Women’s first motorcycle?
I have a gsxr 1000 and a gsxr 600. The 1000 is an 04 and that is what I ride normally. I saved the 600 since it was what I learned on and modified. The 600 is a 2000 with a stage 3 jet kit, k&n pods and full yushomaro exhaust on it. It is very quick and I am nervous letting her ride to learn on. She has rode 4 wheelers before, but they do not do 60 in first gear. The bike is in perfect condition. I even had some Powder Coating done along with polishing to make the bike look great. If she puts it down it will cost a lot to fix the fairings. Plus normally when these bikes go down the tail is destroyed. So undertail kit would go bye bye too. Is this too much bike for a woman’s first bike?
Where is it written that you HAVE TO lend her one of your bikes to learn on? Let her go buy her own. Get one of those older twin cylinder 400/450/500 bikes. you know the CM, 400/450, the XS400, the Vulcan 454 or 500 etc. They should cost around $ 1000-1200 all day long in decent running shape. The turnsignals is about the only thing that is gonna get damaged when she drops it. The bike should last her for 2 yrs until she wants to move up to something else.
Where is it written that you HAVE TO lend her one of your bikes to learn on? Let her go buy her own. Get one of those older twin cylinder 400/450/500 bikes. you know the CM, 400/450, the XS400, the Vulcan 454 or 500 etc. They should cost around $ 1000-1200 all day long in decent running shape. The turnsignals is about the only thing that is gonna get damaged when she drops it. The bike should last her for 2 yrs until she wants to move up to something else.
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motorcycle mechanic for 35 years
avid motorcyclist for 40 years
You would be absolutely insane to let her ride the thing. Forget about what damage she would do to the bike, you should be more worried about scraping her off the road.
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Too much bike, get her a Rebel.
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I have to agree with the previous posters. A 600cc sportbike is NOT a good choice for a "first bike" for anyone, regardless of age or gender. Smaller bikes have lower power outputs which are more forgiving for a novice rider. If she cracked the throttle on the sportbike, it’s probably lift the front wheel right off the ground. If she cracked it on a bike ranging from 250-500 cc’s, it would definitely surge forward, but it wouldn’t throw her off the bike or injure her. Slower, less-powerful bikes teach technique and skill. Once those are grasped, then she can move up to a more powerful bike if she so chooses.
If she likes sportbikes, check out the new Kawasaki Ninja 250 or Hyosung 250 GT bikes. I have friends who ride both these bikes, and they have no problem keeping up with highway traffic doing 80+ mph.
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I’ve been riding bikes daily, as my sole means of transportation, for 14 years. I’ve built 4 bikes from the ground up and customized many more. My personal bikes include cruisers, sportbikes and streetbikes, ranging from 200 to 700 cc. I’ve ridden bikes from 80 to 1340 cc.
What’s being a woman got to do with it? 120hp is too much bike for ANYONE’S first bike. Read the links below to find out why.
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http://www.gixxer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151947
I always thought a smaller bike was best to learn on and then started reading the pros and cons in this forum. I decided to teach my wife to ride. I put a helmet on her and explained the controls to her, then put her on my new Shadow. I stood beside her and let her roll it foward and stop it. Then after a few times of that I let her take it around the property (about a quarter mile ride) in low gear. Then I had her stop on a slight slope and explained to her (after choking it down a couple of times) she had to give it a little gas to start off on a slope. Now she has a Mazda Miata and has driven many standard transmissions but the bike lurched and rolled the throttle WAO (what we refer to as wide ass open). Making a long story short, some 100 feet away is where it finally came to a rest on the right side with no damage but mirror pushed back and footpeg full of dirt. She was fine and lucky because it landed exhaust side down and she was wearing shorts.
I have since confirmed that one should learn on a lower powered machine and graduate to a higher powered one when they are ready. Not everyone is incapable of riding a large bike to learn, but the majority can’t control the power. A motorcycle’s throttle response is different from a car and a motorcycle doesn’t have a seat that holds the operator up to the controls. My wife now is the proud owner of a Rebel 250 and is learning a little every day.
Do her a favor and get her a Ninja or something like she will eventually own. Even with that said, I see many Sportsters and other large bikes that are dirt cheap because a man bought his girl/wife one to learn on and discovered that she didn’t want to ride after she got a bike. Not everyone is a biker.
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