Which motorcycle is right for me?

Question

I am short and am new to motorcycling though I have been riding shotgun my whole life. I am getting my motorcycle permit and taking the MSF course. Of all the ones I have sat on, the harley davidson sportser XL-883L is the lowest sitting at 25.3 inches. The next one i sat on that came close was the suzuki boulevard S50 at about 27.6 inches. i could touch both my feet to the ground. which one is better?

Answer 1

I have a buddy that rides Harleys and he had short shocks installed, I didn't see any sense in it but he claimed it was more comfortable for him.  When coming to a stop and deciding which foot to use it would be the left to stand still and shift to the right when you engage the shifter.  Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Suzuki.

The 883 is rather tall for its short wheelbase, and is pretty heavy.  My brother had more Sportys than Suzukis in his shop.

Answer 3

If you are really set on a Harley the Softail Deluxe has a 24.5" seat height. I agree that from a weight perspective a Harley isn't the best choice, but it is because of the size bike you're talking about, not because it is a Harley. A Honda VTX1800 is 800 pounds and a Softail Deluxe is 724 ready to ride with a full tank of gas. Just an FYI. That being said something more along the line of a 600 - 650 Japanese cruiser would be easier to ride for a beginner, but it's your money.

Answer 4

Check on a used 1995-6 BMW R850 R which comes with an adjustable seat which lowers down to 25 inches (at the inseam) for around $3,200.  It's well balanced and very smooth for long distance trips.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Weight of the bike should be at least as critical to you as the seat height. A Sportster is a great bike, but an awful lot of weight for a smaller person. We did our MSF course on Buell Blasts. They have a low seat position and, at under 500cc, a weight that even the small women in our class could handle well. If you are dedicated to a cruiser, for a first bike, you should consider a Honda Rebel.

Answer 6

You should get whichever one feels best to you.  If you are really having trouble deciding, I would recommend the 883.

Bikes, like most auto's, are not a good investment.  But in this case, the Harley would be the smarter one.  

The S50 doesn't have as much room to grow. While you can customize just about anything, it wouldn't be a good idea to drop a lot of extra money into it.

The possibilities for the 883 are endless. Most anything you do to it will add some value. For example: you can do a 1200cc kit fairly reasonable on that bike, but the idea of boring out the S50 would not be feasible. Plus, you can easily find different tanks, fenders, forks, seats, handle bars, forward controls, saddle bags...whatever you want, just in case you feel like switching up the style from time to time. And again, this usually will add value to your bike, not take away from it.

I've owned or rode just about every style and model bike from all the major manufacturers. There's just something different about riding a harley that I don't get bored with. The sound, the looks, the feel of it. The Suzuki will get you from A to B, and it will do a good job at it.  It just won't have the style and character of the Harley, and it won't be worth as much when you get there.

Answer 7

Unless you have your heart set on a Harley, I would go with the Suzuki.  Chances are you will drop the bike at some time and it won't hurt as bad (financially anyway) if it's the S50.  I also think the S50 will be more mechanically reliable.  You can alway get something different in a year or two if you aren't happy with it.

Answer 8

After you take the MSF course you'll have a better idea of how a bike will handle. They usually use 125 and 250cc bikes in the class. When you go for your own bike you'll probably want to go for something in the 350-500 range. Go to a motorcycle show.

www.motorcycleshows.com

There are others but these are the biggest. Try them all on for size and see what you like. The biggest advantage of a bike show is that all the bikes are together in one place, you won't be running from the Yamaha dealer to the Honda dealer and the Kawasaki dealer. My wife is 5'0 and we found dozens of small bikes that fit her but only 2 midsize. After getting some experience on smaller bikes she bought a Suzuki 800. Work your way up from the MSF bikes in increments. Buy your first few bikes used until you know what you like and what you need. A friend went through 4 brand new bikes in 3 years before he found one he really liked, a very expensive research project.

Answer 9

suzuki has a much better engineering team than harley...

if you want trouble-free go metric, if you want to work on it all the time, go harley

Answer 10

I would never recommend a Harley anything as a first motorcycle. They're big, heavy, expensive and they handle like c**p. (Sorry if I've offended any die-hards out there, but that's just the facts.)

For your first bike, stick to something used, 500cc or less. Don't worry about looks, you're probably going to drop it at least once in a parking lot in your first two years of ownership. Just make sure that it's in good working order and comfortable for you to sit on.

Once you've spent more time riding, go for the bike you really want.