A bike for my wife?????????????

[Shorts]

I see both Lion Lady's and Thumpers points. Some couplescan in fact take the same classes and even teach each other like riding or shooting or sports where instruction is needed, and they can do it very well witout there being any personal tension or inference in the educational surrounding.

And some can't. They cannot work together or allow each other space to learn. One can take instruction as a personal criticism or one can get too nervous with the other around.

I've seen it both ways, it just depends on the couple.

[blues2cruise]

I am looking at getting my wife a bike. she has never ridden one. so I could use some advice on how to help her pick one out. of course its totally her choice, but maybe some technical advice from some other lady riders may help.

Another couple of bikes not to be overlooked are the Kawasaki Vulcan 500 and the Yamaha V-Star 650.
Both of those are cruisers with a similar look to the Honda. Take her to sit on those as well.
The first criteria is fit. Then the colour. j/k

[Lion_Lady]

If captamerica's wife is one of those shy folks, he could show up and sit with her, rather than paying and taking a spot (seats are limited in classes) that another new rider needs.

In the class I'm teaching this weekend, I did have a hubby show up for moral support the first night of classroom. My instruction to him was only to "keep quiet - not try help me teach." He was fine. She did fine, though the next evening, when he stayed home, she was a more active participant in class activities.

What can be tough is when husband and wife are both "newbies" and she does better than he on the range (sometimes he'll fail and she'll pass). As she excells, he melts down.

P

[blues2cruise]

In the place where was working we had a couple of Dad and daughter teams sign up.
The boss finally told the Dad he had to take a walk. The daughter started improving without the Dad hanging around and giving input.

The other Dad was there with his son also....the son was doing great, but the daughter was a bit apprehensive.....because the Dad had made comments about worrying about his daughter, didn't want her to hurt herself, didn't want her to fall........
She didn't pass. She may or may not have done better without the Dad there, but I think the fear seed was planted and continued to grow.

Other times there have been couples who signed together and had so much fun..

[captinamerica]

This is all very good info. to day i took her to look at some bikes. she really liked the boulivard c50. and the kawisaki vulcan 900. She is a very strong woman and felt vey comfortable with these middle sized cruisers. I have never been one to cause her stress over material things. not even when she wrecked my 70 ford GT. Its all just stuff as long as we are ok.
Thanks for the insight on the class maybe I'll go the first night to see if she needs me there or maybe I'll bring a book to read. I dont know. I guess I should just ask her before i decide. I do know this is what she wants to do we have talked extensively about it and today we took my bike "shopping".

[blues2cruise]

The Kawasaki 900 is a great bike. It has a lot going for it and the few people I know who ride one, love it.

[shawnamann]

First of all, it is nice of you to start doing some of the leg work for your wife. If she has never ridden that will help her out. There are so many choices and she may not know what to look at to help her make the best decision for her. The MSF course is excellent, for both of you. I do not think it is a bad idea for both of you to take it, as long as you let the instructors deal with your wife. Even though you have ridden your whole life it will be a great refresher. We all naturally develop some bad habits and the MSF course will allow you to revisit the basics so you can set a good example for your wife as she is starting out. I would even go further to recommend the Harley Riders Edge course. It is more expensive and a little longer but she will have more time on the bike, and there is no sharing of bikes so she will have more time to practice. The other thing that I noticed is that because it is more expensive it is not full of young kids. I took one about 8 years ago and it was mostly middle aged professionals.

As far as bikes go, your wife can ride anything that you can throw your leg over. There seem to be some misconceptions, for some reason, that there are things women should stay away from. WOMEN CAN RIDE ANYTHING. The beauty of it is that ALL motorcycles are designed to remain upright. A man will drop a bike just as easily as a women could. And the truth is it does not matter how experienced you are we will all drop a bike at some point (I do not mean crash). Weight is not that important, women can ride heavy bikes just as well as any man. It really comes down to being comfortable. They are all going to seem heavy to your wife as she sits on them and lifts them off the stand, but remind her that it is going to feel different going down the road and remember they are designed to stay upright. Your wife is not going to be literally holding the bike up. No matter what she gets she will build the muscles she needs as she rides. I can tell every spring that my "riding muscles" are out of shape because I am sore after the first couple of rides. Having said all of this it is a good idea to start off on something smaller because your wife is not only going to be getting used to being on two wheels, but more importantly she is going to need to learn how to ride in traffic. That is something she will not get in the MSF course. She is just going to need to get out there and do it. A smaller, less intimidating bike will make it easier for her. I will give you my recommendation and tell you why:

250 Ninja, there is nothing "baby" about it. I started on one that is why I am recommending it, I noticed some other recommendations that I'm sure are just as good but I can't tell you specifics about those. The 250 Ninja is less intimidating than a bigger bike, in terms of size and power, but it will certainly keep up even on the highway. I only rode mine for about 6 weeks but the confidence I built on it was invaluable. I put a few thousand miles on it, and I took it on 2 long weekend trips where I rode with harley's and bigger sport bikes and I had no trouble keeping up, even on the highway. It was nice that I was not concerned about the bike getting away from me, it is certainly no power house or torque monster, so I was more at ease riding in traffic. Once I got used to that I was able to go and bike shop without being so intimidated by size and power. The nice thing about the 250 ninja being less powerful is that you really have to work the bike to get everything out of it. For a beginner it is great because you have to learn to shift properly and at the right times. Your wife will be a better rider for it, I am sure that has a lot to do with my confidence and ability. Confidence is key. Your wife needs to realize for herself that she can do, the 250 ninja would be a great choice. It does not have that extreme sport bike riding position. It is kind of a cross between a sport bike and a standard. I bought it because I thought it would be a great way to decide what I prefered. I ended up going the sport bike route and loved it. Although, I just started shopping for a naked bike with a more standard riding position. We travel alot, even though I have done as many as 2000 miles on my R6 (in 5 days), I think I am ready for something different. I checked out a Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 the other day, which is more than 100 pounds heavier than my R6 and it felt weird and heavy. But, I can't let that deter me because just about everything will be heavier than what I have and I know that I can ride it, so it is just a matter of me getting used to something different. The same goes for your wife. Once she gets the riding part down she can ride anything. It just comes down to being confident and getting used to it.

So, Ladies don't sell yourselves short. You can ride any bike you want.

Good luck to you and your wife, and happy hunting. Bike shopping is so much fun.

[Lion_Lady]

First of all, it is nice of you to start doing some of the leg work for your wife. If she has never ridden that will help her out. . . The MSF course is excellent, for both of you. I do not think it is a bad idea for both of you to take it, as long as you let the instructors deal with your wife. . . I would even go further to recommend the Harley Riders Edge course. It is more expensive and a little longer but she will have more time on the bike, and there is no sharing of bikes so she will have more time to practice. The other thing that I noticed is that because it is more expensive it is not full of young kids. I took one about 8 years ago and it was mostly middle aged professionals. . .

I don't know of any current MSF program that "shares" motorcycles among students in the same class. You took the course 8 years ago. That's a long time. Each state runs its Motorcycle Training program differently and funds it differently. In some states the fee is $0 for residents, in others it is $350. Depending on whether the program is funded by the state, and by how much.

. . . it is a good idea to start off on something smaller because your wife is not only going to be getting used to being on two wheels. . . A smaller, less intimidating bike will make it easier for her. . . Confidence is key. Your wife needs to realize for herself that she can do, the 250 ninja would be a great choice. It does not have that extreme sport bike riding position. It is kind of a cross between a sport bike and a standard. I bought it because I thought it would be a great way to decide what I prefered. I ended up going the sport bike route and loved it. . .

As far as bikes go, your wife can ride anything that you can throw your leg over. . . The beauty of it is that ALL motorcycles are designed to remain upright.

HUH? Don't you mean, when moving, a motorcycle will stay upright?

Weight is not that important, women can ride heavy bikes just as well as any man...

An 800 lb bike is going to complicate learning for ANYONE. It is a good idea to make sure you are very confident in your own skills before moving up to a heavyweight. The biggest challenge is in the slow speed parking lot and driveway maneuvers, which is where weight will bite the hardest.

Good luck to you and your wife, and happy hunting. Bike shopping is so much fun.

[MMO]

Check out my sig, some affordable bikes are available there.

[RocketGirl]

An 800 lb bike is going to complicate learning for ANYONE. It is a good idea to make sure you are very confident in your own skills before moving up to a heavyweight. The biggest challenge is in the slow speed parking lot and driveway maneuvers, which is where weight will bite the hardest.

Amen to that! I'm still not adept at controlling my own 300+lb Virago. Dropped it this past weekend rolling it backwards down the driveway. We had a good laugh about it over lunch and of course the hubby recounted all the times I've fallen off my bicycle all of which coming to stop and similar situations.