My wife and I have been talking about buying 2 motorcycles,one for each one of us.I have mine picked out but i haven't got a clue about hers.

I've owned 2 in the past but she has never been on one.So how do I go about getting her in some classes or something to help her get road ready(we have till spring).

A friend has a 2009 Honda rebel 250 for sale like the one in the pic.My question is this,wouldn't something this little be a bit small for highway or just right for her and her small size.

Any advice would be great before I spend 2,000 on a bike she may or may not be able to handle.

The rebel 250 or a ninja 250 would both be good starter bikes. Get good gear. Start slow. See if you have classes near you -- we have the Motorcycle Safety Foundation classes near me, they're good. See if there are rider groups in your area. You might find some group rides or training near you.

Have fun! Just remember, some people shouldn't be on motorcycles... And it's easy to get hurt on them. So if she's not comfortable on the bike don't push her hard.

I took to motorcycles late in life. I tried to get my wife interested, but after seeing her on a bicycle, I agreed with her that motorcycles aren't in her future.

Biggs,

Go to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's website at Motorcycle Safety Foundation and look up the location of a nearby course. I highly recommend the MSF courses, especially for new riders.

That Honda Rebel 250 will be just fine for her, depending upon what kind of highway use you mean. If she will be commuting or doing pleasure riding that will involve some Interstate or limited-access highway riding, and she is planning to stick close to the posted speed limit, that 250 will be okay. If you are planning to pack some luggage on it and do some long highway rides or overnight trips, or touring, you might want to look at something a little bigger.

Good luck to both of you, and enjoy your new riding experiences. :-)

So far i haven't found much here locally but haven't done much research till lately.She really wants to start riding,and just like you she wants to start late(she is 37)

I don't know who is going to need a nerve pill more,Her or I.

We'll be traveling no more than 20-50 miles a weekend and mainly on city streets,untill she feels comfortable enough to ride highway.

Honda 250s, that takes me back to my youth in the UK, although we never had that touring style in a small bike. It was all sport style bikes. Back then there was the 250 Dream and later the Super Dream and a funny little bike called the RS250. If you were slight in stature, the RS was the one to have as it was lightweight, had a low seat and used a single cylinder motor. Consequently everything was tucked up tight and you could crank it over onto the rims in the corners before anything else came close to touching. It outhandled the so-called sport bikes like the Dream was not any slower at semi-legal speeds.

Unless you wife is really, really short, in which case seat height trumps everything, I would suggest something with a conventional riding position, like the Suzuki TU250x, or the Ninja 250 over the Rebel. The feet-forward riding position of the Rebel makes it difficult to stand on the pegs to surmount obstacles, and in my opinion, hampers the acquisition of good control skills.

Suzuki TU250x


An even better idea is a small dual-sport like the Yamaha XT225:


A small dual-sport not only allows the rider to ride on the street, but also allows for off-road practice on loose surfaces, which will develop bike control skills much more quickly. In addition, a dual sport will survive low-speed tipovers a lot better than the typical street bike.

Here's another vote for the MSF Beginning Riders' Course. Your wife may be able to ride a variety of bikes there, and refine her opinion of what she wants. It goes without saying that the survival skills she will learn there are essential.

It's a little light for the highway, unless they're short rides.

Better off around 400-500lbs min.

Ditto the MSF rider course. For both of you.

Not knowing your wife or her style I would say a 250 would be absolute minimum for any kind of real road riding. If she can handle the 250 I would bet she could handle the 450 after training & some practice.

I rode a motorcycle in my younger days, although the biggest I ever had was a 400cc, and my wife had ridden some dirt bikes. When I got the fever to ride again, in 2003, my wife decided she wanted a bike as well. We looked at several makes, but from research I had done, I knew I wanted shaft drive and liquid cooling. I decided on a Honda VTX 1300, and my wife got a Honda Shadow ACE 750. (She is 5'1", and handled it just fine.) We rode our new bikes for a while before we took the MSF course together, which she ace'd and I didn't...but I did pass. (I had trouble with that darn figure 8 inside the rectangle.) The bikes used during the course were 250s, and they felt too small for us, after getting used to the bigger bikes.

Personally, I think the 250 is going to be too small for your wife, eventually, especially if you do much highway riding. It may not be...but if you can, rent several bikes to see how she likes the various sizes. Another thing to consider is scooters...which you can get as large as 650cc, with automatic transmissions, and which are perfectly highway capable. They are a lot easier for some people to handle.

My wife is short and light. She chose a 250 Honda Nighthawk as a "re-entry" bike. In a couple of months she was tired of it. While it could about keep up with traffic on our back roads, it was none to pleasant doing so. We bought her a used Suzuki SV 650 and the two of them were a perfect match. There are a million of these bikes around used and it is certainly worth looking at.

Ed

I got my daughter a Rebel 250 when she wanted to learn to ride. It is a good starter bike. Most people I talked to all agreed that a 750 was too much for most beginning female riders. Several people that tried starting with the larger bikes regretted it. My daughter was the third person to use this Rebel as a learning bike. It can always be trade in for a larger bike. My Rebel 250 is for sale now.
Your wife needs to talk to other lady riders and do some parking lot test rides.

10 years ago, my wife took the NC Motorcycle Safety Rider Course on one of the course provided 150cc bikes. After course completion she made the statement, "I think all I will want or need is a 250cc."

We bought her a new Suzuki 250 cc street bike...cruiser style. Within 10 days she made the statement, "I feel like I'm on a MoPed. I want a bigger bike with more power. But I don't want just any bigger motorcycle. I want a vintage Harley with drag pipes kinda like your old Electra Glide."

So to go with my 1975 FLH, we got her a 1980 1000cc Sportster. She was good on it within a couple of days.

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C & L

Good advice on taking the motorcycle safety course. That is the very first step to take.

Step 2 is the most fun! Shopping for the bike!!

A 250cc bike is a great starter size but it does have limitations for touring. I like the recommendation of a Honda Shadow or something in the 750cc range that has a little weight. Should be much more stable on the road - think crosswinds - and really easy for city riding.

The advice I got years ago was to go a large on the first bike. My plan as a noob was go small and then graduate up. But my friends with riding experice all said that within four months, I'd be trading up. They were right.

My first bike was a 04 Honda VTX1300. It's still my ride. I just love that rig! Great around town and heavy enough to be stable on the highway. I'm 6-3 and 230 and it has been a very comfy ride.

But this is all advisory only, but stuff to be thinking about. That's what makes the hunt so fun. Above all, I'd suggest she sit on a number of bikes, make sure e handlebars are at a comfortable level, the seat height allows her to put both feet on the ground to balance the bike at a stop,etc.

Also, consider a good windscreen for longer jaunts.

Again, let me stress the safety course. But most of all, have fun!

I agree with the posts above, the first thing you need to do is run her through a Basic Riders Course. After that I would personally pick up either a 250 or a 500cc beater to ride for a year or so and then let her go from there. As has been stated previously the 250s are good around town scooters but they aren't much for interstate travel and overnight travel. As far as the type, get what she likes, it doesn't matter if it's a sport type or a cruiser type in all honesty but ideally she should get the type that she wants to ride long term.

My first bike was a basket case KZ1000P that was surplused from LA county sheriffs department and I rode it for a while then sold it and got something nicer but honestly I would recommend against anyone getting anything that big as a starter bike. Although I do agree that within 6 months she'll be wanting to trade up from the 250 if that's what you go with.

I believe Cocked & Locked pretty much hit the nail on the head. A 250cc made by anyone for street use is pretty much a "kids bike", has no top end, and because of its lack of power, won't do all that well on the highway. These type of bikes usually end up making the rider even more vulnerable on a highway. A good choice for her would be a 883cc or even a 1200cc HD Sportster. Used models in this configuration are relatively cheap, not very heavy, designed for the "smaller rider", dependable, and can in most instances keep up with highway traffic. I'm also seeing more and more women riding HD's big road cruisers these days.

As most have said, the Motorcycle Safety Course is number one. It's good for experienced riders also. My wife started on a Yamaha 250 Virago until she became comfortable with a bike. Just two lane rides and back roads. She then graduated to a H.D. 1200 Sportster. She rode my H.D. Road King once but didn't like it much. She said it was too heavy for her. The main thing is your wife needs to feel confident and comfortable with her bike. IMO people who ride scared are an accident waiting to happen.

I'm thinking a Suzuki 650 single cylinder....they used to be called the Savage. I think they have a different model # now. Not too heavy but plenty of power for the highway. I think the big plus for a new rider would be the torque of the big single...she wouldn't have to rev the heck out of it and would spend a lot less time shifting gears. just my 2cents....

Or buy one of these and you can both enjoy it...

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Rick, W0FG
CTR2 68-72

Well after reading all the replies I guess I must be nuts ! I took up riding at age 50. I'm 60 now... I started with a Harley Road King . That was the advice I got from my friends who rode .maybe because I'm a 3xl?????Any way , worked out for me lol.

1998 Honda VFR Interceptor that I bought new and the wife has a 1997 Ninja 250 she has put around 15,000 miles on. She started with classes and I highly recommend them for anyone getting into motorcycling. She now needs an upgrade. She can't keep up with me on the highway and the lack of weight means she gets pushed around by the wind far more than she would on a larger bike. Point is that for road-trips, the 250 is a tad light and you have to tap-dance on the shifter to keep the revs up around 12K to be in the power band... Nice around town bike. Not good for cruising 80mph down the highway.

Seat height is a problem for lots of height-challenged folks. Bikes used to have a big foam seat you could carve down to nothing whereas now it is 1/2" on top of a plastic pan.

Good luck, enjoy and keep it rubber side down.

Shouldn't there be a machinegun mounted on the sidecar? Maybe a RPD?

What did you pick out for yourself? That might be a factor in deciding what to get her.

I've got several bikes, but if I had none and was going to pick out a pair for my wife and I to get into riding, I think I'd get a pair of Kawasaki Super Sherpas! (KL250) These are dual sports, capable fun off-pavement riding and can keep up with interstate traffic here in St. Louis. Not too high in the saddle either. If you have a place to ride off-road, that is in my opinion the best way to improve your skills, both off and on the road. As others have said, I too recommend the MSF course.

Here's my Super Sherpa. My wife rides a slightly lower Yamaha TW200. (My main bike is a BMW.)

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My first bike was a CB350. It was screaming at highway speeds, but its made to scream for long periods of time. My second bike was an 1100cc Honda V65 Magna. My mileage was significantly better on the bigger bike too.

Watch out for insurance on a Ninja 250. Some companies charge a fortune for that bike, on par with the 600cc crotch racers.

get the Rebel and plan on upgrading quick.

I recommend you get out away from the city and into the back country roads with a lot less traffic and stress. Find some country roads where you can putt along at 50mph and just enjoy the wind in your face. The technical twisties while a dream for us old timers can be a problem for noobies so try to stay on flat strait roads at first. The problem with traffic is there is some sort of cloaking device built into motorcycles that make you invisible to most cars, and the last thing a new rider needs is to be dodging cars that don't see you.

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

You know, for some reason when I was riding that old Cop bike out in San Diego the cloaking device never worked. Every car around me saw that thing. But of course when I changed bikes they never saw me. I do agree that it's a good idea to work your way up to the twisties slowly.

Where i live there is a beautiful stretch of flat strait road that spans from Huntington all the way up river to Mason,WV and takes about 2 hours by car.Main speeds are 35-55 with suprisingly light traffic.

The hills and farms on the right and the Ohio river on the left,perfect for new riders and lots of place to pull off.

MSF course for both of you of course, like every one has stated.

Some women I know who ride with their husbands really like those 3 wheeled things, like a reverse trike, the Can-Am Spyder. From what I have heard you want a 2010 or newer.

If, and I don't think it will happen, my wife ever wants a bike, I will look into one of those for her.

Not just cars.... I had an 18 wheeler turn left in front of me the other night, barely missed the end of his trailer. If I had not been on the way to work, and running late, I would have chased him down for a little face to face time. I don't ride a small bike, and I had all of my forward facing lights on, on high beam!!



bob

The problem with those Can-Ams is that they are so low, I think they are even harder to see in traffic than a regular bike.

I wouldn't recommend that your wife ride a Rebel 250 on the highway. It is bad for your wife and the 250. She will need to really wring it out to keep up in traffic, it will vibrate plus be a bit twitchy at 55mph+. It is just not the right tool for that job.
Like others have mentioned, perhaps have her try a small to mid-size cruiser like a 400-650cc. MSF course is good.

I hope she finds something that she is very comfortable with!

We have till spring and she has lots of practice before we find one

The engine size is not the deciding factor. Proper fit is. Be sure she is comfortable on the bike, and that she can manipulate the controls easily and swing the handle bar full turn and operate the brake and clutch.

Be sure to let her pick what she likes!

Some decades ago I started on smaller bikes. I quickly went to the Shadow 500 and thought it was perfect. Later I went to the 750's. I had 3 750's and recently sold the last one after deciding that I am not now, nor will I ever be a "highway guy".

I recently went back to a bike that's been in the garage for many years a Honda XR250L which is, perhaps, the greatest motorcycle ever built! See pic. Does 65ish on the highway but it'll vibrate your body apart because it's a 'thumper' - single cylinder with a lot of 'dirt bike torque'. But it's an enduro and is, at it's core, a dirt bike with pro-link suspension.

Wanting something with an electric start that didn't rattle my brains, I picked up the Honda Elite 110 scooter. It tops out at 50mph and it doesn't matter if you have one or two people on it. The speed is the same. (see pic).

+1 on whoever said the Rebel seat height is too low for anybody over 5' tall. The discontinued Nighthawk 250 didn't have that problem. That 250 twin engine will do in the 70's on the highway no prob. I'd recommend that bike to anybody and should have bought one when they were new. The closest thing sold now to that nighthawk is the Suzuki TU250 (shown).

They now make the Honda PCX scooter (in 125 but about to be a 150 once they discontinue the Italian SRH) which goes about 60.

FYI; The top speeds on the scooters are not fixed by a governor but by the final drive ratio. Ya gets what ya gets.

Anyway, I strongly recommend the 250's and scooters now to everybody!

Edit: +1 on the posts that said "don't ride a 250 on the highway". City traffic - don't even try it! If you're out in the country where people won't run you over, then you'll probably be ok. I can't explain the physics; but the smaller bikes just don't have the mass to cut through the wind and the result is you get 'beat up'. Once you get up to the 750's and up, highway riding is fine.

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But then, what do I know?

Don't know what size your lady is, and that can be a difficult question, but it is definitely a factor in choosing the right ride. My experience is that folks lose respect for small bikes, and problems result. The weight of the machine, tire contact patch, and other factors point to a larger machine. There is a Honda that is similar to the one you mentioned that is a 600cc machine, and Yamaha made a 535 Virago a while back that was a very high quality bike. Both of these are in demand as used bikes, and carry a premium, but a clean one may be worth it. What I would suggest is that you go on ebay motors and look at Japanese bikes. Start with one brand, and keep track of the models that are interesting to you. Then do a search by model on the net, and you will find owners groups that will be a source of extensive knowledge regarding the particular model in question. Japanese bikes have stellar service records typically, and getting them worked on is no problem almost anywhere; even old ones. Take your time, and do your research. Go to used bike dealers to sit on various models to check the fit. Don't make a quick decision. That's what I would do.

For different perspectives may I suggest you visit Adventure Rider Motorcycle Forum.

On that site you can get opinions on virtually any bike ever made. You can also read ride reports written by folks travelling locally, cross country, and RTW ('round the world) and see what they ride. The size range is dramatic.

For your wife I'd suggest perusing the "Thumpers" "Road Warriors" and "Battle Scooters" sections and you will find input from riders who rack up many thousands of miles on bikes/scooters 250cc and much less.

The TU250 has already been mentioned. That bike has the advantage of being fuel injected. The Rebel has carbs. That may or may not be a factor for you.

Ned

This could be a very important factor when deciding. If you let the bike sit for more than a few weeks with gas in it (ethanol blend) it will very possibly gunk up the carb (jets) to the point it won't run. There are additives you can put in the fuel to negate this issue, but you have to remember to do it.

Fuel injected bikes aren't plagued with this particular problem.

bob

Mine is the DR 650. It is a dual sport and weighs in around 330 lbs. They are a great bike within their limits. Neither a true road bike or a true off trail they can handle both.

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Front sight and squeeze

Me and my son started off riding the suzuki TS-185's off road. We logged in many hours of off road riding. The learning experience off road has saved our lives many times with the streetbikes.

One morning while on the way to work my son had many deer infront of him when he came around a blind turn. He tee boned one and put her up on the handle bars before he stopped. She totalled the bike and she ran off ok. My son kept the bike straight up till he stopped unharmed. Its good balance from the dirtbikes.

I came around a turn on a highway between the hills which blocked the strong winds on my suzuki 1200 bandit. It blew me across three lanes of highway and while in the tarred shoulder I slammed the left peg to gain weight on that side of the bike for traction and it stopped just intime as i pulled out of the turn. I did not have any wind across the front of the bike before that.

I been eyeing the russian ural motorcycle with the side car above here. Its a copy of a '39 BMW with a live rear axle. I was riding a dual sport bike all winter with ice screws on the road. I would ride in snow storms and ice storms too being street legal. Its a rush riding in 10 degree weather too.

Like i said its all the experience with the dirtbikes that saved our lives on the street bikes.

I use seafoam in my gas to keep it fresh during the winters storage with my streetbikes(1200)

Before i got sick i had 25 vintage restored husqvarna dirtbikes, one 1200 suzuki bandit, one TE610e husqvarna dual sport and one quad. I put 25k on the bandit the first year, 1200 miles on the TE610e and 2500 miles on the quad. We were never home except to sleep.

Except that dual-sports often have a high seat height. The same problem can exist with many scooters. A lot depends on the rider's size. "Try before you buy".

A Suzuki S40 is a good beginner's bike. They only cost about $5700 new, so used ones are cheap. Seat height is 27.6 in. Weight is 381 lbs. But its a 650, so it can keep up with traffic. Only one cylinder, and belt drive instead of chain, so its easy maintenance.

The Kawasaki 250 Super Sherpa, the Yamaha XT225, and the Yamaha TW200 are a few examples of small dual-sports with low seat heights. They also have quite a bit of suspension travel, and will typically lose about three inches when the rider sits down.

Put her on a Harley 883 low. Get youfrself an dresser. I like my 04 Road King, helped em uncrate it when it came in after I ordered it. Still going strong. Hence my call name, the king is peace officer blue.

If you think riding a Harley is the pinnacle of the motorcycle experience, and you are willing to settle for that, then there is really no reason not to start out on a Harley. They can make excellent learner bikes. This goes for the full-sized bikes, not just Sportsters. Modern Harleys are very user-friendly, with low centers of gravity, well-suited to women and beginner riders. Their performance is modest, so that no great skill is required to get them to do what they do best.

I will lay $5.00 on the table she won't drop any bike more than a 1/4 inch.She is at best 103 lbs 5' 3" and at her biggest with child 2 she didn't weigh over 126 at month 9.

I support the idea that a)she pick it out and b)it is enough bike to last her a while. A good friend started riding four years ago, on a Ducati Monster. She took a lot of courses, she and her husband have done a lot of track riding. She races liter bikes now, still Ducatis.

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Even older, even crankier....

I want a bike but I am scared of other drivers that have no idea what they got going on around them. Plus I am a bigger guy but want a slow bike for my own safety.

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Don't look, reload and shoot!

Today we had free time and lots of it.No kids no hassles and a great lunch.We took off in search of the perfect start to the perfect bike/bikes.

First we went over to the Ashland Community college for a talk/tour of the place and what we will need for the training and safety course.Total cost will be 185.00 per person and it's a 3 day class,totally worth it and I enrolled both of us to be on the safe side.Training dates are Oct 26th thru the 28th.

Then 3 bike shops later and many new and used bikes,we(she)sat on 2 650's,a 750,a used sportster 883,a v-star 500 used, and my friends rebel 250.

The 2 she felt most comfortable was the 250 and the 500.Anything past that and she couldn't hardly lift it or stand flat footed.Now she did like the 500 but she loved and felt the most at ease on the 250,said it fit her perfectly.

I talked it over with my friend and he said he would hold on to it till she took the course.

Now everything is in line and set up,what kind of helmet/glasses would be good for her.Actually if she got a helmet with a full face mask why would she need further eye protection.

Nothing is more dangerous than a slow bike. Ride one responsibly, but use torque and power to get and keep yourself out of trouble.

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Front sight and squeeze

I'm going all out by saying,if this doesn't motivate alot more people to driving motorcycles/scooter/mopeds i don't know what will.

http://news.yahoo.com/calif-gasoline...--finance.html


I'm going to do everything in my power to be as good a motorcyclist as i can so when spring,summer,fall prices hit,i won't go into cardiac arrest.

I drive 12 miles one way,no biggy until i fill up the dually at 168.00 a tank which lasts 4 to 5 days day depending on how much i drive.

Now if i get a 500-650 i'll be treading on 50 mpg or better which will save me about 550.00 a month in gas and be a whole lot more fun.

When we were into the 70's suzuki TS-185 dual sport bikes I advertised for more bikes running or not at the time. A guy calls me up with a 1980 Suzuki GS 750L the "L" is for low rider for $150. Me and my son couldn't get there fast enough to pick it up. Its a inline 4 cylinder streetbike. It needed the carbs cleaned. This was my first real streetbike.

I think you guys are on the right track, we just chose different bikes. Let me explain.

I have two bikes, a big one and a little one. My aim was much like yours. I wanted a smaller bike for maneuverability and better gas mileage. But I like Harleys.

I bought a Sportster "48." Yes, it has minor engine modifications (mostly breathing, a new ECM download, a few trim pieces and an oil cooler) but for me it's a 'scooter.'

My big bike is a total custom, and it's big bore engine slurps premium fuel.

If you and I rode together--you on your 250 and me on the Sportster--we would be going to the same places, for the same reasons, at the same speed, and having a good time on smaller bikes.

Bikers stress "freedom" in this lifestyle, and I see nothing wrong with your goals and choices.