New female rider in need of advice on what bike to get....?

Question

I'm getting ready to take my motorcycle training and safety course and get my license. I'm a female 5'2 and I am interested in a sports bike (not interested in a cruiser) I'v been shopping around and found that the only bike I can put both feet flat on the ground is a ninja 250cc. I tried the ninja 650cc and I could only touch the ground on both sides with the balls of my feet. I keep hearing that I will outgrow a 250 very quickly and was wondering if anyone could give me advice or their experience with this. I wont be riding long distances, just basically to school and back. About 10 miles each way with very little freeway time. I have been told that the 250 doesn't have enough power for freeway use. Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appriciated.

Answer 1

I have a shortness problem, too. :)  I'm 5'3" and I had a GS 500 and this was a little tall for me.  I had to take the foam out of my seat and it helped.  I have a 2007 SV 650 now and I just lean over to one leg when I stop at intersections.  You can always get the suspension lowered if it's too difficult for you to touch the ground.  Hope I helped.  :)

Answer 2

you can get a cbr600 lowered for your comfort...

Answer 3

Get a first generation Suzuki SV650, 99-02.  You can purchase lowering "dog bones"  for the shock linkage.  Then also lower the forks in the triple clamps to keep the stock geometry.  Don't do just one.  If you only did one, it would really change the "stance" and therefore the handling of the bike.

Answer 4

A sport bike is not really a good choice for you.  The average sport bike has a 30" seat height.  You can get a lowering kit for some, but this will only lower the seat about 2".  It is hit and miss on which bikes can be lowerd and by how much.  It will take some research on your part to find a lowering kit for your bike.  If you can't install it yourself, you will have to pay someone to do it for you.

The problem is that if the seat is too high, you won't be able to put both feet on the ground.  You may need to lean the bike some to the side.  This will place the bike off balance and you risk dropping the bike.

Although you are against them, you should give a cruiser bike a try.  Many of them come with low seats.  There are several models that are low enough that you should be more comfortable on them.

Honda Shadow VLX.  It has the lowest seat height that I have seen, 25.6".  This is a small cruiser.  This is a 538 CC liquid cooled V-twin.  It should have plenty of power for you.  I would go to a dealer and sit on one first and see how well you can put both feet on the ground while stopped.  They sell new for $5500.  You may be able to find a good used one if this is too much.

If you want something with a smaller engine, the Honda Rebel has a 234CC parallel twin engine.  It has a 26.6" heat height.  They go new for about $3200.  They have been around a while so you might be able to find a good used one.  This is also considered a small cruiser.

The Yamaha Star V-Star 250 might be acceptable with a seat height of 27"  This is a cruiser style V-twin.  But this may be pushing the limit for someone with short legs. These sell new for about $3700.

The Suzuki GZ 250 is considered a standard bike. This bike has a 27.8" seat height. It has a 250 CC single cylinder engine.  This bike may also be pushing the limits for someone with short legs. These sell for about $3250.

The Honda Night Hawk has the same 234CC parallel twin engine as the Honda Rebel, but has a higher seat at 29.3".  This may be too high.

Some people might say the Kawasaki Ninja 250R. However this bike has a seat height of 30.5".  This would be a poor choice for someone with short legs.

Get yourself enrolled in a motorcycle safety course.

Answer 5

>>> I keep hearing that I will outgrow a 250

Yes.  But many people out grow 500cc and 750cc.  Using that logic people should just go with 1000cc from the start.

NOT.

===

See this:

http://home1.gte.net/res0ak9f/bike.htm

Riding is dangerous.  So don't skip learning safely.

Good luck...

P.S. 260cc is plenty enough for hwy cruising. It just isn't for SPEEDIN on the hwy.

P.P.S.  Many bigger bikes only get about 40 mpg.  My 94 civic can get way over that.  So your big bike will not save any gas money.

Answer 6

If your feet don't hit the floor flat, your on the Wrong machine.

Ive not rode a new 250 so I don't know how they are on the freeway.

BUT the boys on my forums ride them all the time, and for long distances.

check out the link below, there are also sport and cruiser config 250s. and 650s

Answer 7

Re: your issue with reaching the ground, my best friend couldn't flat-foot her first bike (cruiser), but it didn't stop her from riding.

She was an excellent rider, but shorter than average like yourself. One thing she did to help was buy shoes with really thick soles (almost platforms) to help give her a little extra reach to the ground. The rest of the time, she just did the best she could and had her toes on the ground.

Answer 8

I'm 5'5", and I started with a Buell Blast. It handles well, and the one I bought had a low seat height- about 26 or 27 inches. It can keep up on the interstate (65mph), but it's more fun at slower speeds. The ninja 250 is also a good bike, and easy to find used (and easy to sell used, if you do outgrow it).

Check the craiglist ads, but wait til you take the class and get a feel for the 250 bikes before you seriously consider buying!

Answer 9

Just consider this, 600cc sport bikes run 10 second 1/4 miles at like 130 mph, so unless your used to driving around ferraris and making the leap to a 2 wheeled vehicle thats faster than a ferrari sounds feasable,  just buy the 250 especially when you consider there are no sport bikes with automatic transmissions, other than the fjr1300, which i also own and is really cool, but anyways,  Youll probibly kill yourself on a 600cc sport bike.  

When i bought my ninja 250, it was my first bike, and it was the fastest thing i had ever ridden, i was very content with it for a long time.  I still use it regularly to save on gas and i dont hate it.

The bike totally has enough power for freeway use, i have bolted a cooler onto the back of mine to carry stuff aroudn in , and it still does 105mph on the freeway.  without the cooler i have gotten it up to 115mph  it will do 70-80mph with ease.

You might outgrow the bike if your a power junkie like me, but from what i understand most peopel dont feel a NEED to be able to launch to 100mph in 5.7 seconds, do 120mph whelies, or 0-60 in less than 3 seonds with only 1/3 of the throttle open.

The only time i dont drive my ninja 250, is when i wnat to present the grandure and sexiness of my fjr1300, i am traveling on the highway where i like the mostrous torque of my fjr, or when i want to race somebody, other than that, the ninja 250 is my daily driver.

Answer 10

Being a short male I can understand your problem here.  I personally was not interested in a sport bike.  I don't personally find the riding position very comfortable.  I am not riding for speed, more for pleasure.  What you should think about is how often are you going to do highway riding.  In my opinion anything less than about 650cc is not highway worthy.  I have a 750cc and it does OK on the highway but is still a bit light.  If there is any cross wind at all you will feel it and it may be hard to counter that on a smaller bike.  You also need to be able to keep up with traffic.  Depending on your weight would also factor into the process.

If you are under 200lbs you will probably do just fine on a 250 ninja, 95% of the time you will have enough power to do with it what you want.  I have rode one before, and I am over 220lbs.  For me after about 55mph I had to really struggle to get it going any faster.  Have you looked at the ninja 500cc, a buddy of mine just bought one he is 5'5".  Also as other people have mentioned you can always lower the bike a bit.

One final note cruisers have a lower slung seat height my cruiser is 28" to the seat which is about perfect.  Take a motorcycle saftey coarse and go to a dealer and sit on some bikes.  Ultimately it just depends what you will be using the bike for.