Which Motorcycle? Girl edition

Hey everyone,

My girlfriend is looking for her first street bike. Here's the criteria:

Size: She's been riding a 125cc Yamaha dirt bike for years and is a bit intimidated by how much bigger most street bikes are. I ride an sv650s, and she thinks it's too big if that gives you an idea. She's about 5' 7".

Style: She likes the look of the Bonnevilles. Are there any other modern retro bikes? She'd be willing to look at almost anything style wise though.

Budget: I think she'd spend a max of around $5,500 but would prefer something in the neighborhood of $3k.

She also wants something reliable, so something newer would be better. Also preferably fuel injected.

I'm pushing the Ninja 300, but she's resisting. I don't think she's in love with the style even though I did say she's flexible in that area. The newer Bonnevilles would be perfect, but they're a bit on the expensive side.

What do you guys think?

Harley Sportster 883. Dr.Linda went from dirt bikes to a Sportster, and finding them in your price range is no problem at all. As reliable as a Toyota RN Truck. That is to say, as reliable as you will ever find something with wheels.

Hornet 599 with a lowering kit? W650? Bandit 400 (but they seem extremely rare)?

Lots of options really.

Honda VLX Yamaha Bolt (new for 2014 so maybe more than she wants to spend) Suzuki TU250X Suzuki Savage/boulevard S40

but if she really likes the Bonnevilles (which in her price range she should be able to find) find a....
Kawasaki W650 (the bike that out Bonnevilled the Bonneville.)

You all may want to check out Women Riders Now too

In reply to Dr. Hess:

Hess you are the only Harley rider I know that swears those things are reliable. Everyone one of the guys I know has problems out of them. They love them and wouldn't be caught dead on anything else, but they have many issues.

What do you do different that the rest of the world needs to do?

In reply to Flight Service:

883's tend to show up with next to no miles on them.....because they have under 50hp.

FWIW, I have seen some newer Royal Enfield bikes lightly used in the 4500-5k range....

yamaha wrote: In reply to Flight Service: FWIW, I have seen some newer Royal Enfield bikes lightly used in the 4500-5k range....

running off to craigslist now

EDIT: Wow!!!! You can Royals for $3k all day long!

CBR250.

CB500.

If she's used to dirt bikes, how about a 250 motard?

Is your girlfriend cute? If so-any bike with a real short seat, a stubby little rear fender, and a forward leaning riding position will do just fine. 8)

FS, I dunno who you know that rides a Harley. Everyone I know (and that's a lot) have very little trouble with them. 84-up big twin and 85-up Sportster, that is. Before that, all bets are off. Change the oil, put new tires on, new battery occasionally. Unless those are "problems" to the people you know. I have >80K on my bike and >50 on Dr.Linda's and besides routine maintenance, an occasional clutch job or oil leak, regulator once in a while, that's about it. Few other issues, but in 80K and 27 years, I can't complain at all. And the Sportster has been, literally, about as reliable as an RN Truck.

That is an impressive mileage number and a reasonable, be it not problem free, list of repairs.

Maybe it is how you ride. I don't know

Dunno. I will say that Evo's (84-99 Big Twin, 85-up Sportster) are inherently more reliable. The Twinkies (00-up Big Twin) had issues when they first came out, but I think they have them mostly worked out by now.

Flight Service wrote:

yamaha wrote: In reply to Flight Service: FWIW, I have seen some newer Royal Enfield bikes lightly used in the 4500-5k range....

running off to craigslist now EDIT: Wow!!!! You can Royals for $3k all day long!

Damn, I might need to get one if they're that cheap........FWIW, I rode a bolt today, very nice bike.......begging to be bobbed though.

Friend of mine in Houston is buying a mint low miles 05 883 for about three large. He might flip it.

Suzuki TU250X, again. These things are so much more than the sum of their parts and what you'd expect a 250 to run like.

Kawasaki W650 is a great Bonneville, but they are hard to find and really hold their value (which is good and bad).

Bonnevilles are expensive to buy, and I wouldn't get one that isn't fuel injected.

As much as i like Royal Enfields, they have questionable reliability. Not in the "leave you stranded" way, but in the frequent fussing and tinkering way, says most everything I've read on them.

It would give the OP's significant other something to do when not riding.

Flight Service wrote: Yamaha Bolt (new for 2014 so maybe more than she wants to spend)

I test rode a Bolt a month or so ago. Personal HD bias aside, I'd take an 883 Sportster over a Bolt any day. Sportsters may shake at idle, but they smooth out, once under way. Bolts buzz. All the time. The mirrors are useless. My hands got tingly after only a few miles on a ten mile ride.

I've only been riding HDs for five years. I've just recently passed 40k, between my first and second bikes. As for HD reliability, between my two and my wife's three - one of which was a 1200 Sportster - we haven't had any problems, only routine maintenance, over a combined 60k.

Sportsters gained fuel injection on the '07 models.

I have a Kawasaki W650, it's a nice bike but it may be on the tall side for someone who's 5'-7". I like the TU250 but they are pretty expensive for a 250cc bike. The Suzuki Savage has always been popular for women riders, if she's into the cruiser styling.

For older bikes, I've known a lot of women who ride the Honda Hawk GT 650 twin sportbike, they're good looking and handle really well but aren't so big and tall as to be intimidating.

My niece is about the same size as your girlfriend; she recently bought a 1995 Suzuki GS500E, and really likes it. She had an older GS450E beforehand and found the GS500E fit her height much better. Suzuki used the same basic engine design for decades, so it's pretty bulletproof as well.

I may be biased because I owned one, but I loved my Buell. I had the City-X which meant it was a bit taller and had dirt-bike bars, but they had standard chasses with very comfortable ride heights and even slammed-to-the ground "low" models. All of which weighed less than 380 pounds by the way...

Even though it has a pretty big engine (984 or 1200cc), the power delivery is very much like a car so things won't get out of hand unless she really wants them too. There's no sneezing and finding yourself flipped over backwards laying on the ground with the bike 50 feet away.

All those years I owned one and I just found this picture, confirming that you probably can and should do what I always suspected you could or should to with a City-X...

In reply to stuart in mn:

My first bike was a GS500, the naked version, and thought it was a good first bike. One thing; if it has the aftermarket Vance & Hines exhaust, walk away from it. The header is so close to the engine block that it has to be taken loose from the head to change the oil filter. I know this sounds crazy but it's true, I could not get the filter cover off (cartridge filter) and checked online and this is common.

Otherwise a decent little bike and upgrades = putting lightly used stock parts from other bikes on in place of factory bits, like the rear shock.

Flight Service wrote: That is an impressive mileage number and a reasonable, be it not problem free, list of repairs. Maybe it is how you ride. I don't know

I think the REAL ridden ones don't break as much as the once a month ridden ones. Much the same as all mechanical items; use is better than neglect. Polishing every weekend is still neglect if its not being used.

In reply to chandlerGTi:

I was thinking revving it redline at every red light and jack rabbit starts, but neglect is a possibility too.

Thanks a ton for the advice everyone! She ended up with a 1993 Suzuki GS500e - a bike a never would have thought of on my own. She loves it. Fun little bike and great for a beginner.