Choosing and Buying a Motorcycle: A Woman's Perspective

[Admin]

One woman's search for the perfect bike.

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[AEG]

She lost me at Harley...

 

[Butthead]

Understandable as the seat is low to the ground especially if she is short she'd be able to touch the ground

 

[ballmead]

She lost me at Harley...

I agree. I don't see the point of this article on a Sportsbike forum.
I know plenty of girls who ride Sportsbikes, some of them very well.

 

[lytehouse]

She lost me at Harley...

Me too!

Understandable as the seat is low to the ground especially if she is short she'd be able to touch the ground

I'm 5'2"....the FZ1 was great after I had it lowered, but BMW is one of the few (not including Harley, which for me is NOT an option) the offered a factory low version for vertically challenged people like myself. That's why I now ride a BMW 700GS and couldn't be happier with it, ugly beak and all!

 

[FZ1inTX]

Michele started out on a Suzuki S40, the 650 thumper. From there, she got the VStar 650 twin. While both were adequate for her needs, she found them both to be a workout to ride, especially in the corners where you have to flop the bars over and over to hit the switchbacks. After the FZ6R and the FZ1, the BMW was the only non-cruiser choice for her height which is the same as Brenda. It was because of Brenda's research and happiness with the BMW that I took Michele into the dealer to try them on for size. With the OEM lowered seat option, the bike fits perfect without any other mods. Other manufacturers could learn a lot from BMW because there's a lot of guys with short inseams that want a supersport but don't feel comfortable on one.

For those wondering... Brenda's 700 GS and Michele's 800R both have the same engine. The difference is the 800R has 90 HP and the 700 has 75 HP. The 700 GS is sprocketed and tuned for adventure riding while the 800R is set up for street. Both offer most of the same features but the main thing is, they cater to the vertically challenged riders!