picking 1st bike for the girl

[PeterW]

Let her choose !.

Seriously, new to bikes, the most important thing is that she feels comfortable. There are physical differences between men and women other than the obvious issues, woman are usually shorter and have wider hips/shorter arms - that really messes up the ergos - so a bike that may feel fine for a guy near the same build might be pure hell for your gf.

I finally got my wife back onto a bike after around 30 years, it's a scooter, but it works for her - take the wins you can ;)

Pete

[steveyak]

Originally Posted by D R

The fact that YOU are here posting the question on what to get HER brings one concern to mind.

Are you looking because YOU want her to do it or because SHE feels she is ready and is looking for something bigger?

If it's because of the latter, then there has been plenty of good advise offered.



If it's because you want her to, the I recommend you don't do it. Too many times novice riders have been hurt by pushing them too far too fast.

If SHE is ready, then go for it.

I'm asking here because I've been riding 30 years(since I was six) so I dont really remember what its like to be a new rider, and also I had 12 years riding experience before I got my first street bike. So I feel my judgement may be biased. She is tending to follow my thoughts or guidance here. We both like to be coached at the things we love by people we trust. As I said before she is a national champion skydiver, she is very good about taking the needed steps to be great at something without going to fast.
So all that said we are going to be deciding between the 250-500 range. she is going to spend some time on the kx125 which has a much scarier power curve than an ex500 and see how she feels on that. it is very light but she will get used to the power. Also as a note she can be on the f800 and flat foot it. She's not riding it just sitting on it.

[steveyak]

Originally Posted by DavidBanner

if you're on here asking this kind of question, sounds like BOTH of you have a lot to learn about riding/motorcycles. the whole "guy-getting-chick-to-ride-her-own-bike" is one of the more tired motorcycle stories.

if you don't know the difference between a 100cc bike and a 250, 500 or 650twin...it might be time to take a break from playing teacher to a novice and learn a few things yourself.

don't mean to come off harsh, but just callin it like i see it.

a lot of guys on this site have been on every displacement bike and find themselves coming back to a fun little bike. every bike is perfect for its own niche.

If you care to make a comment. you should first read the text on the previous pages.

[steveyak]

Originally Posted by PeterW

Let her choose !.

Seriously, new to bikes, the most important thing is that she feels comfortable. There are physical differences between men and women other than the obvious issues, woman are usually shorter and have wider hips/shorter arms - that really messes up the ergos - so a bike that may feel fine for a guy near the same build might be pure hell for your gf.

I finally got my wife back onto a bike after around 30 years, it's a scooter, but it works for her - take the wins you can ;)

Pete

You are right pete, and I am letting her choose. taken her to revzilla to try on gear for 5 hours. sat her on loads of bikes and still going to other friends bikes and dealers, and to nyc bike show to sit on loads of bikes. And I am not pushing any direction for her. I would personally like to see her on dr650 but she has no interest in one.

[BanjoBoy]

Originally Posted by steveyak

I'm asking here because I've been riding 30 years(since I was six) so I dont really remember what its like to be a new rider, and also I had 12 years riding experience before I got my first street bike. So I feel my judgement may be biased. She is tending to follow my thoughts or guidance here. We both like to be coached at the things we love by people we trust. As I said before she is a national champion skydiver, she is very good about taking the needed steps to be great at something without going to fast.
So all that said we are going to be deciding between the 250-500 range. she is going to spend some time on the kx125 which has a much scarier power curve than an ex500 and see how she feels on that. it is very light but she will get used to the power. Also as a note she can be on the f800 and flat foot it. She's not riding it just sitting on it.

Sounds like yer take'in all the right steps.
I've helped other newbs; some use a small bike as a stepping stone, 'n some have stuck with the small bikes.
I've known peeps (Menz 'n wimmenz) who've just started out on big bikes, liked 'em 'n have survived many thousands of miles on 'em.
Butt, no matter how you slice it, smaller lighter bikes are more "forgiving" and I think better to learn on. I recommended the 500s cuz they're a good compromise of be'in light 'n maneuverable, yet still having enough power to get outta their own way. Plus a good example can be had in your price range.
But if'n she said she wanted a Hayabusa I'd say go fer it also. Whatever she feels comfortable with.
Most of the wimmenz I know are better riders than men cuz they have better judgement. Just look at all the dick waving in this thread!

Originally Posted by steveyak

If you care to make a comment. you should first read the text on the previous pages.

[Blixa]

It may be useful for her to check out http://www.twowheelfemales.com. It's a terrific forum for women riders and many have shared their experiences on different bikes and on starting out as a new rider.

[feathered]

If she's as level-headed and active as you describe, the sv650 should be fine. Especially if she already has some experience on a tiny bike. Have her sit on the bikes.. not just straddle them, but sit as if she's riding while you stabilize. Get her to think about staying on it for an hour or two. Have her work the bars and controls. If it's got a more agressive riding position, have her wear her helmet.

My wife started out on a gs500 that we picked because it seemed like it checked the boxes. It was very cheap, it wasn't a 250 (so she could cruise on the highway), it wasn't too powerful. The experience was so-so. She absolutely learned and improved, but was never very comfortable, the engine was a putz, and worst was reliability. Really old and air-cooled, the bike was a bear to start any time but summer and throttle response was mediocre. Riding it eventually became a chore, and her improvement began to stagnate.

She's since replaced it with a Versys 650 and improved far, far faster than she did on the GS500, not to mention she enjoys it. She actually misses riding it if we're away from home, brings it up without me mentioning it, etc.

I think my wife probably could have started with the Versys, especially if we'd lowered it (no need at this point). The ideal would have been the gs500 or another small bike for ~2 months, then to the V. The only advantages of the gs500 were confidence-inspiring small size (which quickly became 'my body is all crunched up on this bike') and price.

It sounds like your girlfriend already has saddle time on a tiny bike. That likely means she shouldn't be overly concerned with getting 'too much bike', especially when you're talking about something reasonable like an sv. If they are an issue, things like comfort and maintenance are going to come to the fore quickly.

[steveyak]

Originally Posted by Blixa

It may be useful for her to check out http://www.twowheelfemales.com. It's a terrific forum for women riders and many have shared their experiences on different bikes and on starting out as a new rider.

going to have her take a look around this forum

[corndog67]

Ok Steve. Lots of opinions coming at you. GS500e. I owned one. Worst carburetion and forks of any bike I've ever owned. I've tuned plenty of carbureted bikes. I couldn't get this one to either (1), not run out of gas going through the gears, (2), flood the bike out with gas because the floats were too high. There was no middle ground, I had them off about 9 times over a weekend, finally left them a pinch high. And I've talked to several people that had the exact same issue. Forks bottomed out going into driveways. Seriously, 1 inch bumps bottomed them out. Absolutely no damping. Wasn't going to send a set of forks off a $900 bike to RaceTech for a $750 fork job. And
GSTwins banned me forever for telling them what a bunch of yahoos they were, they give out dangerous advise, and if you tell them anything other than what they want to hear, they ban you. And a lot of the GS500Es use oil too. Other than that, they are perfect.

Someone gave me a Ninja 250 once. I rode it for a while, and then gave it to someone else. An extremely docile, completely non-exciting bike to ride. Oh well, I guess it won't get away from you. I don't like them, not enough substance to them. Like riding a toaster.

I had an SV650, non S model with regular handlebars. I would turn my wife loose in a minute on one, not very threatening, but when she starts getting with the program, you won't have to buy her another bike.

That being said, my wife has never had any professional instruction. She's about 5-8, 150 lbs or so, probably stronger than me, too. I taught her how to ride (she did ride a scooter before though, but that doesn't count) on Pismo Beach (the hard pack) on a KTM 500 MX 2 stroke, She couldn't start it, but she figured out the clutch, shifting and braking, with a very small amount of coaching by me, and pretty soon, was having a great time going up and down the beach. I let her putt it around the neighborhood on it, too. You learn throttle respect on a 2stroke 500, a couple of big wheelies taught her about yanking the throttle open on it. Then a YZ250 2 stroke. She could start that, but thought the KTM had better power (no kidding). But she had no issues on a peaky 2 stroke dirt bike. She rode my GS500e, but didn't like it. Like I said, it was a piece of shit. I believe she actually rode my CBR900RR a couple of times, but didn't like the clip-ons. Now, she's riding my Ducati S4. Standard handle bars, it's a pretty comfortable, situp style of bike. It's got a lot of power, but not like an R-1 or something like that. And she is doing just fine on it, she's got a lot of common sense, and a lot more sense of self preservation than I ever had.

Steve, it's all up to your ole lady. If she's got common sense, probably no issues riding pretty much anything. If she is lacking common sense, maybe you should limit the power so she doesn't kill herself on it. (my ex lacked self control and had no sense of self preservation).

[steveyak]

Corndog thanks for that info. That was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to know. Looks like the gs may be coming off the table. Suspension really bottomed out that easily huh?

[shipwrek12001]

may I suggest sherpa 250, good ergo for being aware, good handling, e-start, you can take a curb without distruction, learnig to drive on the road requires another learning curve, not too fast. cheap insurance. you can still take off road. to re-enforce out of control stopping.

[LuluOfDenver]

Originally Posted by corndog67

Ok Steve. Lots of opinions coming at you. GS500e. I owned one. Worst carburetion and forks of any bike I've ever owned. I've tuned plenty of carbureted bikes. I couldn't get this one to either (1), not run out of gas going through the gears, (2), flood the bike out with gas because the floats were too high. There was no middle ground, I had them off about 9 times over a weekend, finally left them a pinch high. And I've talked to several people that had the exact same issue. Forks bottomed out going into driveways. Seriously, 1 inch bumps bottomed them out. Absolutely no damping. Wasn't going to send a set of forks off a $900 bike to RaceTech for a $750 fork job. And
GSTwins banned me forever for telling them what a bunch of yahoos they were, they give out dangerous advise, and if you tell them anything other than what they want to hear, they ban you. And a lot of the GS500Es use oil too. Other than that, they are perfect.

Someone gave me a Ninja 250 once. I rode it for a while, and then gave it to someone else. An extremely docile, completely non-exciting bike to ride. Oh well, I guess it won't get away from you. I don't like them, not enough substance to them. Like riding a toaster.

I had an SV650, non S model with regular handlebars. I would turn my wife loose in a minute on one, not very threatening, but when she starts getting with the program, you won't have to buy her another bike.

That being said, my wife has never had any professional instruction. She's about 5-8, 150 lbs or so, probably stronger than me, too. I taught her how to ride (she did ride a scooter before though, but that doesn't count) on Pismo Beach (the hard pack) on a KTM 500 MX 2 stroke, She couldn't start it, but she figured out the clutch, shifting and braking, with a very small amount of coaching by me, and pretty soon, was having a great time going up and down the beach. I let her putt it around the neighborhood on it, too. You learn throttle respect on a 2stroke 500, a couple of big wheelies taught her about yanking the throttle open on it. Then a YZ250 2 stroke. She could start that, but thought the KTM had better power (no kidding). But she had no issues on a peaky 2 stroke dirt bike. She rode my GS500e, but didn't like it. Like I said, it was a piece of shit. I believe she actually rode my CBR900RR a couple of times, but didn't like the clip-ons. Now, she's riding my Ducati S4. Standard handle bars, it's a pretty comfortable, situp style of bike. It's got a lot of power, but not like an R-1 or something like that. And she is doing just fine on it, she's got a lot of common sense, and a lot more sense of self preservation than I ever had.

Steve, it's all up to your ole lady. If she's got common sense, probably no issues riding pretty much anything. If she is lacking common sense, maybe you should limit the power so she doesn't kill herself on it. (my ex lacked self control and had no sense of self preservation).

Hey, I originally learned to ride on Pismo Beach too. I pretty well stayed on the hard pack, but that was a great place to first learn. My parents still live in SM, so one of these days I'll go back and tackle the dunes.

[Fajita Dave]

Originally Posted by steveyak

You are right pete, and I am letting her choose. taken her to revzilla to try on gear for 5 hours. sat her on loads of bikes and still going to other friends bikes and dealers, and to nyc bike show to sit on loads of bikes. And I am not pushing any direction for her. I would personally like to see her on dr650 but she has no interest in one.

Sitting on bikes isn't the same as riding them. My wife was pretty stuck on a sportbike after riding mine and said she liked the aggressive seating position. She sat on every type of bike you possibly could and dual sports were her 2nd to last pick (just in front of cruisers). She didn't want to have a thing to do with dual sports..... until she actually rode one. Now a DS is all she would consider buying. Sitting on it sort of lets you feel how the size of it fits you but riding it lets you get to know its personality.

I understand if you can't find anyone that will let her ride their bike but maybe test rides from a dealership after she takes the MSF? If she can't get the chance to ride the different types of motorcycles than its not like any choice would really be "wrong." All of them are fun, especially to a new rider!

[JDK111]

[QUOTE=steveyak;20408756]she has very little riding experience, I've just had her on little xr100 for the last few months. /QUOTE]

Does she have her licence yet?
If not, anything over a 250 is a recipe for bad things to happen.
BlueLightning is spot on IMO.

[Thanantos]

Originally Posted by steveyak

You are right pete, and I am letting her choose. taken her to revzilla to try on gear for 5 hours. sat her on loads of bikes and still going to other friends bikes and dealers, and to nyc bike show to sit on loads of bikes. And I am not pushing any direction for her. I would personally like to see her on dr650 but she has no interest in one.

I get that this point has been made here with very little tact by some other posters, but I see a lot of problems here.

"...I am letting her choose."
"taken her to revzilla"
"...sat her on loads of bikes..."
"...I am not pushing her..."
"I would personally like to see her on dr650 but she has no interest in one."

Maybe you should back off and let her decide on her own if and what she wants to ride? If she wants advice provide it, but it seems like you are pushing pretty hard here.