The Wife and Motorcycle - Part 2

[Goat_Herder]

While we are at it, where can I find riding boots for her?  We were just talking about it on the way home.  I don't remember seeing women's boots at local dealers.  She wears a 5 1/2 or 6 in shoes.  Any female riders care to chime in?

[redxblack]

I just sold my rebel, but I had a similar issue. My wife is slight and I wanted to get her a bike. I bought parts from blue collar bobbers and lowered the seat a bit via chopping it. It turned out she was more interested in riding as a pillon than piloting it.

[JBubble]

While we are at it, where can I find riding boots for her?  We were just talking about it on the way home.  I don't remember seeing women's boots at local dealers.  She wears a 5 1/2 or 6 in shoes.  Any female riders care to chime in?

If you've got a cycle gear, try them to get a sizing idea. Otherwise, I'd try online with someone like NewEnough.com. I got my Women's Tourmaster Solution boots from them. They don't have much of a women's selection in boots anymore though.

Motorcycle Superstore online seems to have a good selection: http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/2/45/1/0/0/DEPARTMENT/Street-Bike-Boots-Womens-Riding-Gear.aspx

[RC Fan]

While we are at it, where can I find riding boots for her?  We were just talking about it on the way home.  I don't remember seeing women's boots at local dealers.  She wears a 5 1/2 or 6 in shoes.  Any female riders care to chime in?

I went through several pairs of boots but ended up with the Alpinestars Stella S-MX 4.   The other boots didn't have enough bend in them for a sportbike, and made me feel more uncomfortable.

As far as the bike, the lighter, the better.  If I was to do it over, I think I'd go with the Ninja 250R (definitely not a Bandit 650S  ).

[R0CKETMAN]

Ninja 250 gets my vote. Great beginner bike, not too heavy, and look pretty good in black.

[DesmoLu]

1) You mentioned your wife has little to no muscle. Get her to a gym before you get her on a bike. Any bike is going to be too heavy and unhealthy without a strong core and dangerous if she can't lift it if it does fall on her. Naturally petite women have no fear of getting too built looking or buff because its impossible without a lot of supplements. Besides, extra testosterone increases women's sex drive, which would be +1 for you!
2) My M695 is suuuuper light and low. I'm 5' 3 and beyond flat foot it and with some mods, its down to about 300 lbs which means I could even squat it if I wanted too!
3) Finding proper gear when your petite is tough and expensive. Have fun ordering everything online at full price 

[somegirl]

Another vote for a Ninja 250 (lowered), I wish that had been my beginning bike.  I started on a GS500F, couldn't flat-foot it, it was top-heavy, and intimidating at stops & starts (it was fine while actually riding).

Or how about starting her off on a nice little dirt bike?

[Goat_Herder]

It seems like the Ninja is getting all the votes and I agree with the reasoning behind it.  I think a number of you would choose it for your first bike, as well, instead of going thru a tougher route with bigger bikes. 

Lu, you brought up a really good point on fitness.  She isn't very athletic and doesn't do sports.  But she does arobic/crunchs and stuff.  I will mention that to her though.

somegirl, that's an awesome idea.  Something small so she can focus on clutch and shifting, without worrying about falling over.  a 50cc dirt bike or mini-bike (not those tiny ones). 

[m1moto]

My wife is 5'1" tiny and fits fine on Ninja 250. Get a gen 1 first because she will drop it and later she can upgrade to a gen2.

The Buell blast is rubbish, horrible transmission we tried one before we got the NInja.

One of her friends rides a Suzuki Boulevard S40, has lots of torque from a 650cc thumper and is very low - seat height is 27.5.
Plus there is a cool cafe kit for it from Ryka Motors http://www.rycamotors.com/


Lastly - and not my favorite -  but Harley has just launched this Sportster with  a 25.5" seat height http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2010/07/this-harleys-for-little-girls.html

[Popeye the Sailor]

I would say ninja 250 as well, or small dirt bike-you'll be able to find something crashable, short, very light, and dirt gear is available for kids as well, so smaller stuff tends to be easier to find.

[yamifixer]

Are you willing to go vintage? either an old Yamaha RD (love them) or a Honda <350 twin would be a sweet ride not scary to ride.

JUST DON'T MOD THEM.

[Goat_Herder]

I personally LOVE the vintage Honda CB and Triumph Bonneville.  Classic styling and comfortable riding posture.  I have been toying around with the idea of getting one and tinking with it.  The Wife wasn't too fond of the idea.  She dislike the style of the 60's and 70's motorcycle with a passion...  even the new Bonneville SE/T100.  I think they are just the bee's knees.

[twistdchick]

I think the scariest thing about learning to ride the bike as a woman, is dealing with the weight of the bike when going slow or stopped.  I started with a dirt bike, so the controls were not new, but the weight WAS!  I ended up learning on a Buell Blast (pretty yellow color) and I can now appreciate the fact that the majority of the weight was low, and stand-over height was great (I'm 5'3")  My legs were actually BENT when sitting on the bike because it DID have the lower seat too.  It also looks kinda like a sport bike, yet a little cruiser-ish too.  I did drop it twice, and it was no big deal - just let it go!  Sure the shifting was a clunking mess, but I didn't mind because I wasn't scared of it taking me out, because it just would "lay over like a beached whale" if it started falling over.  Since it was a 500 single, it would go OK when I needed it to, just took a sec to get going, so I trusted it to do what I asked of it, which also helps. 
When I got my Monster, it made me totally aware of "taller bike weight" which is MUCH scarier at first, and it made me remember how nice it was to have the weight lower when learning.  Finally after over 6000 miles on my Ducati, do I have a nice "comfort zone" that took me much sooner to reach on the Buell because of where the weight was, but I would NEVER EVER EVER go back to ANYTHING like the Blast NOW, but it was a great bike to learn on.

[triangleforge]

I also started out on a Blast (I'm pretty sure I was the third or fourth owner), which did what it was supposed to do -- teach me the basics of riding a motorcycle. Then I sold it for a bit more than I'd paid for it so it could go teach someone else. 

It's also worth teaching her (and both of you practicing together) the techniques for lifting a downed bike -- preferably on a nice, soft grass spot where you can gently & repeatedly set the bike on its side without scratching anything. Without some practice, she's likely to just try to square up and deadlift it off the pavement, which likely won't work.

Here's a pretty good review of two good techniques for lifting a downed bike:

http://roadstarclinic.com/content/view/82/123/

[orangelion03]

Check out the latest issue of Motorcyclist.  They review a 125cc sport bike from Taiwan that looks like it would fit a petite woman, if the size of the reviewer is any indication.