ladies bikes-suggestions please

[r1dave]

R1 m8 and when she aint using it you have it for the track

[deej]

Cheers dave- did you mean a under powered r1 or a normal one. Tbh thought you were going to say rsv4 lol

[Scotty]

My girlfriend's about 5'4" and after passing her (A2) test last year she got caught up in the "must have a sportsbike" thought process and after sitting on loads, elected to go for a CBR600FX which had been restricted and lowered - great bike, excellent condition, but aside from one or two rides where she clicked with it, she couldn't get on with it, the major problems being size and bulk. Next she found a CBR400RR NC29, great little bike (especially now after I repaired it and paid for a new paint job after finding, and exceeding, the grip properties of seven year-old tyres ) Again, a love-hate thing with this one - no problems with the height or weight, but being a little short on confidence, and not really being a "natural", she found that she couldn't get on with the supersport riding position. Now she has a BMW F650CS and loves it - more upright, less weight on her wrists, better visibility, easier power delivery as it doesn't need its nuts revving off to make decent progress, and now she's looking forward to a trip to the Manx GP in a fortnight, rather than dreading it. She still has the 400 though, she wants to earn her stripes and get confident on the 650 and then have another go at the 400 when she feels she can do it justice.

You and your wiff need to sit down and be honest about what she wants out of a bike - how confident is she, what's she ridden so far, what does she want...? Getting something that's a bit "plain Jane" to start with won't hurt, she's only married to you deej, not the bike so she can get confident on a plodder before moving up to something a bit mintier when she feels that she's ready for it.

[A_T]

I'm 5' 2", my first bike was a hornet 600 which was lowered and had the seat cut and now I have a zx6r which is also lowered and the seat cut.... I don't think there are many bikes which can't be lowered in some way on the market so she shouldn't have many problems..... a tip is to sit on a bike without the seat on, it'll give her a feel for the bike at about the right height.

[Lady g]

kim is about 3ft tall

I'm 5'2 and a half, thank you very much!

managed to get her a cbr 400rr babyblade and it had been lowered so it fits her perfectly, only issues she has are gravity and corners.

Cheeky!

she has been on many road trips, with luggage

This is true

and has had no probs.

This not quite so..

they are good bikes.

That they are.

i would say take her round to as many shops as she can handle

Wot, like we did??? Hmm, don't think I remember going to a single shop?! Seem to remember I was just told what I was getting..??

enjoy the joys of bike shopping witht the missus, get it right and you the best, get it wrong and its dog food pie for tea.

Quite right!


For what it's worth - as much as I do like my bike, if I were honest, I would say that it has not boosted my confidence, and I perhaps should have had something a bit more upright - a bit more like the one I learnt on - for a while, to get more experience/confidence, before going to a sports style bike. I think the problem, for me, with doing the DAS, was that once you have the licence you go straight to a bigger bike (after only a week's training), rather than up through the different sizes/styles, and I kinda wish I had done that..

Debs got her babyblade through ebay for less than a grand - and it is lovely - so they are out there for your budget.

I know we're a bit of a distance away, but if you think it would help, your wife would be very welcome to come and try out my bike.

[deej]

shes only ridden the old cg125s/en 125s that we have at the training school,she tried the ccm but it was too tall for hence why im looking at the 400 market and maybe the nakeds

scotty,she doesnt know what she wants out of a bike as shes never owned one before which is why shes happy to let me choose.tbh she'll mostly be slowly hooning round cornwall to start with but i have no doubt that she'll want to do a trackday or two once shes gets one,the hints from her about the ron haslam school for next year are already being dropped into conversations

[Chicky]

I'm 5ft 5 and can get my feet completely flat on the ground on my Monster M600...and I've been doing trackdays on it this year...mind you, I'm now looking for a trackbike and will probably get an NC30 for that...the Monster is not the lightest bike in the world but it's low and you sit in it rather than on it...great confidence builder...Of the bigger bikes, I find the GSXR the lowest seat height but it has a long reach to the bars which I really like but it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea...the Hondas have a shorter reach (I don't like the short reach, makes me feel I'm gonna fall off the front!)...the surprise idea is great but.......if it were me I'd wanna choose myself.......can the surprise be that you've arranged test rides on several bikes?! We're all so different and we ladies have to have it just right you know hehe

p.s. lucky lady

[deej]

I get the idea of test rides and all that but find me a dealer that has any of these bikes in stock in our area and I'll take her there....

[Banditmax]

My 400 bandit, it's got a jack up kit on at the moment but i can change that back to original. Looking for the 800 mark 12 months tax and test. Reasonably tidy and small enough i'd imagine. Can get lots of pictures if your interested.

[bikemad]

Gotta be a NC30 - see loads of ladies riding them, know one lady who's had hers YEARS and absolutley loves it!

Plus you can have goes on it yourself, you gotta make sure its something you want to ride!

[ZXR400Lee]

I wouldnt personally be looking a old crappy grey import 400's.. If sports is what your wife liked the my choice would have to be a ZXR400 UK Spec L7-L9, find a decent one where some spotty teen hasnt thrashed the nuts out of it and it hasnt been down the road or CBR600F is quite a nice machine.

Otherwise, sit up and beg.. if your on a tight budget you can pick up some real bargains looking at Suzuki GSF600 Bandits.. I got my 98' Bandit with 12k on it for a grand and was still in showroom condition! Hornets are nice, but being Honda they are typically more expensive.

My money, would be on a Suzuki GSF600 Bandit.. get the newest you can pre-K series and you cant go wrong!

[A_T]

Some suggested bikes for ladies more suitable from a height and weight perspective

Aprilia RS125
Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade
Honda CBR600RR
Honda RVF NC35
Honda VFR400 NC30
Suzuki GSR600
Suzuki GSX-R750 K6
Triumph 675
Yamaha YZF-R

http://www.sites4bikes.com/Motorbikes-for-women.htm

[deej]

Cheers AT that was what I was looking for. Some I can afford,some I can't and some I'd love for myself let alone the wife lol

Lee i think your looking through zxr tinted glasses at the 400 class,the vfr was a uk official bike

Banditmax. I'm guessing the bike mentioned is the one in your sig. Send some pics over to me and I'll have a look

[Banditmax]

Pm sent

[sevenofninecelica]

I notice that oneone has mentioned a Buell, they can be seated low for shorties, fantastic handlying bike, but the price tag isn't so great,