yes, even if it scares you. Just recently I was in my first accident, I got cut off my a semi in the middle lane of a busy 6 lane highway, in Nashville, in the dark. My bike and I both slid across two lanes and somehow both came out on the other side relatively unscathed, when all odds were against us. After getting cleaned up by EMT, and having my boyfriend look over my bike, I put gloves over my bleeding hands and kept going. I think about it all and know that I did everything I could, but it has made me more conscious and aware of the real challenges of riding a motorcycle. No matter how long youāve been riding, sh*t happens.
What is your dream trip/bucket list ride(s)?
Everywhere!! My dream is to travel the world, but for now Iām just trying to travel the US. Ideally, I want to do it all on my own bike, but I also enjoy flying and renting.
Another dream of mine (I have so many) is to get an adventure bike and go cross country backroading. If itās on a motorcycle, and I have my whole life strapped to it, Iām in.
How do you think motorcycles have changed your life?
I get choked up thinking of this question. If it wasnāt for motorcycles, I have no idea who or where Iād be today. Motorcycles set me on the path to where I am. I wasnāt in a great place when I first got on that Honda Rebel, but then my whole life changed. I suddenly felt empowered to be my own woman, I found an identity and a hunk of metal to hold onto where Iād been floating around looking for a reason to keep going. I met the love of my life because of motorcycles. I met my best friends because of motorcycles, when in the past Iād always struggled to make connections. Thereās not much in my life I canāt credit taking that initial ride.
Do you have any upcoming motorcycle trips/rides planned?
Every Michigan summer means moto camping, and weekend rides with no maps or destinations in mind. Itās one of my favorite things. Iāve been traveling and riding SO much since may, Iām taking a month to relax and not set plans. But in August Iām planning a trip to hit the first weekend of Sturgis, and then heading down to Utah to ride a loop down into Arizona, over to Nevada, then up to the salt flats to catch the end of speed week. Canāt wait to hit the road!
