Whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend never owned a motorcycle.

Just ask Tammy Mills. Last Christmas, a long, slender package beckoned her from under the tree. It was just the right size for the new chrome pipes for her Harley she’d been hinting at all season. Boy, was she disappointed when she opened it.

“It was a freaking carpet sweeper,” Mills said, rolling her eyes.

She got the pipes a few months later for her birthday.

“I get excited about it,” she said. “It’s not so much jewelry now, it’s chrome or leather.”

Women who ride love their chrome. They love their leathers. And they can’t live without lip gloss. Not because they want to look pretty, but because the wind and the sun do a number on them.

Over the last few months, I’ve interviewed a bunch of lady bikers. They’re not obsessed with shopping for gear, but, as Bangor rider Erin Smith says, “we do make our bikes comfortable for ourselves.”

Her bike features a small silver bell hanging from the frame. It’s called a Gremlin Bell, to keep the road gremlins at bay. According to www.gremlinbells.com, “Motorcycle gremlins … LOVE to ride, but they are also mischievous little devils and they cause all sorts of problems for you while you are riding. Some say they are responsible for that old lady in the minivan not seeing you and cutting you off in traffic.” You get the picture. It’s like a good luck charm – even better if someone else buys it for you.

Heated hand grips are also a special extra for some riders, because hands are often the first thing to get cold during an early- or late-season ride. Smith splurged on a set, as did Robin Cummings, who works at Central Maine Harley-Davidson in Hermon. She also has a radio and a CD player on her Ultra Classic, which has black cherry pearl paint and a healthy amount of chrome. She wears a helmet all the time, as much for the sake of her hairdo as for safety. It also has a bright, eye-catching paint job.

Bright colors aren’t just trendy, they’re safe. Maine Motorcycle Education director Erik Payne says students always ask him if manufacturers make anything other than black gear. These days, the answer is a resounding yes. A girl can get pink or baby blue leather chaps – with a matching jacket – at www.DennisKirk.com. Joe Rocket (www.joerocket.com) has a whole collection of fitted jackets, chaps and suits that flatter a woman’s figure – in leather or mesh, which is breathable, waterproof and equally durable.

Harley-Davidson not only has a whole section of its Web site dedicated to women, but it sells a whole bunch of girly gear. So, too, do dealerships such as Plourde & Plourde in Caribou and Central Maine Harley-Davidson in Hermon. My best friend’s mom, Mary, recently got a pewter leather jacket that matches her Harley. Can you say sassy?

It’s enough to make me want to take up riding. Except for the small fact that I have no balance. Maybe I’ll hop on the back of Mary’s. And borrow her jacket.

ShopGirl would love to hear from you! Send questions, comments or suggestions by e-mail to: kandresen@bangordailynews.net, by U.S. mail to: Kristen Andresen, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402-1329, or by fax to: 941-9476. Tune in to ShopGirl at 5 p.m. Fridays on WLBZ-2.