So my wife is 5' 0". She has some experience riding a 150 cc scooter....that being her only experience on a bike. She wants something to ride that'll keep up with highway traffic on her commute. Any suggestions for bikes for someone her size? She has only ridden the centrifugal clutch so that would be a bonus....but not a requirement.

CDDave,

Cruisers as a rule have lower seat height so that maybe something to look at. Other than that a 400 Silverwing "maxi scooter, although 600 is probably just as heavy. For a commute scooter is better because of the "weather protection"
Or , outside the box a Vespa GTS 300 should be good for over 70 mph. Might be a bit trendy for ND tho'.:stickpoke:

If you are really flush an Aprilia 850 Mana, with no clutch. But seat height?

Engine Type Four stroke, air cooled, OHC, single cylinder
Piston Displacement 652cc
Bore x Stroke 94.0mm x 94.0mm
Compression Ratio 8.5:1
Carburetor MIKUNI BS40, single
Starter System Electric
Transmission 5-speed constant mesh
Overall Length 2180mm
Overall Width 720mm
Overall Height 1105mm
Wheelbase 1480mm
Ground Clearance 135mm
Seat Height 700mm
Curb Mass 173kg
Suspension - Front Telescopic, coil spring, oil damped
Suspension - Rear Swingarm, coil spring, oil damped
Brake - Front Disc brake
Brake - Rear Drum brake
Tyre - Front 100/90-19 M/C 57H, tube type
Tyre - Rear 140/80-15 M/C 67H, tube type
Ignition Type Electronic ignition (Transistorized)
Fuel Tank (litres) 10.5




Fun. Pure and Simple.Big single-cylinder machines: they're incredibly fun to ride!

The 2009 Boulevard S40 features a big 652cc single, 5-speed transmission, quiet low-maintenance belt drive system. With a curb mass of just 173kg, the S40 is light weight and responsive, it's great for cruising around town or getting out on the open road.

With the S40 you have a bike that combines exciting performance with rock-solid reliability and looks that stand the test of time.

The Boulevard S40 for 2009 - designed for you to enjoy the simple pleasure and pure excitement of motorcycling.

Talk to your local Suzuki Dealer and see for yourself.


This was my wifes first cruiser a single 650 no frills, its so light you would think its a 250cc a very safe machine

My wife is 5'0" also. She rides the Buell Blast. In fact, she has done over 75k miles following me on the FJR1300 all over the US. SHe also earned an Ironbutt certificate on the Blast. I did some modification to the design of the bike and re-jetted the carb. I also added a K&N filter and D&D exhaust. A custom Rick Meyer seat helped on the long rides; Givi wind screen and sadllebags/trunk. THis is a bad ass bike and gets more attention than my bikes do.
Tons of support at Bad Weather Bikers (thumper forum).
You can read lots of information at: http://www.whereismaggiemae.com
This is her second Blast bike and you can pick them up with low mileage for around $2000 right now. You can still get parts easy because they use them in MSF course. I would go with anything above a 2005 as they made a few changes after that for the better.
She loves that it is not a cruiser, and can keep up with other bikes in the corners.She rides around 75mph to 80mph all day long on the highway. Good luck on picking something out.
You will see how I have her bike set up and where she has ridden this little monster at her website above.

The Suzuki Boulevard S40 was a bit small for my wife, she is 5'6 so she went to the c50t Boulevard. The S40 had a top speed of 140km/hr or 87 miles/hr, very low to ground and very forgiving for a newer rider

http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooters.php#/home/Piaggio%20MP3%20250

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYGMJbBcYjk

I have ridden the 250cc version. Very fun and pretty quick! Twist and go, no shifting. I'm sure the 400 & 500cc are a little better suited for interstate.

My wife rides a 650 V-Star and it has a low seat height and runs up and down the interstate - no prob.

Good luck!

Small piece of advice...Let her choose!

Small piece of advice...Let her choose!

Thats the bottom line Capn a very :goodidea:

+1 on that!

My wife is also 5ft. It is best to take her to a dealer to sit on as many bikes as possible. Seat height is important, but width is too. Several of the larger cc scooters are very wide where your feet go, so it is hard for shorter people to get their feet on the ground. Also several larger cruisers have low seats, but she needs be careful of their large exhaust pipes. Some can be very close to the leg. Good luck.

My girlfriend started on a Buell Blast last year and it was a good starter bike. She like it until I put on an aftermarket exhaust because the original exhaust header broke. The aftermarket was $100 cheaper than the oem one but it was too loud for her and made the bike vibrate more. The Blast was designed to be laid down, abused and neglected. That being said it's an air cooled thumper with small wheels that was killed off a few months before Buell was shut down. So you wife may not like the vibes, it goes through tiers quicker than a bike with larger wheels and I noticed that parts are already less abundant than they were a year ago. If you live near a HD dealer that sold Buell as well you shouldn't have a problem getting parts. That's just my experience with the blast.

My girlfriend has since moved up to an ER-6n which she likes much better. It's a fairly low bike but I doubt that it is low enough for your wife to be comfortable on it.

Just get here to sit on as many bikes as you can and let here narrow down the selection until she finds a bike she is happy with.

The Guys have a point.

Let her test ride and choose.Good Luck.

I took it literally - bike for wife - and thought it was a good trade :)

my wife is on the short side. loves her 650r. buell blasts are cool also and can be had cheap. another cool twin is the bonneville.

BTW, look for the blast to be ressurected at some point maybe as a harley. they use that bike in their riders edge programs so it wouldn't surprise me if they bring it back in a limited form.

unless of course they just use those little sportsters.

Ok, just a few notes on the Blast. First, the vibes go away when you get up to about 25mph. It is the nature of a single cylinder. I actually have video from the front windshield on my wifes blast on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/Thump52#p/f/1/KNXxiIxB43k that shows how smooth it can be. Actually smoother than the Versys at speed. Secondly, the Blast never ceased being made. It still is produced for the Riders Edge. Erik Buell just wanted to change the image to a more racing profile, so he crushed the Blast to make a statement. The parts are easy to get, I have been working on them for 5 years now. Also, it is hardly a beginners bike. Harley would like people to believe that, so they can move a lady up to a more expensive bike. My wife has over 75k miles between two of them in 5 years. Most riders don't put that kind of mileage on a bike in its lifetime unless they are serious riders.
That said, I would try to stear her into a lighter, less expensive bike, possible used, until she knows how to ride and believes it is something she will do often before spending a bunch of money.

yeah, definately gonna let her choose....just wanted some ideas for a starting point. She wants a cruiser. Her favorite bike i ever had was a Shadow 650 VLX. Too small for me...too big for her. I like the looks of the Boulevard S40. I'd personally like to see her on a 250 cc scooter.....but we gotta make momma happy.

Her favorite bike i ever had was a Shadow 650 VLX.

Something to consider...

Honda VLX 650 = 4 speed chain drive
Yamaha V Star 650 = 5 Speed shaft drive

My wife is 5'0" also. She rides the Buell Blast. ...
Cool discussion! My wife also rides a Blast and apparently got some good information from that web page, including the bag she bought. :) So thanks to both you and your wife!

She's 5'4" and the Blast is actually a bit small for her (in her opinion). But it's been a great bike so far (just a few months).

We've already started talking about what her next bike will be and liked the recommendation of the ER-6n, but we're totally open to anything at this point. She needs something she can balance, easily control and is fun to ride.

in terms of a cruiser, the vstar650 looks real nice. can't beat shaft drive IMO. Check out the blacked out one!

Glad you got some good info. Is she on the short seat or tall? I know at 5'8" I can ride it with the taller seat with no problem. However, my wife had a custom seat made to help her with the long miles we put on. It is only 25" seat height (about what the stock low was).
Great little bike IMO.

in terms of a cruiser, the vstar650 looks real nice. can't beat shaft drive IMO. Check out the blacked out one!

As stated before, my wife rides a Vstar 650.

She chose the Custom over the Classic. Its lighter and more narrow. She did not like the "fat" feel of the Classic.

Custom (look at Fenders) 513 lbs:
http://www.starmotorcycles.com/assets/content/images/600/10ST_VS650cu_blk_S1_93e3b340.jpg


Classic 544 lbs:
http://www.starmotorcycles.com/assets/content/images/600/10ST_VS650cl_blu_S1_44ebf1bb.jpg

she seems to like the Honda Rebel. That's good news for me.....lots of em out there to be had cheap!

The Honda Rebel isn't bad, but if you are looking more for a standard bike go for the Honda Nighthawk. Lots of them around and for cheap. My sister is 5'2" and didn't like the rebel (her being a brand new rider) and liked the Nighthawk a lot better. Much easier to handle and such. She dropped the rebel a bunch of times, went around corners like crap, etc. On the Nighthawk she was a compleltely different rider, you would have thought she'd been riding for years!

Vstar isn't bad, had an 02, very comfortable ride, smooth, and classy looking. Just too small for a taller person.

The Honda Rebel isn't bad, but if you are looking more for a standard bike go for the Honda Nighthawk. Lots of them around and for cheap. My sister is 5'2" and didn't like the rebel (her being a brand new rider) and liked the Nighthawk a lot better. Much easier to handle and such. She dropped the rebel a bunch of times, went around corners like crap, etc. On the Nighthawk she was a compleltely different rider, you would have thought she'd been riding for years!

Vstar isn't bad, had an 02, very comfortable ride, smooth, and classy looking. Just too small for a taller person.

+1

The rider position on a cruiser is not great for control.
I fully support the opinion that a Nighthawk would be much easier to ride and a better choice to learn to ride a motorcycle.

How about royal enfield, I just wanted to throw that one in cause I think it looks cool. A lot of good ideas here, but she will know what fits her best.

Glad you got some good info. Is she on the short seat or tall? I know at 5'8" I can ride it with the taller seat with no problem. However, my wife had a custom seat made to help her with the long miles we put on. It is only 25" seat height (about what the stock low was).
Great little bike IMO.I didn't know there were multiple seat options. Her bike is completely stock. We've considered some of the Baldwin seats, and I think she'll do that if she keeps it for a while (as well as a windscreen). We would like to do some longer rides, though nothing in the iron butt category. ;)

Nighthawk would be good. Hard to find one around here though...

Not many bikes or not a lot of variety of bikes up there in ND? I've always been the type that if it wasn't there for me, I'd go there for it.

the entire state populous is 500K. There's just not as much around here. I've been looking but there just doesn't seem to be much for nighthawk 250's out there. Rode my new versys home 1,700 miles. Plenty of other 250 bikes around....just not hawks.

Wow, guess I'm kinda spoiled living here in the D.C. area. I know MSF courses use the hawks, not sure if that will help. Best of luck with the search!

there is a reason they use nighthawks for msf( riders edge uses buell blasts). little nighthawks are probably one of the easiest bikes to ride. cool little bikes. but i think you are on the right track letting her pick. give her input, but let her make the choice. feel is important, but for women how it looks is also important. even simple things like color.