PBJ Posted January 20, 2011 #26 Posted January 20, 2011 I taught my ex, my daughter and my son all to ride. Though the all putted around the yard on a little kawasaki 250, Their first street bikes were multicylinder 650's and 750 which are equal or greater in power than 750, 800 and 1100 v twins. Buying a small bike for your wife will be okay if you are planning on traveling too far or going too fast. She'll quickly out grow it . We found an older virag0 . we paid a little under 1,000 dollars for it so if something happens no big loss. How fast she rides depends on where we are riding and who with. Start with back rodes . The brain and the right hand are all the rider needs to control a bigger bike. Be a good safe teacher /riding partner and she shouldn't have any trouble and you won't be buying another bike in a year or two. I expect my girlfriend's 1100 to be all the bike she'll need for A VERY LONG TIME.
eusa1 Posted January 20, 2011 #27 Posted January 20, 2011 i will offer yet another plug for the virago 1100 the smaller cc bikes are always for sale because the ladies out grow them so fast. the biggest issue that often gets overlooked when shopping for a new riders first bike, is..... after about three days of running around the block and seeing the same old crap... the new rider wants to venture out and see the open roads and zoom past that slow car on the back road!! then comes the trouble... the leader of the pack is on a 1300 v4 and zips past the slow car without even thinking about that new rider on that 250cc leafblower with wheels that just got hung out to dry... just cuz the power is there, does not mean the new rider has to use it.... heck if the new rider isn't smart enough to know how far to twist the grip, then they should stay in the yard a little longer. what i'm saying is..... i would rather have my new rider on a bike that has the power to make a pass with ease, rather than have a last minute lack of distance judgement and create a problem that they can't recover from......we have all been there or near there at some point. mike
rickardracing Posted January 21, 2011 #28 Posted January 21, 2011 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 I disagree. My wife has a Honda 750 Shadow Spirit and she has no problem keeping up with my RSV. But then again, I don't try and leave her in the dust. Too big of a bike for a new rider is not a good thing. My sister in-law moved up to a bigger bike because "she could'nt keep up". Horsehockey!! Now she rides a bike that way too big for her. You can see it just in the way she tries to move it around and she still lags behind. The power to weight ratio of my wifes 750 to my 1300 is about the same. Her bike is around 450 lbs, mine is over 900!! All you have to do is twist the throttle a bit more. Too much power for a new rider is not a good thing. Too heavy of a bike is definately not good. Keep the bike small, lite with a little bit of power and let her get used to it for a few years, then move up to something bigger. Believe me, a 750 is more than enough for a first time rider.
BuckShot Posted January 21, 2011 #29 Posted January 21, 2011 Bought my daughter a v-star 650 2 yrs ago when she was 21, when she graduated college. She took the course and got her license right away. She grew up riding dirt bikes. She is around 5' 6" and about 125lbs. The 650 has plenty of power for her and will run all day @ 70mph. She has ridden it for 2 summers and loves it. She rode her brothers sportster last summer and came back grinning from ear to ear. She said when grad school is done--more cc's for sure. She told me one day last summer that she is glad that she started out on the 650 to learn riding on the road and in groups,after riding her brothers bike. She said the heavier bike would have been a problem learning on. She also was looking at the v-star 1100 (?) She said the bike is light and trucks blow her around a little, but riding the bike has given her confidence. She sometimes has to downshift for a quick pass,but other than that she loves the bike. I personally think the 650-750 v-twins are great starter bikes. Enough power and light enough to instill confidence. True,you will probably have to sell or trade it in a year or two for something bigger, but that is a small price to pay for confidence.
PBJ Posted January 21, 2011 #30 Posted January 21, 2011 i will offer yet another plug for the virago 1100 the smaller cc bikes are always for sale because the ladies out grow them so fast. the biggest issue that often gets overlooked when shopping for a new riders first bike, is..... after about three days of running around the block and seeing the same old crap... the new rider wants to venture out and see the open roads and zoom past that slow car on the back road!! then comes the trouble... the leader of the pack is on a 1300 v4 and zips past the slow car without even thinking about that new rider on that 250cc leafblower with wheels that just got hung out to dry... just cuz the power is there, does not mean the new rider has to use it.... heck if the new rider isn't smart enough to know how far to twist the grip, then they should stay in the yard a little longer. what i'm saying is..... i would rather have my new rider on a bike that has the power to make a pass with ease, rather than have a last minute lack of distance judgement and create a problem that they can't recover from......we have all been there or near there at some point. mike Ditto That! Size as far as weight goes is one thing but as far as CC's go i agree with Mike.
Naugh-T Posted January 22, 2011 #31 Posted January 22, 2011 I also had a virago 1100,great bike,keeps up to the rsv no problem, I now have a victory 1600, bye Brad Naugh-T
ArcsSparks Posted January 22, 2011 #32 Posted January 22, 2011 The wife got a deal on 03 Sportser been lowered fits her fine and does real well with what little riding we got in last season
Solodadof2 Posted January 22, 2011 #33 Posted January 22, 2011 My wife is about that size and she rides an 1100 vstar classic. she has looked at the 950 tourer but does not like how the airbvoxes push the legs out.
PBJ Posted January 22, 2011 #34 Posted January 22, 2011 As all of us guys are discussing this I realize no women are getting in on this ( or are they)? One thing I forget is the woman's confidence level. . A friends wife learned to ride and he bought her a new Sporty. The size wasn't too bad but her confidence in handling it wasn't there and it intimidated her. A riders level of confidence should also be included . But i restate that The Size, weight and power wise the Virago110 the shadow 11 , The Suzuki C50 or 90 and the Yamaha 650 amd 11-- stars are all excellent bikes for new women riders in my opinion. The triumphs are great too.
Guest PlaneCrazy Posted January 22, 2011 #35 Posted January 22, 2011 I get a chuckle reading all the comments like a 750 is too small and she'll outgrow it fast. LOL. When I started riding a 750 was a BIG bike! My first road bike was a 1979 Honda CM185T Twinstar. I also recently had a Honda 750 ACE for 8 years and I did eventually out grow it (thus the RSV I now have) but for 8 years it was fine for what I needed and also, I am 220+ lbs and put about 100 lbs of chrome on the thing. Speaking from my experience of my wife getting her license and learning to ride, we started the first year with an old Honda 250 rebel I got for a song and rebuilt one winter. She did all her learning on that (after a MSC) and she dropped it once or twice and "stressed" the clutch learning to shift well and we weren't crying over a 25 year old bike getting a scratch on it The next year, she wanted a Vstar 650 but she didn't like how it felt when she sat on it. She was 5'-6" and about 130 lbs and she found the vstar sat uncomfortable and felt too wide at the thighs.. I suggested she try a 600 VLX out and we went down and tried one out and she fell in love with it. IMO, the VLX is the perfect balance between a small bike and a large bike and also perfect for most women to handle. It's light, super maneuverable yet powerful enough to keep up with the "big dogs" in traffic... especially with a light women riding it... and it looks gorgeous. And it's a Honda and therefore super reliable. It's also inexpensive enough to buy for now and see how much of a rider your wife will turn out to be. Down the road, if your wife get's right into the whole culture, she may want a big touring machine or a chromed up cruiser, but for the time being, she can do just about anything she wants with a VLX. Just my 2 cents.
Leadwolf56 Posted January 22, 2011 #36 Posted January 22, 2011 A year and a half ago my wife (Tinkerbell here) went through MSC. She got a deal on a 2000 Honda Shadow 750 ACE from a coworker. She does very well with it. Lasst summer she rode it to Maintenance Day (her first longer ride) and to Rockville, IN, both 200+ mile trips. She had no problem keeping up. She did have a small problem with holding the throttle open, I put a throttle rocker on and she did much better. I've ridden her bike a bit and will tell you it has plenty of power even with a heavier rider on it.
Brake Pad Posted January 22, 2011 #37 Posted January 22, 2011 Along with Plancrazy, I too started on a Honda XL185. But she needs to think about, What kind of riding does SHE plan on doing? Just ride around on the weekends with the guys? Yamaha 650 will handle city and town riding, and If she doesn't plan to break speed limits, its a great 300 mile a day bike for trips. Maybe later decide to do over night trips? First, she'll get better gas mileage, maybe she'd like to throw a windshield and saddle bags on it. not expensive at all. Is she planing on hitting the Highway most of the time? if so an 800 Is an all around great bike. something with a drive shaft, like the Kawasaki 800. Not to mention, will not break the bank. For any first time rider, male or female, 650 to 800, then move up, remember, take care of them, and you'll make your money back on them.
Guest RawHide Posted January 22, 2011 #38 Posted January 22, 2011 I 've been asked "WHY DONT YOU LEARN TO RIDE YOUR OWN" and I say "I'm scared I can't handle it" It does not have to do with my deafness because I can see everything around me. Plus those who wear a helmet don't hear ANYWAYS! LOL! It does have to do with confidence and if you don't have it then you will always fear something will go wrong. OH well I WISH I WAS YOUNGER...
felix Posted January 25, 2011 #39 Posted January 25, 2011 My wifes 5.1 and handled a VTX 1300 just fine. Started out with a Suzi650 that lasted about 3 months, she totalled the VTX last year and I bought her a VStar 1100 Custom Classic, added a spare gas tank and she can go 250 miles with me easy:smile5:
eusa1 Posted January 25, 2011 #40 Posted January 25, 2011 My wifes 5.1 and handled a VTX 1300 just fine. Started out with a Suzi650 that lasted about 3 months, she totalled the VTX last year and I bought her a VStar 1100 Custom Classic, added a spare gas tank and she can go 250 miles with me easy:smile5: i would like to see a picture of this tank??
BCLII Posted January 25, 2011 #41 Posted January 25, 2011 My lady is 5'4" and rides her Full Dressed Roadliner.
Aussie Annie Posted January 25, 2011 #42 Posted January 25, 2011 A lot of the ladies over here like the Triumph's. It does come down to confidence a lot. You can have all the skill, but still need confidence to carry it out. I have always ridden "big" bikes --CBR1000, ST1300, FJR1300, RSV1300........but now have extra wheels on him
stardbog Posted January 25, 2011 #43 Posted January 25, 2011 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 You are right Mini. :rotf::rotf:
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