Whats a good streetbike for a 5'4 girl?

Question

i am interested in getting one and just wanted to see what bikes people recommend.

Answer 1

For someone your size, the most important thing to consider is seat height.  You have to be able to balance the bike while stopped in traffic.  Best if you can sit and put both feet flat on the ground.  With a seat too high, you will only be able to put one foot on the ground.  You may be forced to lean the bike to the side and can easily lose your balance and drop the bike.

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. This bike is popular right now.  So popular that if you can find one, you will pay well over $1000 more than the MSRP.  Who ever says this bike is cheap has no clue what they are talking about.  If you are ging to spend $5000, you may as well get the Shadow VLX.  It is a better all around bike.

Get yourself enrolled in a motorcycle safety course.

Answer 2

Start with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation beginning rider class. You'll learn on 125 or 250cc bikes. Start with a used 250-400 for your first bike, anything bigger may be too intimidating. Try a bunch out at several dealers to see what you like and then look for a used one on cycletrader.com and your local newspaper classifieds. Don't buy new at first because as soon as you have some experience you'll probably want to upgrade a bit. Work your way up a little bit at a time and you won't have trouble getting used to the additional weight of each new bike. Wait until you are sure of what you want (that means you've already spent a few hours on it and it feels good and you can handle it easily) before you even think about buying a new one. Along the way take the advanced rider classes, you'll meet a lot of people with a lot of different bikes and they will be able to give suggestions and probably let you try out thier bikes.

Answer 3

Schwinn

Answer 4

To start on you want an older used 600. Katana, CBR F2, F3, F4i, YZF600. Even an older gixxer 600 or ZX6 would be fine.

Definitely used and definitely  not higher than 600CCs. Don't waste your time and or money on a Ninja 250R

Answer 5

a 125 virago chopper type of bike or a cg125 they are quite low seats

Answer 6

Go to some shops and sit on the bikes to see what fits.

You wouldn't buy a pair of shoes without trying them on first? Would you?

Go to the 4 major j*p manufacturers (they sell the smaller of street bikes) - Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha

Do some window shopping.

I was told, Girls like to do that :o)

Enjoy whatever you decide on.

Answer 7

It's not your height that is an issue, it's your riding experience and financial situation.

There are supersports, sport touring, and standard "streetbikes". Each type comes with different ergonomics, prices, weights, and riding skills needed to operate. Take a MSF safety course (www.msf-usa.org), buy gear and actually wear it, and ride responsibly.

Look in the 250cc-600cc range. Like I said I don't know your riding experience. A Kawasaki Ninja 250R or Hyosung GT250R is a good starter bike.

Answer 8

A Kawasaki Ninja 250r (new or older version) is an excellent bike and has a profile that fits many different sizes. It's fuel efficient, nimble, cheap (brand new 2008 costs only $3500.) and are a blast to ride.

Answer 9

I use to be on a motorcycle stunt team and we had a female that stunted with us and she loved her Honda 600 F4I, she could handle it well and she is about your size.  Now its the Honda 600RR. Lighter and a little quicker.  Anything in the 600 range would be good and unless you were going to drag race with it you would not need anything any bigger.

Answer 10

ninja500 or 250. Both have low prices too.

Answer 11

250cc Yamaha VStar

250cc Kymco Venox

Depending on what kind of riding you'll be doing, you might want to look at the Kawasaki 500cc Vulcan.

I know women your height, or shorter who ride these models.

Answer 12

it depends on what type of bike you want.

either way, if you've never had/ridden/been on a bike, i suggest nothing larger than a  250-500.

do yourself a favor and decide what type of bike you want first; it will make a difference and be more enjoyable overall.