Hey everyone. Thanks so much for your suggestions. We went back to a dealer that had pretty much all the big names. Anyways, the bike that came closest to meeting her needs was the Kawi ZX250. I figure I will take one of your suggestions and carve an inch or two out of the seat foam with a hot knife. Figure I can get the needed 2 inches. If I screw it up too badly I can get it recovered for under $100.
Does anyone know about the power output. The website didn’t have figures. She is concerned that 250cc may not have enough power for her, (she is a hair over 100#) compared to the power of the mighty busa. Personally I figure for a new rider it should have enough power to spare. Any thoughts. It does have a 14grand redline, that could be fun. Again thanks for the help. Chris
Start with a used bike for a first bike. That way after she learns to ride you can sell it, not lose much (if anything), and she can TEST RIDE bikes she thinks she's interested in and pick out what she really likes.
My gf is just starting to ride, and I have her on an '88 Honda VTR250. It's perfect for a 1st bike, and good used ones range from $1000 - $1500. The one we found had new tires, cables, gas line, and looks almost new (only a little over 3000 miles on it - it was in storage for 13 years).
I wanted her to start with a bike she wouldn't be intimidated by (light weight - easy to hold up), and also one that if it dropped we wouldn't have to make an insurance claim. She did drop it once (really gently), and all it did was scuff a tiny bit of the cowl under the engine - a little black touch-up paint and you can't tell.
The only problem now is that she absolutely loves the thing! I have a good time terrorizing the neighborhood on it (it'll corner like mad), but on the highway, well, that's busa time. It won't win any awards in the acceleration department, but the stupid thing will go damn near 100mph flat out.
We both know it's going to be replaced in a couple months when she feels she's ready for something bigger (thats another reason I wanted to get her something inexpensive for a 1st bike), but for a 1st bike it's great. The sad part is that I'll probably miss it when it's gone - it's a cool little bike, except for the girly colors (powder-blue seat? WTF was
Honda thinking???).
Anyway, that's my $0.02.
She has some pics (and her story about it) on her web page right now.
http://www.geocities.com/dragon_1319804/journal.html
Search for "VTR 250" on ebay and a few should come up, too.