need recommendations for starter bike - ninja 250?
- Thread starter BayBusa
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turbobusa2000
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My first bike was a Kawi 250. I liked it alot. It is not a super fast bike but I wouldn't recommed putting your wife on a fast bike her first anyway. The cost isn't great for a new 250, I think they retail for 3,999, or so. I wouldn't buy a new one because the price doesn't drop much and you be hard pressed to find a used 08' 250. I think you and your wife will be happy with the 08' Kawi 250.
FROM A FEMALE'S PERSPECTIVE...
Skip the 250... you'll be buying another bike before the season is over. I started on a 600 Ninja.. lowered.... it was fine and all but I got tired of being left behind and being blown all over the interstate. I went to the (hand me down) Busa about 6 months later.
When girls ask me about bikes, I usually point them in the direction of a 600... I PERSONALLY like the Suzuki 600... The Kawi 600 is a little heavy, but the Yamaha 600 seems to be light.. just kind of tall... The SV650 is a lot of fun... you just don't get the "crotch rocket" look that some girls want. Oh yeah.. and skip the Beull Blast.... heard too many people dissatisfied with their performance on the street/ long rides.
You can lower all of them.... it depends more on her INSEAM than it does on her height.. I have short stubby legs so everything I ride has to be lowered. I am 5'8" too.
You can check out a group I am a part of and see what bikes OTHER girls started out on.. go to www.chicriders.com/forums
GET HER THE RIGHT GEAR BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE! and the MSF course in your area will teach her as if she has never SEEN a motorcycle before..... without the pressure of YOU standing over her shoulder... no offense to you... but you guys can be pretty intimidating when we are trying to learn something.
Skip the 250... you'll be buying another bike before the season is over. I started on a 600 Ninja.. lowered.... it was fine and all but I got tired of being left behind and being blown all over the interstate. I went to the (hand me down) Busa about 6 months later.
When girls ask me about bikes, I usually point them in the direction of a 600... I PERSONALLY like the Suzuki 600... The Kawi 600 is a little heavy, but the Yamaha 600 seems to be light.. just kind of tall... The SV650 is a lot of fun... you just don't get the "crotch rocket" look that some girls want. Oh yeah.. and skip the Beull Blast.... heard too many people dissatisfied with their performance on the street/ long rides.
You can lower all of them.... it depends more on her INSEAM than it does on her height.. I have short stubby legs so everything I ride has to be lowered. I am 5'8" too.
You can check out a group I am a part of and see what bikes OTHER girls started out on.. go to www.chicriders.com/forums
GET HER THE RIGHT GEAR BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE! and the MSF course in your area will teach her as if she has never SEEN a motorcycle before..... without the pressure of YOU standing over her shoulder... no offense to you... but you guys can be pretty intimidating when we are trying to learn something.
I bought wife a 2006 Katana last year and by the beginning of spring she wanted a Hayabusa. So she bought the 08 Orange and Black busa and traded the Katana in. She is doing great on it. She even drove it at Black Bike Week. She takes it to work and we ride once in a while together. My wife is a natural rider. She took to the bike so easly, I am wondering maybe she will have better skills than I by next year.....lol
If she has little to no riding experience get the 08 250 ...... you won't regret it .
It's a great trainer, learning comes down to the time spent in the saddle learning the mechanics of riding.
The small bike builds confidence and skils very quickly.
See attached thread.250 to 600 post
So let me put it this way, with my wife even with the MSF course and 5000 miles under her belt already this season, I am scared as all heck for her from the other drivers on the road not her riding skills and we are in a rural enviornment.
The streets of San Francisco are a whole different story.
So buy the trainer and teach her right.
It's a great trainer, learning comes down to the time spent in the saddle learning the mechanics of riding.
The small bike builds confidence and skils very quickly.
See attached thread.250 to 600 post
So let me put it this way, with my wife even with the MSF course and 5000 miles under her belt already this season, I am scared as all heck for her from the other drivers on the road not her riding skills and we are in a rural enviornment.
The streets of San Francisco are a whole different story.
So buy the trainer and teach her right.
My Wife started riding 6 years ago on a 97 Katana. She is 5'3" 115#. The Katana is a very top heavy bike & hard to maneuver. She had a 2003 model as well. She got a CBR 600 f4i in 04 & loved it. She currently rides a Honda 600RR on the street & the track. It is very light & nimble & has plenty of power. She will never get rid of it.
Anything you get will be dropped, so buy used.
We have lowered all of her bikes so she can touch flat footed.
Anything you get will be dropped, so buy used.
We have lowered all of her bikes so she can touch flat footed.
From my point of views,get her a second hand bike with low mileage if possible.And also that type of category she wants.Let her have some experience first and judging her from yourself whether she can handle a more powerful bike.From there you may consider getting a brand new bike.Save money on a brand new bike that suits and she loves ultimately
Thread Revival. Hallelujah Jesus!
Have you read this? <--Clicky Most popular thread on my 21,000 member forum. 300,000 views.
This is me on the Ninja 250. My lil 700 mile test ride.
Have you read this? <--Clicky Most popular thread on my 21,000 member forum. 300,000 views.
This is me on the Ninja 250. My lil 700 mile test ride.
Be curious to know the epilogue of our original posters story. ???
My wife and I went through this same exact scenario couple years ago. She wanted her own, took the MSF course, and off we went bike shopping. We never even considered the Ninja 250. Ended up with a Ninja 500, which did have the zippy power. However, the irony is that it was way too big for her, and too heavy. She's 5' 4" & pretty small. Even with custom made Corbin, she was tippy toes.
My niece trying it out.
If I had to do it all over again, we would have gone with a used older SV650 with a lowering kit on it. I didn't know you could get those at the time. Eventually she sat on one that had been specially prepared for another gal. This time, she flat footed the bike and couldn't believe the ergos. Fit perfect.
My wife and I went through this same exact scenario couple years ago. She wanted her own, took the MSF course, and off we went bike shopping. We never even considered the Ninja 250. Ended up with a Ninja 500, which did have the zippy power. However, the irony is that it was way too big for her, and too heavy. She's 5' 4" & pretty small. Even with custom made Corbin, she was tippy toes.
My niece trying it out.
If I had to do it all over again, we would have gone with a used older SV650 with a lowering kit on it. I didn't know you could get those at the time. Eventually she sat on one that had been specially prepared for another gal. This time, she flat footed the bike and couldn't believe the ergos. Fit perfect.
My personal opinion: Let her take the class first, to make sure she really wants to ride. Then, take her around to all the shops with used motorcycles and have her sit on as many different bikes as possible to see what feels comfortable to her. She'll take over from there, trust me.
More of my person opinion: It is widely written about and talked about that a 250 is the perfect bike to start on. This is probably true IF you plan to really ride the bike and learn to take it to it's limits before moving on to a larger hp motorcycle. However, most people do not have the patience to do this. Yes, you can buy a 250, learn on it for a year and sell it for close to what you paid for it. I don't think most new riders will have the patience to keep it even a year. You have to ask yourself how you feel about this aspect.
It's hard to really know what you want until you've been riding a while and develop your own "style".
I say congratulations for even wanting to ride ... let her choose something and learn on it. Everything else will fall into place as she goes along.
Good luck ... be sure and keep us updated on her progress!
More of my person opinion: It is widely written about and talked about that a 250 is the perfect bike to start on. This is probably true IF you plan to really ride the bike and learn to take it to it's limits before moving on to a larger hp motorcycle. However, most people do not have the patience to do this. Yes, you can buy a 250, learn on it for a year and sell it for close to what you paid for it. I don't think most new riders will have the patience to keep it even a year. You have to ask yourself how you feel about this aspect.
It's hard to really know what you want until you've been riding a while and develop your own "style".
I say congratulations for even wanting to ride ... let her choose something and learn on it. Everything else will fall into place as she goes along.
Good luck ... be sure and keep us updated on her progress!
Hectic
Registered
Exhiliration, you should see her in a go-kart.
<div class="iF-Passage"><div class="QUOTEHEAD">Quote:[/Quote]<div class="QUOTE clearfix"><span class="quoteBegin"> </span>
Not trying to sway you or her away from bikes but there is an alternative. Have you thought about the suzuki 650 scooter? It also has automatic or manual transmission selectable from the console.[/quote] Thanks for the responses, yes she did look at the Burgman but thought of it more as a commuter than as a 'fun' bike.
The 250 looks like a bigger bike with the fairings, at least on the pictures - we'll check out the showrooms next.
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She could easily learn to be gentle with the throttle (like everyone does with a 'busa).
It's more often people's inability to regulate available power that gets them in trouble. [/quote]
I think she likes the SV650S more than the SV650, but she seems reluctant to take on too much power too soon. I'm sure she will be easy on the throttle.
<div class="iF-Passage"><div class="QUOTEHEAD">Quote:[/Quote]<div class="QUOTE clearfix"><span class="quoteBegin"> </span>
If you purchase a new bike, put some frame sliders on it.[/quote] She already suggested that she could practice on the Busa since it has frame-sliders
[/quote
No offense, but part of me would love to hear her scream when she gets on the throttle.
Start with an SV650 imo, one of my friends started on it and loved it, another friend of mine started on a kawi 500 and already hates it.
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My personal opinion: Let her take the class first, to make sure she really wants to ride. Then, take her around to all the shops with used motorcycles and have her sit on as many different bikes as possible to see what feels comfortable to her. She'll take over from there, trust me.
More of my person opinion: It is widely written about and talked about that a 250 is the perfect bike to start on. This is probably true IF you plan to really ride the bike and learn to take it to it's limits before moving on to a larger hp motorcycle. However, most people do not have the patience to do this. Yes, you can buy a 250, learn on it for a year and sell it for close to what you paid for it. I don't think most new riders will have the patience to keep it even a year. You have to ask yourself how you feel about this aspect.
It's hard to really know what you want until you've been riding a while and develop your own "style".
I say congratulations for even wanting to ride ... let her choose something and learn on it. Everything else will fall into place as she goes along.
Good luck ... be sure and keep us updated on her progress!
Coming from my Wife who has had:
1997 Katana
2003 Katana
2003 Honda F4i
1997 Kawasaki EX500 (Track Bike)
2005 Honda 600RR (Street & Track)
She has ridden my Busa a few times too & rides about 14K miles a year.
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Hayabusa2005
Registered
Take the MSF class on a 250 and get used to the 250 for a couple days, then test ride the Ninja 250, Ninja 500, and try a CBR600 at the dealer(s). A lot of factors go in here. She may be too tall on the Ninja 250. My girlfriend fits perfect on the Ninja 250 and is only 5'2" - she could not go any larger because of the straddle height. She would have to lower the bike thus taking away from handling. I would be will to bet at 5'8" she could handle a 500 or 600. A 250 is going to get you killed just as a 500 could. It is how comfortable you are on the bike, how much you respect the power, and scan the traffic around you. BayBusa...that is one hot chick on the white Busa...
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i think id get her a used cbr 600 f2 or f3. they are older bikes you can pick up in great shape for a very low price. if she drops it the loss is little. the bik will have plenty of power to keep her happy for a long time, plus it has a very smooth power delivery. the bike is probably lighter than the 250. the f3 is what i am looking for for my wife. it is quick, light, good looking, super comfortable and inexpensive. honda made them from like 94 to 98 or 99. the f4's would fit the bill as well, but they cost more.
both girls i know that started on 250's were ready for upgrades in less than 2 months.
good luck
both girls i know that started on 250's were ready for upgrades in less than 2 months.
good luck
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