looking for a bike for my gf

[See red]

Have you considered a v-star 250 as a very first? That way she can learn, then sell it and upgrae it to what ever she wants. My wife is going that route, in fairness, my wife is only 5" and this was a sure way to get her feet flat, as well as it wats only a few over 300 pounds. I ran it at 55 on the highway and, actually it can hang for quite some time. I bought an 09 for nothing, 1500 dollars with no miles on it.
My wife also took the MSF course for free here, and learned a TON! She gets a pretty good discount on insurance to boot. Just a suggestion.

 

[Fenixgoon]

well now im going off topic, but i need a battery, front tire, choke cable(lubing it helped, but is still sticky) spark plugs, and a carb rebuild kit. does anyone know where i can find all of these items online, for hopefully cheap since no matter how much i sink into the bike its still a $500 beater bike.

z1enterprises.com and bikebandit.com

i used both when rebuilding my 1982 Suzuki GS560G.

a word of caution: getting a brand new (or newer but used) bike may save you lots of frustration in repairs. i dropped a lot of money into that GS, and while i love it, i was tired of working on it instead of riding. that's when i bought the FZ6R

 

[2010FZ6R White Lightning]

z1enterprises.com and bikebandit.com

i used both when rebuilding my 1982 Suzuki GS560G.

a word of caution: getting a brand new (or newer but used) bike may save you lots of frustration in repairs. i dropped a lot of money into that GS, and while i love it, i was tired of working on it instead of riding. that's when i bought the FZ6R

exactly what im thinking lol. and i did consider the vstar. my gf wants a rocket or something sporty looking... you know women.... if they were simple men wouldnt go bald. honestly i hate dickering around with anything carbeurated, i tried getting my 400 going today and it was a 40 minute deal to get it started. ended up having to take the plugs out and pour high proof whisky(had no jerry can lol) into the engine, put the plugs back in, fire it over and hold it pinned and it was putting and sputtering for a minute then finally started "running" where i can let go of the throttle. way to much hastle. i just want to turn the damn key and go.

 

[SAFE-T]

The world just doesn't make super small super light motorcycles that actually go fast for less than $2million.

If your gal is really small and inexperienced she will just have to start on something that she can grow out of when she is ready. Keep in mind it's her FIRST bike, not her LAST bike.

Although most 250's CAN go highway speeds, this is not to say it is enjoyable to do so. Your car only NEEDS 5hp to maintain a steady speed of 60mph on flat terrain, but that doesn't mean 5hp is all you really need.

The following bikes CAN be used pretty much everywhere, but will eventually drive you a bit bananas:

Buell Blast
CBR125R
GN125
Ninja 250

I have personally ridden a 1983 Suzuki GN125 for an entire summer, including two-up with my wife across the city. Thing felt like it was going to come apart at 110km/h, and max speed two-up was 85km/h and you had to hold in in 4th gear because it would slow down if you shifted into 5th.

We later bought a CBR125R when she was getting back into motorcycles. The Honda was much more refined but still limited to about 110km/h, although Performance Bikes re-geared one and drafted behind a van to achieve 190/km/h :cheer:

If possible, a Ninja 650 or SV650 will make you much happier in the longer run, but only if she is comfortable on it now. Otherwise you are better to live with the drawbacks of the minibikes until she is ready for something else, if ever.

 

[2010FZ6R White Lightning]

ive decided to stick with the 400, its payed for and i wont feel as bad if it tips. and it doesnt have enough power to get her into trouble lol. thanks for all the input guys... if she doesnt crash after a summer of riding then we will consider her getting my 600 next year, and me moving up to a 750 or 1000cc. mwahahaha

 

[Sue (zuki)]

Just thought I would add my two cents worth on this topic because I am new to all of this as well. I have been only licensed since september 2010 and own a suzuki gs500. I too am new, but have ridden many times with licensed riders in the city trying to get experience on my bike before I took my test. I have ridden on the highway several times (my bike has no fairing) at speed of 100 km's and found myself a little unsettled. I am by no means afraid to ride but riding on a highway at high speeds is quite a different feeling. This is why I am looking to upgrade to something a little bigger with a fairing. I too took the motorcycle safety weekend course and we learned on honda 250's. So from my experience I don't know that she would comfortable on a 250 riding on the highway and especially on a naked bike. I am close to 5'7 but weigh 20 more pounds than her....and just to get the feeling I went to two demo days in may and tried out a new yamaha fz8 and a victory vegas. They both provided a totally different ride in the city and on the highway....hope this helps, good luck.

 

[Sparkxx1]

first off, i hope this goes better than my last thread i obviously worded my intentions wrong and got flamed and secondly, i dont plan to buy until fall or winter for the following spring. but my gf wants to get into bikes, but she is weak. and is 130 lbs. she wants something that will easily maintain highway speeds for long periods of time but not over power her. she wants it to be very light and agile and not hard to control and forgiving to newbies.yamaha has nothing that fits the bill unfortunately, id love to keep to just yamies lol. i considered the cbr 125, ill mention at this time ill be buying new probably, unless i find the right deal. but the cbr i dont think would like highway speeds for long periods of time. so im considering the cbr250r, and im wondering if anyone knows anything about this bike. will it be good for highway trips, and be able to keep up with somewhat aggressive accelerations?

Get a used ex250 then go for a bigger bike. The 250's hold their value really well, but my friend got "bored" of his and ungraded to a 600cc bike after 2 months.

They're fun, but sometimes on highways you really have to open the throttle all the way then wait forever for it to get going. In nyc we have lots of really short highway ramps, so it sucked for him. Then again he was 200 lbs and she is 130...Heck, I'm 140 lbs lol

 

[iSpoolin]

My girls weak, only 96 lbs, and only 5'4" and she rides an FZ6R. Try that route!

 

[XTRAWLD]

As a "small framed girl" I am always concerned about the weight of the bike. I started on a Ninja 250 and it was an amazing bike to learn on. I spent 3 years on it before moving to an FZ6R. The Ninja is agile and confidence inspiring for new riders. I completed the whole graduated licensing with it so it is entirely capable. After a tour to the Adirondacks and Lake Placid with it was when I realized I can upgrade. It's not the best on the highways, passing vehicles on a 2 lane road can get a little dicey, you need alot of space because it just doesn't have the "go" power. We changed the back sprocket on it so it wouldn't scream on the highway constantly, so it wasn't too bad, but after I committed to touring more, I had to look at something bigger.

I can't stress enough how good of a bike it is to learn on. They are everywhere and you can pick one up easily enough. It won't be her last bike, so don't worry about buying one that has been dropped in a parking lot, etc. because she will drop it at some point in time. For a little bit more money you can get her into a 400 (but the 400 wasn't out when I bought my 250).

My 2 cents. Good luck with it all!

 

[2010FZ6R White Lightning]

well my gf has been riding the 400 for 3-4 months now and has ridden the fz6r half a dozen times and loves it. she is dead set on getting my fz6r next summer and me getting a gixxer. so i cant argue cause thats what i want anyway.