Good size bike for a new Rider....

[timgray]

My wife wants a bike of her own. After year of seeing the world with a helmet directly in front of her she wants to see where we are going. So she went and took a MSC on her own, loved it and has her learners permit for this next year.

 

I am thinking of a Vulcan 750, it's low and a small bike so she can flatfoot the ground. Is that too big? she was throwing around a Buell 250 at the MSC.

[Iowawegian]

Well, call me partial, but I have a Yamaha Virago 1100, and I love it.

I'm 5'3 and 3/4 and of medium weight(don't make fun...I'm countin every inch as I keep shrinking!) Anyway, that bike has a lot of get up and go. Slim frame so it's easy to handle, and the heigth from seat to floor is perfect.

If she plans to do a lot of riding....she might want something bigger than a 750

Just my 2 cents....

[awsmsrv]

My wife wants a bike of her own. After year of seeing the world with a helmet directly in front of her she wants to see where we are going. So she went and took a MSC on her own, loved it and has her learners permit for this next year.

 

I am thinking of a Vulcan 750, it's low and a small bike so she can flatfoot the ground. Is that too big? she was throwing around a Buell 250 at the MSC.

You didn't mention how tall your wife is, as Iowawegian DID mention her height, so it's a little hard to be good with a recommendation, but, my wife at 5'5" has a V Star 650 & loves it. The seat is pretty low, but, the newer 950 has an even lower seat & if you/she wants something to grow into, you might want to consider that one. It's not a whole lot heavier than the 650.

[Guest scarylarry]

What I did was hit all the dealers sit on them if it feels right then test ride it if not move to the next one doesn't cost nothing but time..

But for someone to say the X bike is right for someone is impossible..

Besides bike shopping is fun and you have time, lots of time before summer gets here..

[mini-muffin]

I agree with Larry she needs to sit on a few to see what she likes. Also her height doesn't matter as much as her inseam.

 

Margaret

[bdyohecomcast.net]

my wife did about the same thing she started with a yamaha 1100 classic one trip and she found it seemed to small she then went to a vtx 1800 ,she is only 5,4 and loves it always buy the bigger one and grow into it. my opinon Bill

[dray]

My wife wants a bike of her own. After year of seeing the world with a helmet directly in front of her she wants to see where we are going. So she went and took a MSC on her own, loved it and has her learners permit for this next year.

 

I am thinking of a Vulcan 750, it's low and a small bike so she can flatfoot the ground. Is that too big? she was throwing around a Buell 250 at the MSC.

 

 

I dont think anyone would be happy with a 750 for much more than a week; and less if shes going to try to keep up to the bike your riding

 

Id say the 1100 classic would be a good start or even bigger; i had a 1100 classic and i never had one complant it was a fine bike and I spent some time thinking about trading it to get my wing

 

and if i could id still have one for bummin around by my self

 

although if you went with the vulcan 950 and change the gearing a tad it would be a good ride I know some one who changed the front and rear gears WOW what a differants'; but still not the power of the 1100

[Sylvester]

Id say the 1100 classic would be a good start or even bigger; i had a 1100 classic and i never had one complant it was a fine bike and I spent some time thinking about trading it to get my wing

 

and if i could id still have one for bummin around by my self

 

although if you went with the vulcan 950 and change the gearing a tad it would be a good ride I know some one who changed the front and rear gears WOW what a differants'; but still not the power of the 1100

 

I rode from Charlotte, NC to St. Joseph, MO and back with a friend and his wife. She was on a 650 V-Star and ran as fast as we wanted to ride (70 mph +). So I don't believe that bigger is better. Ride what fits you.

 

[PBJ]

My Lady also took the safety course this year and we found her a great Virago 1100. It needed a little work but so far its plenty powerful enough for around town and soon longer rides. Its a little cramped for her, she's over 5 10 but she likes it a lot. I'll have her post later.

[Tom]

My Sis started out on a C50 Suzuki. Didn't take long and She bought a Victory Vegas. She loves it. Sits low and excellent balance.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

How about one of these?

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.motorcycle.com/gallery/gallery.php/d/272085-1/011311-honda-slammer-concept-02.jpg?g2_GALLERYSID=TMP_SESSION_ID_DI_NOISSES_PMT

[Black Owl]

Well, getting a bit long in the tooth for my 1300VR Royal, I traded down to the Virago 1000 and havn'e regretted it one bit.

 

And before Rocket chimes in... I'll probably enjoy it even more once I figure out how to get it off the trailer....

 

Edited January 19, 2011 by Black Owl

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I traded down to the Virago 100

 

 

Virago One Hundred?

 

I bet that thing is good on gas!

 

 

 

 

[Black Owl]

Virago One Hundred?

 

I bet that thing is good on gas!

 

 

 

 

 

:bang head: It's fantastic..... (damn smarttypants )

 

[mraf]

How about one of these?

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.motorcycle.com/gallery/gallery.php/d/272085-1/011311-honda-slammer-concept-02.jpg?g2_GALLERYSID=TMP_SESSION_ID_DI_NOISSES_PMT

 

Thats not in production yet is it Brian? It definitely sits low enough. I'll take one in yellow.

[1 Canuck]

My wife wants a bike of her own. After year of seeing the world with a helmet directly in front of her she wants to see where we are going. So she went and took a MSC on her own, loved it and has her learners permit for this next year.

 

I am thinking of a Vulcan 750, it's low and a small bike so she can flatfoot the ground. Is that too big? she was throwing around a Buell 250 at the MSC.

 

My wife started out on a Vulcan 750. It's a great bike with shaft drive, liquid cooled, easy to handle and has more guts than the 1100 V-Star, that we've both ridden. At that time I had the 1200 Goldwing, which she could easily keep up to.

We also had a Mustang seat installed as the stock seat was butt breaker.

After 2 summers she built up her confidence and moved up to the Suzuki Intruder 1500. I would definitely recommend the Vulcan 750

[RedRider]

I have a Vulcan 750 and it is a nice bike. Plenty of power, easy to handle, relatively low to the ground. Seat needs some work if you want to go any distance.

 

Good recommendation.

 

RR

[painterman67]

My wifes first and present bike is a 97 honda shadow spirit 1100. She loves her bike and it has plenty of power to pull us both along a speed with the group.( IE 80 mph) I am above average weight and she is healthy or as she likes to say rumanisc woman. Ehs 5 ft 6 or so and flat foots her bike with no problems. Although she did have a problem with the weight of the bike at first she says that was more mental than physical.

 

 

hope this helps.

 

DAvid

[krispy]

Good ideas, so far, I think. Be careful that you don't start her on something too big. Maybe buy something a little smaller and lighter (older) that she could get the feel for, and build confidence with. Then she can decide if she wants to try something bigger.

 

We started with a Honda Shadow 1100, thinking that it would be big enough for two-up, and small enough for my wife to ride herself when she wanted to. She did learn on it, and actually did pretty well. Put on quite a few miles doing the hardest thing about riding, going slow, starting and stopping, while puttering around our farmyard and up and down the driveway. She did ride it on the road some, but eventually had to take the riders course to go from learner's permit to full license. At the course they had something like 175 cc bikes, and she came home knowing how much easier a smaller bike handled, and said the 1100 was really too much for her. We went looking and ended up with a Honda

Shadow 600 for her. This is not a bike you want to put hundreds of miles a day on, or expect to run more than 60-65 for an extended period and think you will enjoy it. If she's wanting to do shorter runs without freeway speeds, it will do fine. At the time, Suzuki was just out with a new Boulevard line I think it was, and they had several "50" versions as mentioned above. This is about 800 cc, I think, and if there had been such a thing as used ones at the time, we probably would have had one of those instead of the 600 Shadow. Low seat, low center of gravity, seemed real easy to handle, and should have had more smoke than the Shadow. Never rode one, as it really wasn't a possibility as a new model.

 

She liked the 600 fine, and rode it a fair bit, enjoying it most, I think when she was riding alone. When we were both out, she found she really preferred to be on the back of mine. When the 1100 Shadow went down the road, and the '06 Venture came in, she never rode her 600 again. Back of the Venture was just too nice. Sold her Shadow the next summer.

 

Best thing to do is go check out as many choices as you can. See how they fit in riding position, if she can reach ground decently, and how does it handle when sitting still. Take a test ride if possible once you get it narrowed down a bit.

 

Good luck, and have fun looking.

 

Larry

[timgray]

She is 5'4" and small. She has been watching the Ride like a pro DVD over and over and cant wait for this spring to practice in the parking lot near us.

 

My concern was bike weight and too much power to begin with. Honestly smaller bikes hold their value well and as long as she does not drop it it should sell for near what we bough it for if she wants something bigger.

 

Plus, I dont want her to have a faster bike than I do. :-)

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I guess we need to wait until spring to start sitting on bikes in showrooms. Around here all bike shops turn into snow machine shops as soon as fall hits and stay that way until spring.

[RandyR]

I'll put in a plug for the Triumph Bonneville America as the cruiser version of the new 900cc Bonneville Twin. Although I personally like the Bonneville SE package as it feels a bit more sporty and traditional. If I were going to buy a new smaller bike today, thats what I would buy.

[Panjandrum]

When looking for a bike for my Lady (a new rider) she sat on a lot of bikes, and found the V-Star easiest to get up off the stand. We got a 650 cc, and she loves it.

 

HOWEVER, it was not long before she found the bike lacked power on hills when fully loaded, and she would like something with a bigger engine. There is virtually no difference in feel between the V-Star 650 and the 1100, and we would have been better off getting the larger engine. You do not need to use all the throttle, until you are ready for it. Then it's nice to have it.

 

When I got back into riding, I had the MaximX 750. Early into the second season of riding, I discovered that the throttle would go about twice as far as I had been using it. I LOVED that bike! It could keep up with the bigger 1600's even with two heavy-weights on board!

[Bobby G]

My better, cuter half started 3 years ago on a 2001 Shadow 750 ACE after passing the GSF course and getting her license. She rode the hell out of it for about a year, then wanted something with more "guts and go", but with not much more weight or seat height. About that time is when I got the RSV, so she started riding my VTX1300, and found that to be what she was looking for - not too heavy, not too high for her inseam, and fast as hell. But deep down, she has always been a "Harley chick", so when I found the '03 Heritage Softail, I jumped on it, and while it did take her a little time to adjust to the very low ride and weight differential versus the VTX, she loves it. She is 5'6" and goes about 140, so she is pretty average in that respect (but WAY above average in others!!)

 

I agree with some of the other suggestions in that a somewhat smaller, lighter bike like a 750, C50 or even the 1100 are good 1st bikes to learn on. They are plentiful and cheap on the used market.

 

All the best!

[hunter 1500]

I would suggest a small used bike 500cc or smaller. Something like the Suzuki Savage used. That way when she drops it she wont feel so bad. If she decides she likes riding then go to something larger. IMO an 1100 cc bike is way to big for a first ride.

[Celt]

Im with RandyR , Triumph Bonneville America or Speedmaster are solid bikes almost bullet proof, great starter bikes ,i know quite a few who started on them and continue to ride them , years later , myself included (04 TBA , since 05). they are easy on the rookies and aint so bad for the experienced riders ,ive never had a problem slowing down so others could keep up heh heh . At the end of the day its all about your wifes comfort and power enough to keep her happy later on , im sure the Triumphs would fit the bill. If she d like a womans view on them have a look on Bonnevilleamerica.com , theres quite a few lady riders on there . Best of luck with whatever she chooses to ride , id luv my wife to ride but shes far to happy on the back of the RSV