Lu is the owner and operator of Zhanxin Motorbike Co. in Qishan District of Kaohsiung City. Born in 1969 in the southern Taiwan metropolis, she is a former motorcycle racer. Lu opened her first repair business in 2010 in the northern city of Hsinchu and now runs two shops in her hometown.
“Lots of people in my family are medical and pharmaceutical industry professionals like doctors and nurses, including my father, mother, uncle, aunt, brother and sister. I, on the other hand, was never interested in schoolwork. When I was young, I left Kaohsiung to go to junior high in Tainan City and then senior high in Pingtung County [both in southern Taiwan]. Afterward, I had various jobs in the region, such as running an internet cafe. It wasn’t until 2003 that motorcycle racing evolved into more than a hobby.
My sporting career got off to a rough start that first year. When I was racing in an off-road event in Thailand, I crashed my bike in a forest and ended up with a large wound in my leg. Fortunately, it wasn’t bone-deep, but I had to walk around on crutches for six months. I realized then I was too inexperienced for that level of competition, so I upped my training significantly. Over the next decade, I attended about 40 off-road and track contests at home and abroad, winning several golds as well as a host of silvers and bronzes.
About 10 years ago, while I was still a racer, I started apprenticing in building and repairing motorcycles with some fellow competitors and shop owners. I opened my first store in Hsinchu in 2010 and signed up for more training, completing a licensing course for jet engine technicians organized by Yamaha Technical Academy. Hsinchu is called the Windy City, and for good reason. I found the constant gusts unbearable, so in 2013 I closed my business and moved back home to Kaohsiung.
(Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
Qishan is a rural area. Before I opened my first store here, locals had to go to Tainan or downtown Kaohsiung just to get their oil changed. Now I have two full-time employees and one part-time worker at my two shops in the district. Each month, we fix or do maintenance on over 100 bikes from scooters to heavy motorcycles. Our client base is also quite diverse, ranging from schoolteachers to military officers at nearby bases. Army personnel tend to be frequent visitors. They rarely have a chance to ride their bikes, and if you leave a vehicle unattended and exposed to the sun and rain for a couple of weeks, you’ll often have trouble starting it.
My life is tied to the business, with little time left over for anything else. Clients can reach out for help at all hours and even from faraway locations. On weekends and holidays, motorcyclists tend to go on road trips and if their bikes have a problem, they’ll phone us for help. I remember one customer called me at midnight from Kenting [National Park in Pingtung]. It took us four hours to drive out there and transport the bike back. Another time, a student contacted me at 1 a.m. He’d gone to see a movie and his scooter broke down on the way back to his dorm. It was late, but I couldn’t just leave him stuck on the side of the road.
Some motorcyclists give me a suspicious look and I can see them quietly grumbling: ‘What does a woman know about this?’ I’ve even had occasions when people started arguing and stormed out of my shop because they disagreed with me. I used to tell clients, the more opportunities I get, the quicker I’ll learn and the more competent I’ll become. Gender bias exists in this industry. People remain dubious about a woman’s ability to repair bikes, but women should be given the same opportunities to succeed as men. Professionals like me deserve respect.
Clients are often surprised to see a female owner of a motorcycle repair shop. Things tend to go a lot easier when they find out you’re the boss rather than an employee. Instead of working for someone else, I’ve started a business by myself from scratch and turned my passion into my career. These things are never easy to achieve. In this field, there’s always so much to absorb because of the ever-increasing variety and complexity of locally made and imported bikes. Lifelong learning is central to this job and that’s part of the reason I love it.”
—interview by Pat Gao
Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw