Paranoia about engine size, in my opinion, is over rated. Lori had never been on a bike other than as a passenger. Taking the MSF course and
learning, in my opinion and in our experience, suffices. I'm not saying go out and buy a 1,000, but starting on a 600 or 650 is not going to get a newbie killed just because she's a girl. Now, if a guy or gal is intimidated by the thought of getting on a bike, or a classic squidly-type, I would say perhaps put 'em on a two-fiddy or comprable. Look at the used market: It's flooded with used 250's and 500's that people are trying to get rid of and can't. Moreover, the 250's and 500's are wound out at freeway speeds. That Ninja 250 and the Rebel, have you ever ridden one? They pretty much red line in top gear on the freeway.
Also, read the reviews on the Rebels. They are not favorable. They have had numerous problems. So if you go with a 500, make sure you research it.
You know, we got ran off the road last year when Lori first was learning to ride. She dumped her bike when we got in the gravel, and I managed to keep the Busa up. Long story short: Hair pin turn in the country, half way through the turn and a car was
fully in our lane. Some of you fellas remember my post about that. Lori didn't dump her bike because she was new and riding a 650, she dumped it because she was a new, inexperienced rider encountering her first ever emergency situation two weeks into riding for the first time in her life. And to make it worse, we ended up in the gravel.
Anyway, rant off. Just throwing back in my two cents and our experiences.
J
The paranoia on engine size DOES stem from a person being intimidated by the bike. Otherwise the recommendation from this forum would be a Busa as a first and only bike, naturally.
When someone gets intimidated by power, they tend to make stupid mistakes. Those mistakes just don't mean as much on a Ninja 250 or Rebel 250 as they would on a 600 or liter bike, which builds confidence, and thus they learn much faster than they would on a bigger bike.
Now the flip side to the coin is that the OP's wife is short. VERY short. This is another problem with typical 600/650/1000 bikes. They all have high seat heights in the interest of cornering clearance. The smaller bikes have lower seat heights which will help quite a bit.
Now while I can't speak for the Rebel, I do know the engine redlines low, like 9K or something like that. My Ninja turns 9K at 85, with taller than stock sprockets, so I doubt that the Rebel would be very much at home on the highway. And a 500 is only 100cc's short of a 600, so how can it be wound out on the freeway? My bike used to turn 8K at 65mph. It now turns 6.5K at 65. It redlines at 13K. It's not exactly chugging along, but it's far from wound out. 90 is certainly not out of the question, even for long periods of time.
And on another forum I read (Or it might have been here), I read a post by someone who said that 250's were unsafe on the highway because you couldn't keep up with traffic. This person mentioned highway traffic speeds exceeding 90mph. IMO, if traffic is moving 90+, you have bigger problems then the displacement of your engine, and need to find the nearest exit.
Can I redline top gear on the highway? Yes. But if I do, I'm moving at the brisk pace of 105mph. That's more than enough for a beginner's bike, I don't care who ya' are.
And Ninja 250's have some good reliability. One guy on the N250RC has one with 100K+ miles. Several have bikes with over 50K.
So did you go after the car? Do you know how it came to be in your lane?
You ride a Ninja 250? And you haven't
at all been disappointed with the bike's rev range? Like winding out, somewhat like a rubber band that's about snap, when you're cruising on the freeway. I'm surprised. Perhaps that's only been my experience; perhaps I'm crazy; perhaps I don't know what the fu#ck I'm talking about, rather like you're insinuating.
I agreee with the reliability issue. Those minibikes last forever, and ever, and ever. They're great for the kids...and damn it, they won't die.
Seat height...get some dog bones and lower the bike. It's done quite frequently for short guys and gals that want to ride - unless of course you are talking about a 2000 or older SV (and perhaps other misc. models out there), then beware, because, like I said, they can't be lowered.
I'm not sure I understand "The paranoia on engine size DOES stem from a person being intimidated by the bike...." I'm saying that being paranoid about engine size (such as, "Don't start out on anything bigger than a 250 or maybe a 500 or you'll die!) is somewhat over rated, and that's my opinion, of course. You obviously have your opinion. I think we just misunderstood each other's statements?
To answer to your final, probing questions: No, I didn't go after the car. I watched my wife get up from the gravel, stumble into the grass and collapse. You choose: chase down the car in anger, or aid your wife. I chose to aid my wife.
The car, I'm assuming, came to be in our lane because the driver was going much too fast to take a hair pin turn. You know what a hair pin turn is, right? You basically have to almost stop your cage and turn the corner, yet it's a "cuuuurve..." I assume she was going too fast so she drifted into our lane...and she appeared to be utterly clueless that she ran us off the road.
Anyway, my wife was fine. She was fairly bruised and battered, but she was fine. She got back on her bike and we continued to ride. She's a trooper, my girl, and the accident, unlike you're guessing, or insinuating, or some such sh!t, wasn't caused by the bike being too much to handle for a girl, or for a new rider. The one thing I
DO know, the fu#ckin' thing is a tad tall for her, although, in that particular situation I'm not sure that height had anything at all to do with her going down. When you're sliding in gravel there's not much that flat footedness is going to do to keep you from going down. She tipped over at a stop sign when she was new to the bike, and that was purely because the bike was too tall and she slipped in the gravel at the stop sign.
Ah, you know, what are you going to do? I come from a family of motorcyclists: moms, dads, brothers, sisters, et cetera. And I didn't assert that a newbie should start on a Busa or a CBR 1000. What I
AM purporting, what I believe, is that starting on a 250 or 500, in my opinion, is not always the answer. A bike comprable to the 650R or SV650, in my opinion, and on a case by case basis, is a fine bike to start on. If you've got someone who wants to ride but is scared to death, no, I don't think that's the way to go. But if you're like my wife and want to ride, are not afraid of bikes, and learn well, then power to you.
You may not agree with me, bro, but, hey, that's okay too. We all have our opinions, beliefs, and it's healthy to express them...well, maybe not all the time - regarding different issues, on different platforms...maybe I should just shut the hell up now.
Jason
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