Interview with Tracy Ta- A woman mechanic and rider
As International Female Ride Day is upon us, I decided to take the time to get to know the women in our community, and their contributions. Tracy Ta from San Diego is an all all over badass that works on her own bike(s), as well as helps others with their own. I asked her a few questions, and heres what she had to say:
Interview with Tracy Ta
IG handle: @tracythewild
“Like, just looking out and seeing the way the ocean breathes, or standing against the wind at a viewpoint, on the edge of a mountain, next to my bike and realizing… this machine that I rebuilt with my own hands, brought me up here. That feeling is truly something else.”
What do you ride?
I got a 2007 Suzuki LS650 and a pain-in-my-ass-to-work-on vintage 1986 Honda Shadow VT700
What’s the most memorable experience on a motorcycle?
I feel like I often have these moments where I’m riding, and I’m like, ‘man…the universe really does all come together’. I guess those are the moments why we ride right?
But if I had to highlight just one time though, I’d say it was this random test ride. I had gone through months of working on this bike (the LS). And by ‘working on it’, I actually mean fixing it, it breaking down on me while going up a hill on some random road, doing roadside repairs, then more breaking down, gutting, etc.
…So that day started something like this – After long hours of research, rebuilding, replacing, and cleaning the slime out of the carburetor, I set out to test it. I started out in my neighborhood, then local streets. Honestly, I was so nervous but I knew I had to test it through high RPMs. I hit the highway, and I guess the adrenaline of it actually functioning properly got to me and I found myself out in Alpine going through the Cuyamaca mountains. Mind you, this is my first proper ride out with this lightweight 350lb single banger; the bike was gettin’ squirrelly, blasting up the tail end of that 6% grade incline through some gnarly winds. Dude, I felt like I was in some 80s hair metal video! Eagle soaring over the canyon beside me, lightning striking behind me as I rode into these mountains… Lol!!! I was pretty stoked!
Well, I took Sunrise Highway and celebrated the success of my work by hitting up some Laguna Mountain riding. I was super proud of myself for fixing this thing right. It took a lot, mentally and emotionally, to get myself to learn this mechanical stuff. And it wasn’t easy facing all the failures along the way. So yep, this was THE moment for me.
Yee-Haw!!!!!!!!!!!
Please tell us how you got into motorcycle engineering, and what inspired you to learn to build.
Growing up, my dad had an auto repair shop, my brother and uncles fixed bikes and raced CMRA, so I was always interested in all things mechanical. But because I’m a girl, I think asking my dad to teach me how to work on cars, wasn’t in my stars. Certainly, they planted the seed of inspiration.
I started riding around 10 years ago, but I never go to own my own bike. My friends would let me ride their bikes here and there, and I shared a 2004 Suzuki GSXR 600 for a short period with my partner at the time.
So fast forward to 2018 – I had gone through some heavy life stuff and I just needed to pick myself back up in so many ways. What better way to do that then to really challenge and test yourself? I said, the only way I’d get a bike and get back to riding again, was if I could work on the bike myself. I’m a firm believer in being self-sufficient. But I had never worked on a motorcycle and honestly, didn’t even know if I still remembered how to ride.
I found the LS for a steal. It hadn’t been running for over two years and the owner had no idea what was wrong with it. At this point, I was really questioning myself, and thinking I was probably biting off more than I could chew.
After doing some research in diagnosing what the problems could have been – I found that it might be anywhere from a simple carb clean (I had no idea what that even entailed) or it could have a blown motor, or anything in between. I was hesitant for sure, but I figured my backup plan was that if I couldn’t do it – I could at least sell it for what I bought it for. So, I borrowed my uncle’s truck and we pushed it up into the bed.
Then I just went down the rabbit hole from there. I did so much research by reading, watching YouTubes, trolling Suzuki forums, highlighting and taking notes in the service manual, studying diagrams, learned to read schematics, and all that happened before I even touched the bike. I was too chicken to start messing with anything in fear I’d break that thing even more haha.
Where is your favorite element to ride in? Why?
When I get on my bike, I usually find myself heading towards the ocean or into the mountains. I tend to seek places where I can be in solitude and really, just be with myself. The bike already does that for you, but when you pair that feeling with your surroundings, it becomes really real. I guess that physical sense of being alone, lets me let go spiritually and allows my mind to be free. Like, just looking out and seeing the way the ocean breathes, or standing against the wind at a viewpoint, on the edge of a mountain, next to my bike and realizing… this machine that I rebuilt with my own hands, brought me up here. That feeling is truly something else.
If there’s anything else you’d like for us to know about you, please let us know!
I think being transparent about my moto journey is important because I don’t want anyone to mistaken me for some super skilled mechanic, ya know. I honestly can’t even remember names of tools, I don’t use proper terminology with bike parts, and I call everything some descriptive name with -‘nugget’ at the end haha!
I mean I just want women to know that it is totally okay and normal to not know everything technical, in order to get in there and learn about our bikes. The drive to learn and the ‘want’ to actually do the work, is what really matters and that will get us further than what we probably give ourselves credit for.
I think it can be healthy to have a little self doubt in there, because it shows that we’re stepping out of our comfort zone but also willing to allow growth. As women riders, I think we all have a wild hair for that kind of skill.
Ride on, sisters.
@tracythewild
Tracy, thank you for taking the time to share your journey with the women’s moto world…you are truly an inspiration. See you on the road!
photo by @evilvision_photography
Tracy rebuilds the carb on her 1986 Honda Shadow, then reinstalls the heart of the bike to bring back it to life.