| Author | Message | ||
     Ravensmith22 |
Some of you may remember the little blue CT90 at Homecoming. Well, Julie loves her little bike, but it's topped out at about 37-40 mph. She's kinda thinking about getting a bigger bike, something around 250cc. She says she doesn't want to get anything bigger. She's new to riding on the street, and still has some fears to get over. She mentioned that she wouldn't mind a Ninja 250, but she's only 5', and the tallest seat height she can handle is about 28". We would appreciate any suggestions, and if we can figure out something within our budget (pretty small), we'll both be happy. | ||
| Wardan123 |
Honda Rebel 250? http://www.surfmaine.com/rebel/ | ||
| Ravensmith22 |
I thought of that, too. She's more interested in a sport bike, and she doesn't like the Rebel. This isn't gonna be easy. | ||
| Brinnutz |
Kawasaki Ninja 250cc?? http://www.kawasaki.com/products/Detail.aspx?id=20 0 http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?Ar ticleID=5920 | ||
| Doon |
Ninja 250 + some kick ass riding boots (With 2" heels)  -Patrick | ||
| Ezblast |
Buell Blast - lol | ||
| Zane |
A Buell Blast with the low seat option. | ||
| Mytripb |
+1 on the Blast. I'm 5'2" and it's perfect! Not too much for a beginner to handle either. The Blast is my first bike and I'm already craving more power (I'll wait till next year to start that project)! I'm also suggesting the Rider's Edge course - When I first started scooting around parking lots on my Blast, I was nervous about making that jump to the road - the class gave me the confidence to do so. Ok I sound like a paid commercial now, I'm going to stop.  | ||
| Tramp |
Just start her on a rebel with low bars, it'll be more comfortable to her, and, being as she's "new to riding on the street", she's not in the best position to judge herself a sportbike rider. Indulging the inexperienced conjectures of new riders can lead to too many bad scrapes. A nice rebel can be found for a very low price, and drag bars can be found anywhere, cheaply....rendering it a standard, which is really what she should be riding, anyway. keep your eyes peeled for the tiny Kawi singles, too, from the '80s, and don't rule out a small , even vintage, enduro on/offroad machine, as well. you can slap drag bars and a bullet fairing on one and give her the look she wants, but with a very, VERY lightweight , flickable machine. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I think Kawasaki Super Sherpa's are pretty low to the ground, and if you are keeping them on road, you can probably make them even lower easily. It'll hit 70 mph fine, and be really confidence inspiring through the twisties. Brakes aren't the best, but the'll do. Dual Sports are *really* easy to ride. I think Yamaha makes a nice little 250 as well. | ||
| Bill0351 |
"don't rule out a small , even vintage, enduro on/offroad machine" It's probably not what Tramp had in mind, but I did a lot of my early riding on a friend's CL350 and GT380. I later bought a CL350 of my own. I eventually sold it to a friend as his first road-bike. I think his little brother is riding it now. It was a great machine. I wouldn't think twice about riding a well sorted one coast to coast. Plus, to me they look really cool. Anyway... It's another idea. Bill | ||
| Tramp |
It's exactly what i had in mind, frankly... | ||
| Bill0351 |
They are great machines. The old Honda twins amaze me with what they will put up with and still keep running. I helped a friend get a frozen 400 Hawk running. After freeing up the pistons with a wooden dowel, a mallet and penetrating oil, the carbs were given a cleaning, new plugs were screwed in, and the thing fired up. With all things considered, it ran pretty good. It's still running today. Bill | ||
| 86129squids |
If you can find one look at either a Yamaha Virago 250 (AKA Route 66) or even a Yamaha Virago 535. They both sit down low, are good bikes, and V-Twin!! Good luck!  | ||
| Regkittrelle |
http://www.allamericanracers.com/alligator/alligat or_home.html ...or the Suzuki Burgman. | ||
| Tramp |
My ex-fiancee's absolutely original 1979 KZ 400 standard twin still collects dust in injunmort's garage...thing is bulletproof | ||
| Jlnance |
Sportymark's wife is 5'0" and rides a modified Blast. She did some work on the bars to make it more comfortable for her, and actually prefers the tall seat. | ||
| Slaughter |
Sunny is "Inseam Challenged" and she loves the XT225 for true dual sport riding. Full sized wheels mean the handling off-road is acceptable and it does have enough oomph for the occasional freeway. .jpg) We have a Blast - but it's strictly track weapon now... (shhhh, it's a secret) | ||
| Tom_b |
Bill0351, You don't want to put a fairly new rider on a GT 380. being a 2 stroke and 3 cylinder, those bikes are a handful. even by todays standards they are quick and have such a weird powerband. I would say an old twin, cl350, cb350, xs360, xs400, gs400, 400 hawk, 250 rebel. if into the sport bike a 250 ninja is perfect and can be easily lowered. (Message edited by Tom_b on July 15, 2008) | ||
| Ravensmith22 |
Julie's ridden a Blast (Rider's Edge). She's also looking for a bike she can pick up by herself if it tips. I think I found a good candidate:Yamaha TW200. http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-rev iews/yamaha/1987-2008-yamaha-tw200-ar42127.html The seat height is listed at 31.1", but I found out how to lower it by 2-3". Even if she doesn't like it (and I'm pretty sure she will), I want one now. Thanks for the suggestions. We'll have to see what she likes. | ||
| Slaughter |
We looked at a friend's TW200 before deciding on the XT225. Heard too many reports about funny handling of the TW with those wiiiiide tires from too many people. The folks who love it are the local farmers. It works well in muddy/wet fields but it is kind of sluggish. You can get them cheaper than the XT225 though. (Message edited by slaughter on July 15, 2008) | ||
| Ravensmith22 |
Just heard back from Julie. She likes it. So, maybe one or two TW200s in our future. Thanks again for all the help. |
