New bike advice please...

Spike

Donating Member
Registered
Hey folks,

I need some advice. My wife is finally coming around and wanting to ride with me. She has never ridden a street bike but has ridden dirt bikes in the past.

I am scheduling her for the MSF course first thing Monday morning and we have been looking at bikes all day.

Here's the deal. She is not only into quality gear but also into good looking gear. She doesn't want anything boxy or anything that even looks like a starter bike. whatever we buy here she will have for a long time. Oh and she only settles for new;) lol

I was looking at the GSX-R600 for her. Any thoughts on this for a first sport bike? She will be an extremely mature rider, I can guarantee it. She mainly wants to start riding since she is now retired and would like to go on some longer rides with me out to the western coast. (We are in Sacramento)

Any suggestions? I think in essence she wants to be able to ride with me and look like "just another rider" once she gets her skills up. Will the R600 do this? That GS500 just looks "blah."

Thanks!
 
I would suggest that you look at the 750 Katana . Handles well enough for sport riding, and they would be comfortable for longer runs. It is a heavier bike which would be stable on the highway and it has a little more upright riding position. Full fairing with windshield so she would look like one of the gang. I would think the GSXR 600 would get uncomfortable after a longer ride, and they are quite a bit lighter than the Katana. The Katana 600 would also be something to look at.
 
What about the Suzuki SV650? That's a sharp looking bike.

Is she thinking cruiser style, naked, race replica?
 
I was thinking the opposite actually. I was looking for a lighter bike so she would be more comfortable with it.

Why do you think the GSX-R Would get uncomfortable? Would you say it is more of a track bike? I don't want t say we would be just hitting freeways and such but we would be hitting some pretty serious twisties after she gets used to it.

I was trying to lean her towards a Katana but she didn't like the looks of it. We are definitely going back to look more though. Thanks for the insight!
 
Honestly Juggler she wants a Hayabusa. I told her "NO" and maybe after a year of riding we will revisit that decision.

We did look at a few SV650's today and she did like those. It is definitely on the list. Here comes the other problem -- it has to be black, gray or silver.
 
if she is like my wife she will out grow the sv in no time but a gsxr 600 has tons of power when needed but light weight my wife loves her 07 gixxer 6

IMGP2615.JPG
 
I know a guy his wife bought a 06 gsxr750 as her first bike ever and shes doing fine.
 
This may be a sensitive subject, but how much does she weigh? You don't have to really give me an answer, but if she is on the lighter side, then a 1000cc would be a LOT. If she's wants a lot of power, there's the SV1000 which comes in black and blue.

I can't see anyone getting a Busa as a first street bike, mainly due to the weight. How tall is she? Being able to put both feet down at a stop is pretty important too.

Good luck!
 
v twins suck, to much vibrations inline four is so much smoother that is one reason we sold the sv
 
Heck, I think those little GS500's are neat. You can get full fairings for them, and they are as light as a dirtbike. It doesn't matter what she thinks right now anyway, because she will be ready to try something different in a year or two anyway.....that is just the way it is!!
 
Has she ever ridden your Hayabusa? If so how does she like it and how does she feel on it and can she handle it? If she has riding experience in the dirt it won't take her that long to adjust to the street. If she really wants a Hayabusa she should get one. You said she was a mature rider she should do just fine. The Busa is a very comfortable and smooth bike. It is definitely controllable and the sitting position will probably suit her better than the 600 or 1000. If she gets the bike she wants and lets face it the busa is the top of the line so there is no getting trading up maybe the new busa, she will probably be happy with it and keep it for a long time as opposed to trading up weeks or months later. But if she needs riding experience she could always ride close to your neighborhood and slowly venture further and on different rodes. I started on a 600 and a few months later moved to a 1000 and weeks later got a hayabusa. Let her get what she wants and give her some suggestions and take it nice and slow. Let her get used to it before you take long rides and having 2 busa's riding together is something sweet.
 
(busabutter @ Mar. 25 2007,01:12) Has she ever ridden your Hayabusa?  If so how does she like it and how does she feel on it and can she handle it?  If she has riding experience in the dirt it won't take her that long to adjust to the street.  If she really wants a Hayabusa she should get one.  You said she was a mature rider she should do just fine.  The Busa is a very comfortable and smooth bike.  It is definitely controllable and the sitting position will probably suit her better than the 600 or 1000.  If she gets the bike she wants and lets face it the busa is the top of the line so there is no getting trading up maybe the new busa,  she will probably be happy with it and keep it for a long time as opposed to trading up weeks or months later.  But if she needs riding experience she could always ride close to your neighborhood and slowly venture further and on different rodes.  I started on a 600 and a few months later moved to a 1000 and weeks later got a hayabusa.  Let her get what she wants and give her some suggestions and take it nice and slow.  Let her get used to it before you take long rides and having 2 busa's riding together is something sweet.
+1 ... just let her practice a bit on yours... shes obviously not going to be trying to take the bike to the limiter or kneeing down in the turns... and the busa has one of the easiest gearing systems that to me seems very forgiving... i mean first gear... simple and after that its just like cutting warm butter as long as its moving your fine
tounge.gif
 
It will depend somewhat on her height. If she can comfortably reach the ground with both feet it should be a good first ride.
beerchug.gif
 
GSX-R 750... My girlsfiend is 5'4" about 130ils... (sorry honey)... we dropped the front just a bit and she's enjoying it. This is her first bike.
 
Back
Top