Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I just got my license after taking the MSF course, which was educational and helpful. So now I'm searching around for a bike. But get this: my girlfriend just got a Harley Low Rider 2001. That's a 600+ pound bike. For the past 5 years she rode a Suzuki GSX600, which is more like 300+ pounds.

Her friend Lisa had a Kawasaki Vulcan 800 and upgraded to a Harley Low Rider 2006. Lisa is 5'7, maybe 115 pounds. My GF is 5'10 and 155 pounds. How are these girls managing to ride with any ease at all bikes this big and powerful? I sat on my GF's Low rider and it feels heavy and big and waaaaay beyond my skill level.

I don't question their riding ability because they are women. I question how anybody their size could handle a bike that big and heavy.

Finally, I am stuck as to what my first bike should be. I want a cruiser and am looking at Kawasaki Vulcans, Honda Shadows/Sabres, Yamaha V-Stars and Suzuki cruisers as well.

But what cc? I am 6'0 205 pounds. I'm not going to be comfortable on a 600cc, am I? Everyone I know who has bikes is telling me to go at least 800cc. If Lisa's first bike was an 800cc, why shouldn't mine be.

I'm really bothered by this. Someone who weighs almost half what I do is riding a 1450cc. What the. . . ???

Advice please!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, this is my first post. Thanks for letting hang out here and pick your brains.

For a cruiser, start with around a 600-800cc. If you change your mind and go for a standard/sport bike then a 500cc would be the starting point.

I'm really bothered by this. Someone who weighs almost half what I do is riding a 1450cc. What the. . . ???

Skill outweighs the riders weight in terms of engine size and power.

Personal weight has very little to do with street bikes. You shouldn't start out on a 1500cc bike just because you weigh more.

Hey, Shiv.

Yeah, I've decided to not exceed 800cc. I think the Kawasaki Vulcan 800 would be a good starter bike. My plan was to stay in a parking lot until I'm satisfied I can control the bike. The notion of letting out the clutch too fast and stalling the bike at a red light or stop sign does not appeal to me.

I learned on a Honda Nighthawk 250 and I felt too big for the bike. I could barely shift the gears, and I could not keep a low wrist position on the throttle. It made learning a lot harder, but I was able to do the figure 8 in second with nothing more than clutch control - no throttle. And I was pretty good at swerving in second gear as well.

But I digress. . . so I guess you are saying when one becomes proficient as a rider the upgrade to a heavier bike and more cc is not that big of a deal?

Yup. The lower speed maneuvaring will be more difficult because of the weight but as you gain speed it pretty much nullifies out the weight. Then you have to worry about controlling it. Don't get me wrong, weight still plays a large part in it (I think it was in Motorcyclist I was reading about the M109 being really heavy and slightly resistant to manuevaring because fo the weight/tire size).

I learned on a Honda Nighthawk 250 and I felt too big for the bike.

Ditto. You're two inches taller than me and 50 pounds heavier and I even thought the Nighthawk 250 was much too small.

I'm actually glad that a lot of people think the Nighthawk is too small (we're not alone) because I thought it was something I was doing wrong while taking my MSF. No one wanted to trade bikes though so I was stuck, passed fine though.


Anyways parking lot time is good. I don't own a bike yet (not enough money for the bike, gear, and insurance right now) but I'm planning on an EX/GS500 and will do lots of parking lot time.

The idea of stalling on the streets is not very appealing to me. For one I've had several people almost rear end me in my cage because they misjudged their stopping distance (I always maneuvar into the turn lane - I always drive in the left lane - when I hear squealing brakes behind me). It wouldn't of been so bad with steel around me but if I'm on a bike and hear tires squealing I want to nail the get off the first time cause there's no second chance.

That and I've heard a lot of stories of people rear ending you at stop lights if you don't take off the first time because they're so used to just gunning the accelerator and going.

That and it's damn embarassing lol.



By the by welcome to the boards.

You raised good points there. I, too, would be concerned about moving the bike around at slower speeds. Just sitting on that Harley Low Rider made me nervous. I thought to myself, "I could never control this much bike." I'd drop it or just not be able to make it do and go where i wanted. I guess the principles are the same regardless of the bike, i.e., slow, look, press and roll, proper head turns, looking through the turn, etc., but I have to believe weight is a concern in tight spots and at slower speeds.

Thanks for the welcome.

I really enjoy my Yamaha 2004 650 bike. When I first came here I had plenty of questions about it:

Actually I was in a similar situation:

http://totalmotorcycle.com/BBS/viewtopi ... highlight=

I had little experience on a dirtbike and none on a streetbike, so I bought a Vstar 650 as my first bike. I really enjoy and recommend it to. You can always get a big air kit to increase power. Also the price tage was $5500.00

Head out to the dealerships and start sitting on the bikes you're interested in. And, not just sitting. Stand them up, have someone balance it so you can get both feet on the pegs, play with the controls, etc. Find out if any of the dealerships allow test drives. It's rare but, some do.

It all boils down to the fact that YOU have to be comfortable on the bike you choose not your friends or anyone else.

Good Luck!

Please read this:
www.CaliforniaBikeNights.com/learn

That will teach you a lot as a newbie.

First of all, the cc of the engine is not important. That is a common myth. People who tell you that you need 800cc don't know much about what determines the power of a motorcycle. What determines the power of the bike is horsepower, not the cc of the engine. As your first bike, you don't want one with a lot of horsepower.

Second, the ability for your girlfriend and her friends to handle those bikes is pure experience. Those bikes ARE too much for you to handle. Because you don't yet have the experience to handle the nuance of controlling them. Once you are experienced with the physics of motorcycling, it will become far more manageable and easy to envision.

Welcome aboard!

I'm 5'2" (well, 5'3" with my boots on), and in less than two years of riding, I have moved up to my current bike, which is a 1600 cc. And you might be impressed to watch me park it at my house - no garage, so the bike gets parked in front of the house after manuevering it through a series of tight sidewalks. My husband's bike is more difficult for me to manage because of its seat height, but I have ridden his bike, and it certainly doesn't scare me or feel too intimidating (a Kawasaki ZRX1200).

Once you develop some basic skills and get in a lot of road practice, you'll know how much more bike you might want. Standards are supposed to be very comfortable for taller folks (well, for everyone I've heard), and you can still have a decent engine size without feeling overpowered by the bike. Getting your first bike is challenging. Between my husband and myself, we went through three other bikes in 18 months before buying the two we have now.

Good luck in your search - let us know how it works out.

Cheers,
Loonette

Npeart wrote:I, too, would be concerned about moving the bike around at slower speeds. Just sitting on that Harley Low Rider made me nervous. I thought to myself, "I could never control this much bike." I'd drop it or just not be able to make it do and go where i wanted.

The only thing wrong with this statement is the word "never." Like Dragonhawk said, you can't do it now. If you ride a lot, you'll be surprised at how controllable your GF's Low Rider will feel a year from now. Motorcycling requires a lot of nuance in the "mind - body feedback loop". Intelligent practice develops that nuance.

Npeart wrote:I guess the principles are the same regardless of the bike, i.e., slow, look, press and roll, proper head turns, looking through the turn, etc., but I have to believe weight is a concern in tight spots and at slower speeds.

Practice, practice. My wife progressed in 16 months from being a very tentative rider of a Reflex scooter, to being an accomplished rider of a 550lb Triumph Trophy. The Trophy is a rocket ship going in a straight line, but a top-heavy pig of a bike to turn slow. A week after getting it, she dropped it doing slow-speed stuff. Four months later, she was wrestling that pig around pylons at slow speed at an Experienced Rider Course, and was acknowledged as best in the class.

Scoutmedic gave good advice. There's a number of cruiser choices in the 400-500lb range, running 600-800 cc's. Sit on a bunch of them, buy the one that feels most comfortable and easiest to handle. Then ride the wheels off it in the next year!