Total Motorcycle Community Forums

If money is an issue, you could also look into a used Suzuki Intruder 800. That's what I have and I love it.

MotoF150 wrote:Suzuki Burgman scooters! they are fast, easy to ride, automatic, please don't buy any Suzuki S, M, or C50's they are as heavy as any big Harley and they handle like a 18 wheeler with 10 flat tires, how do I know? I own a M50

Ignore him he like to do immature "poo poo" like this.

best thing you can do is just check out as many different bikes as possible and get the one that feels most comfortable thats in your price range.

My wife is 5'3" and we are in the process of trying to find a bike for her. So far the vulcan 500 is at the top of her list. She tried the S50, she liked the mid mount controls and could flat foot it easily but she was not comfortable with the weight (its pretty top heavy), same complaint she had about the HD sportster 883. the C50, S40, V-star, and shadows (the entire yamaha star line and honda shadow line have forward controls) are out for her because she has problems reaching forward controls and really needs mid mounts.

She could barely tippy toe my old CX500 and cant get on my bandit at all (I cant even flat foot my bandit).

despite the low seat height it seems that most cruisers are still geared towards longer legged folk due to the forward controls present on most of em.

I once believed that women couldn't use a clutch and shift. Then I saw pics of all these women riders on About.com ... !
http://motorcycles.about.com/cs/photos/ ... wmindx.htm
WOW can you believe it! They are all riding motorcycles that require shifting! Amazing. Then I also discovered that there are plenty of women riders RIGHT HERE ON THIS SITE!!! It's a good thing I figured this out when I did, because I almost put my foot in my mouth, and that would be really embarrasing...

I also used to think women would have trouble picking up a motorcycle. Then I discovered these web sites!
http://ibmwr.org/otech/pickup.html
http://www.pinkribbonrides.com/dropped.html

And then I did some more research - And CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!? The Burgman only weighs 30 pounds less than the M50 and C50 (520 vs 550.) It's a damn good thing they publish this information, because 30 pounds really isn't going to make that much of a difference if someone drops their bike, and I don't want to sound stupid.

Sorry, Ladies, Ride on! (And Please excuse me for being an Idiot ... sometimes I can't help myself.)

(Original post translated by TechTMW, who speaks Arabic, Italian, French and Jackass - feel free to contat me if you need any more assistance)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

women cannot use a clutch and shift gears the automatic scooters are perfect and they are just as fast as any street bike, the scooters are made for women. If anybody suggests a big low powered, heavy bike like the C50 for a small woman, he doesn't know what he's talking about and he should feel bad and have a guilty conscience when that small woman wrecks and crashes the bike cause the bike is too heavy for her to handle. What is she going to do if shes alone and dumps a C50? The bike is too heavy for her to pick up.

murasaki wrote:Hi guys, I've been trying to figure out the best bike for me as a beginner. I'm female, 21 years old and 5'4". I really like the old cruiser style of Suzukis and Yamahas, so I think those would be best for me. But I also need something that hopefully can handle highways, because it's hard to get around where I live without using a highway.

Thanks,
Emily

Have you sat on a Yamaha V-Star 650? That bike might just match exactly what you are looking for. Also the Honda Shadow 600 and VLX 600 are not bad bikes either.

Yamaha V-Star 650 (there are 4 different 650 models)
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... Custom.htm

Suzuki Savage 650:
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... rd-S40.htm

Suzuki M50:
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... rd-M50.htm

Honda Shadow Aero 750:
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... w-Aero.htm

Honda Shadow Sabre 750
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... rit750.htm

Honda Shadow VLX 600:
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... Deluxe.htm

I ride a 650 as my 5th motorcycle (500 lbs 650cc) and it's a good engine size for a lot of things.

Motorcycle weight is a consideration, when I started out I avoided heavy and top heavy motorcycles as well. But I do find the weight does disappear as the motorcycle is in motion. One thing you don't really want in a TOP HEAVY motorcycle.

MotoF150 --- There are a lot of strong women out there who can handle a heavy motorcycle and pick them up. My wife rides a 400cc (400lb) 80's Honda but helped me landscape (carry and move*) 1,300 lbs of river rock in 2.5 hours without complaint. Now that's as good as any guy would would have lent a hand.

* by hand, straight lifting, no wheelbarrow.


Mike.

check out the shadow spirit 750 as well if you think 750 is a decent size for you. my fiance is about 5'6" and can flatfoot it (it has a nice low seat height)