I want a motorcycle?

Question

I woud like to get a ninja 500. Everyone is telling me that since I am a female I would enjoy the ninja 250 better. Is this true or are they sterotyping me?

Answer 1

They're typing you.

If you're already an experienced rider, and you're of a size that can fit the 500, go for it.

Okay, going by your additional info, you may be stretching pretty far to reach the ground from the 500.  I'm an average height guy myself and I don't care for the butts-up stance of the sportbikes.

By your question it sounds like you're into the sportbikes, but consider a cruiser - it's like a lawn chair with a big throbby motor under it, and a relaxed heads-up position.

Answer 2

Get a smaller bike to start off with. They're heavy things, especially when you're starting out and have your first accident.

You WILL have an accident. But lots of protective gear, and preferably start out with a second hand bike so that it doesn't matter as much if you scratch it.

Spend more on safety gear than you do on the bike.

Answer 3

I have a Honda RC51 litre bike, a BMW K1200s, and a Ninja 250 I ride a lot! No stereotyping here. Buy whatever you want.  

Answer 4

Are you a petite woman or average size or larger?  Only a petite woman would have trouble with a 500.  You probably can do the 500 and it looks a lot better than a 250.  When you ride a 250 the engine is so whimpy and anemic looking youll probably want to sell it in a few months and upgrade anyways.

Answer 5

there's no limit; men and women are same. same chances to ride bikes. but first, let's see on your riding skills. if you are a beginner, the Ninja 250 is the best fit. but if you have mastered, you can choose bigger bikes. Ninja 500 is a good one. but if you want a bigger power, supersports like GSX 600 or Ninja ZX - 6R is also a fine choice.

then, remember the standard riding gears: helmet, glove, jacket, and boots. if you choose bigger bikes, you can use the leather racing suit for best experience.

when i saw your body measurement. ergonomic set - up are the most important thing to create a perfect riding experience. consult with the dealer's technician before you buy the bike to set the ergonomic position that fits with your body.  

Answer 6

Save your money.

Find a cute guy with a motorcycle and ride on the back.

If you have your own motorcycle what do guys do with that back seat??

It's more fun with two.

Answer 7

go buy one

Answer 8

you gotta get what you want or your wastin your money, hey go test ride both of them!

Answer 9

Well, there may be a little stereotyping, I'm going to do a bit myself: I'm assuming you're around 5 to 5-1/2 feet tall? Less than 150 pounds? Yeah, a 250 would probably be more than enough for you. However, a 500 isn't exactly so much more power to it. Either one would be good starter bikes till you're ready to move up (if you wanted to) to a ZX-6R or GSX-R or some other big race bike like that (give it a good 5-6 years of constant riding).

Also, make sure you buy used, it's cheaper and since you will undoubtably drop it at some point (garage, stop lights, etc) you don't want to drop a brand new bike.

Gear: Buy lots of it. A bike can be fixed, mended, and repaired if wrecked, you have a much harder time of being 'repaired'. Invest in a good GENIUNE leather jacket (I HIGHLY recommend Alpinestars), a decent helmet (FULL FACE) some gloves and boots, and at the very least some heavy denim pants.

Also look into the Suzuki GS500-F (or anything from the GS500 series), it's another 500cc bike much in the same vein as the Ninja.

Additional Details:

The 250 would work for you, and would probably be a very good bike to start out with. But quite honestly, so is the 500. Go with the 500 and just be kinda careful with the throttle.

Answer 10

My opinion, get a used Ninja 250. They are holding their value really well, so when you are comfortable, you can sell it for about the same price that you paid. Then upgrade.

You WILL most likely want to upgrade after 4 months or so.

First though, take the MSF and see if you like riding.  

Answer 11

test drive the bike. If you feel comfortable, buy it.

Answer 12

At 5'4" it can be difficult to find a bike that you can reach the ground on easily, particularly in the sport bike category. The Ninjas tend to be the lowest, and the older 250's are the lowest of those. In theory, you can ride whatever you want, but to be comfortable on many of the sport bikes you will need extensive modifications to lower the seat height. This could run into thousands of dollars if reworking the suspension is required. The ninja 500 isn't that much taller than the 250, so as long as you feel comfortable on it, I think that's fine. Whatever you decide, spend some time on the bike to make sure you will be comfortable handling it at low speeds and pushing it in and out of parking spots. Once you get moving, it really doesn't matter how tall it is.