Best bike for short folk (new to riding)

[Yokel]

Hey all!

I've got a friend looking to get into riding and shopping for his first bike.  The guy's cursed with a pretty short inseam, like 26".    He's not wanting to spend oodles of cash on a first bike.  He's looking for something to get to know the sport of motorcycling on, but just can NOT get behind a cruiser.  

I listed the bikes that came to mind first on the poll...  Other stuff might be a later model Yamaha SECAII or something... Lowering it isn't a big deal as I'm handy with a wrench and he and I are both machinists, we can set just about anything up.  Bear in mind, price on your pick should vary between 1500-3k.

Thanks!

[bluepoof]

I would go with the Ninjette. It's a fantastic motorcycle and very shorty-friendly.  

The CBR250 would probably also be a great choice but I've never ridden one so can't comment on it personally.  The ergos on the Ninjette are better for me but it'd be worth sitting on both at a dealership and seeing which fits better.  The downside to the CBR is that there's not the massive used market yet as you can find with the Ninja 250.

The SV650S is a good choice as well and I rode an unlowered one for many years but it is top heavy and that can be a challenge for a brand new rider with a short inseam.

The Ninja 650 is ergonomically pretty good for us wee hobbits and I'd definitely consider that as maybe a second bike.  

[Yokel]

Thanks for the input Poof!

Yeah, I've not seen a whole lot of the CBR250's around either... what a shame.  Seems like a slick little bike.  

I had a friend with an SV, thing was a blast.  Oodles of torque... but I couldn't really remember the seat height (not something I really ever have to think about).

[ConPilot1]

Hey Poof--

My best friend's son's girlfriend just bought an '09 250 Ninja a couple months ago.

6,000 miles on it. She learned up on it, now hates it yearning for something bigger already..

I say whatever.    

It's nice. Very clean, never dumped or dropped.  Neon Kaw green and I could probably snag it for about 2500. I'd like me one of those lightweight little nice handling hi-revving bitches for hopping around town.  

I told Gary she doesn't know what she has there.

Poor Gary just had a Yamaha 600 sportbike stolen, gone. Probaby broken down by now and the frame and engine block sold for scrap. He replaced it with an R1.  


Yeah, to the OP, I gotta +1 on Poof's comment. The 250 Ninja is one fine little motorcycle, bulletproof as are most Kaw's  , run like a bastard, and are a lot of fun and a very good value for the buck. A big highway mile eater it's not I would say, but for tooling around on two-laners, twisties, or bopping around I'd be hard pressed to vote a better bike, along with a KLR maybe, but that's out of the question for a short little sawed-off bitch, no offense intended.  

[Yokel]

Funny you mention that...

I was thinking of getting one myself as a entry-level track day bike, just to kinda develop that smoothness you need on a course.  Besides, would be hilarious for a guy my size to flog the daylights out of a 250 ninja.  

[ConPilot1]

BTW OP, your avatar has to GO.

I posted a major rant one day about the stick figure shit. Makes me puke.  

I pulled up behind a huge black Toyota SUV the other night at a red light on the Connie.


Stick figures on the back window. Probably a cell phone glued to some bitches ear, too.  

[Yokel]

BTW OP, your avatar has to GO.

I posted a major rant one day about the stick figure shit. Makes me puke.  

I pulled up behind a huge black Toyota SUV the other night at a red light on the Connie.


Stick figures on the back window. Probably a cell phone glued to some bitches ear, too.  

Look more closely.... at the bottom!

[ConPilot1]

Look more closely.... at the bottom!

dr/sm  



didn't read, too small.  

My eyes are shot, close up. I'm gettin' old.  

Can't work on watches no more.








Wait, yeah I can under high magnification which is how it's done anyway.  

[ConPilot1]

The guy's cursed with a pretty short inseam, like 26".   Crazy

We got us a little loverboy around here that fits that description.  

I hear he gets off on exorcising Guzzi electrical demons.  

Gimli knows of who I speak.

Bastard rebuilds BMW transmissions too, go figure.  

[AzItLies]

Another thing to keep in mind would be type of riding. I mean if he needs to (or want to) do much highway riding... a 250 is gonna have to be wrung out pretty high, and prob not a great idea to do that for extended periods.

Too bad he's so against cruiser style bikes. There would be some great choices there, and many of them are very capable, like honda shadow rs and such.

check this article out... http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/23/first-ride-2010-honda-shadow-rs-just-another-harley-imitator/

[Yokel]

Hey, nice write-up.  Thanks for the link!  

[spd2918]

Hey all!

I've got a friend looking to get into riding

I'd never put a newb on a 650 sport bike (unless I was looking to hook up with his widow).  Seriously, find a Ninja 250 that has been dropped a few times.  That makes them very inexpensive.

[bluepoof]

Another thing to keep in mind would be type of riding. I mean if he needs to (or want to) do much highway riding... a 250 is gonna have to be wrung out pretty high, and prob not a great idea to do that for extended periods.

It's not actually that bad!  I hit the rev limiter pretty much every time I go on the freeway but the bikes are designed to be ridden at very high RPMs and going along at 70+mph (I mean, cough, the safe and legal freeway speed) is not that bad.  I mean, it's not a Goldwing, but honestly, it's not any less comfortable than my SVS was.  

There are tons of threads about highway riding at ninjette.org and anecdotally, I've never seen anyone report an engine problem because of the high RPMs of extended freeway.

[ConPilot1]

The 250 ninja is an extremely road-worthy bike from what I understand. I still wouldn't want to be munching big slab miles with it though, I'm too used to my big heavy 2 wheeled couch.  

[Papa Lazarou]

No mention of that fine little bike, the HD Sportster?

[PatM]

The 250 ninja is an extremely road-worthy bike from what I understand. I still wouldn't want to be munching big slab miles with it though, I'm too used to my big heavy 2 wheeled couch.  

It's not a bad long distance  bike. I once crossed path with a rider on the BRP that was on his way back to the west coast.
My wife, 5'3, started on one. It's a fun little bike as long as you know its limitations. It idles at 3k, and at highway speed expect 7 - 8 k RPMs. It's not buzzy, at least my wife's wasn't. Just plan ahead if you need to pass.  

[bluepoof]

at highway speed expect 7 - 8 k RPMs.

10k-12k is more fun though.

[ConPilot1]

Those little engines redline at 14.5K don't they? that's pretty impressive for a little production bike.  

[X1Glider]

I know I'm going to get chased out of here for this...

Buell Blast.  Seriously easy to ride.  Just needs oil and gas.  Not enough HP to destroy tires.  They typically dyno with 27 RWHP.  I don't think the Ninjette and CBR250 are any better in power, just in delivery.

But I actually selected the CBR250.  Compared to the big VFR1200, I prefered the baby CBR's ergos and I like the better low and mids compared to the Ninjette. Seems more user friendly.

[HipGnosis]

You / he might also want to look for a Nighthawk 250 or 450.