Hey all
MY wife says she wants a bike, she has no experience, butshe wants sport bike. Problem is shes like 5'3". Any ideas of a good begginer sportish bike that would fit her?
Hey all
MY wife says she wants a bike, she has no experience, butshe wants sport bike. Problem is shes like 5'3". Any ideas of a good begginer sportish bike that would fit her?
2006 Triumph Daytona 675-Track Only For Me!
Ninja 250
5-2"
And when she isn't riding it you can have a blast playing on it!
Last edited by Bueller; Mon Aug 17th, 2009 at 08:33 PM.
the new ninja 250.. they look pretty cool
Ninja 500. Lowered Sv650. Ninja 650r
Suzuki GS500F. Great starter bike and easy to grow into/with for a few years. I rode mine happily for 2 1/2 years before I moved up to a 600. It's quicker than a 250, but not so much power that she will be scared of it, even starting out. Plus the weight is low so it doesn't get off balance easily if you panic stop or just need to walk it around to park it. Not sure if she will be able to flat foot it at 5'3" so she may need to go with a 250 at her height for her to be really comfortable with the size of the bike. If you can wait for my husband to order the parts to fix mine, I'll sell it to you.
2006 Suzuki GSX-R600
Great meeting you. I started off with the bike I have now. I did not feel comfortable on it initially and downsized to a 2008 Kawa 250 - same as in the pic but blue. I sold it to Vickery Motorsports in May. Not sure if they still have it. I am back on the same bike I used to own originally... (no comments, please). You saw it yesterday.Originally Posted by 675Rider
250 pros: Great beginners bike with not too much power, could get my feet on the ground, insurance premium.
250 cons: Not enough power as you start outgrowing the bike quite quickly, battery sucks, being blown around in windy conditions due to light weight of bike and narrow tires.
If you can find a used 250 for the first couple thousands that may be your best bet.
If your wife has any questions, I'd be happy to speak with her.
The new Ninja 250's are pretty decent. As everyone previously mentioned, the Suzuki GS500 and Kawi EX500 are all decent starter bikes. The SV650 would be a good one too, even with her height. Personally, I'd never recommend lowering a bike at all. Have her just lean the bike over a little at the stops as opposed to diminishing the bike's cornering clearance.
Also, since it's her first bike, she's going to dump it. It's as inevitable as death and taxes. Find her something used, let her trash it and decide if she wants to continue riding.
I agree with Bueller, my girl loves her 09 250, and I dont mind it either!!!
My gf is 5'3 i believe, we used a zx-10 lowering link and dropped in 3" and she loves it. I am almost 230 and I can ride it too without bottoming also, although not so lucky over speed bumps!
303cycle has a 250 ninja, contact DK or Wade and see it you can go over there and check it out. It's not lowered, but just know you can drop it if you need to.
I'd agree with the Ninja twins (250, 500) for learning. 250 will probby be the best bet for a starter, but I loved my ex500 too.
I'm with Zach in that I'd never recommend lowering a bike as it screws with the geometry a bunch.
I've always found the sv650's a little touchy on the throttle, but that's something she can learn to overcome if she's patient. Girlie's about 5'2" 5'3"ish and she's fine on her two fiddy and keeps up fairly well for having a 30hp bike.
If she's a patient, conservative learner she could also make do on an older, mid 90's, carb'd 600.
[SIGPIC][SIGPIC]
I've ridden only 2 lowered bikes, and i gotta tell you they handles SO much better better than standard height bike it was absolutely ridiculous. Also remember its a 250, not gonna be drifting it into a corner at ISLE OF THE MAN. Which I saw last night for the 1st time, which is also absolutely ridiculous also.
The older two fiddys are pretty low as it is. If you've gotta lower one of those guys then you might wanna reconsider riding
[SIGPIC][SIGPIC]
Straight line riding, maybe. For cornering, the bike has less ground clearance, which translates into much less available lean angle, and diminished rear tire grip as well.
^ +1
Also, if the bike handled better at a lower height, the overly smart engineers would've made the bike lower from the beginning. It might feel like it handles better when lower b/c you might be more confident on it though. I'm not overly tall & I like being able to flat foot a bike when the rare occasion comes around and when I can, the bike feels like it handles better, but that's only b/c it fits me physically better. I can only get the balls of my feet & my toes down on the ZX-6R, but I'd never want to lower it b/c, once it's moving, I'd rather have clearance for corners than a shorter seat height for being stopped.
[SIGPIC][SIGPIC]
ahem... Mine doesn't do so bad on cornering
Glitter Factory Racing
MRA #415
Sol Performance - Pirelli Tires
SV 650
13 BMW F800GS, 01 Suzuki DRZ 400S
"It's not about the destination. It's about the ride"
www.colorado2wheels.com
I definitely felt more confident on it, since I am only 5'8". Cornering, feels better to me but thats just me. Im not one to barrel off into a high speed corner and scrape knee. But it seems as though they dont take as much effort to corner. Dunno. I will leave it up to the experts to decide.
I know one thing, my gf could barely ride a bicycle. She took the classes at gforce and now she does great on the 250, she wouldnt trade it in for nothing.
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