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College Station/First bike for woman

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mary111

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Mary
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Jones
I'll be attending motorcycle riding classes next month and plan to purchase a bike for myself. I'm a woman 48 and single and this will be my first bike. I'm in excellent physical condition to handle a lot of different bikes (I'm 5' 8" 130 lbs.). Are there any women/men in the Bryan/College Station area who could give me a few suggestions on a first bike that would suit me? My grown son lives in Tulsa and he just purchased a new Aprilia several weeks ago. I moved to College Station last year from Lewisville (Dallas), Texas and started noticing the nice roads to practice around here. I'm looking forward to buying a bike and meeting other motorcycle riders to congregate with (no Harley riders, please). I would like to hear from women/men riders around the Bryan/College Station area.[/b]
 
Sounds like you're a good candidate for a Suzuki SV650 standard. It has decent power, but not so much that it will bite you if you respect the throttle; it also has good ergonomics and it will be something you can grow with as your skills improve. Some might suggest that you start on a Suzuki GS500 since it seems to sustain less damage in minor drops. Lots of good, low-mileage used examples of either bike can be found at very reasonable prices.

BTW, welcome to Two Wheeled Texans! The B/CS contigent should pipe-in here any moment now.
 
There is a lady in our comapny who had posted a for sale ad for an SV650 which had the suspension lowered. I sent her an email to encourage her to sign up here at TWT and post the ad, but no response. Maybe she's on vacation ... anyway i'll keep my ears on.

The Kawasaki 250 Ninja is a ton of fun and very easy to ride - it does however come with all the plastic. As many of them out there as there are, I'm sure you could find one used for a good price, ride it for a bit and be able to resell it for close to what you paid for it.

Welcome to the site and to the sport in particular!

Dave.
 
I'd suggest a Ninja 500 over a Ninja 250, it has a little more weight to it and the 250 always felt unstable in the wind on the highway.

The SV650 is a good one, or the SV650S :-D

At 5'8" I wouldn't think you would need anything lowered.

Kim
 
Might i suggest a Ducati Monster 620? A very good first bike that is rather reasonably priced for what you get. Very comfortable, very forgiving, and very freakin' cool.
 
I'd say hit all the shops around and sit on and test ride everything you like. My wife started out wanting a Honda Magna really, really, really bad. I got her an old Suzuki GS650 to start and after she got some time in we went shopping for a bike. Our local Honda dealer doesn't give test rides so we ended up at the Triumph dealership and she found her Bonneville America there.

You just want to make sure you get something at first that is forgiving and manageable for someone new, then after you get some riding experience you should have an idea what you are looking for in a long-term bike.
 
:tab If you have some free time on Saturday, head over to Huntsville for the Pie Run. Folks will be converging here for lunch and DESSERT! Just hope on Hwy 30 and come on over. We'll be meeting at 11:30am at the Farmhouse Cafe. Look in the TWT Sponsored Events forum for the full details. It's the "Doing one for the Gipper" thread :lol: It would be a great chance to meet lots of TWT folks, see lots of nice bikes, and add a few lbs... :oops:
 
Looks like you have recommendations running on two different threads.

By all means, try to make Huntsville for the Pie Run - you can talk to folks directly there & get some touchie/feelie on a variety of bikes. Not to mention getting some pie...

Also, coming up in November is the International Motorcycle show - different weekends for Ft. Worth and Houston - worth seeing. It will have all major bike brands and gear stuff, too.

http://show.motorcycleshows.com/IMSBrandManager/v42/index.cvn

too bad that this show isn't sooner...
 
Right here in our own FOR SALE section are two possible starters.

A sweet deal on a fairly new & low mileage Buell Blast: CLICK HERE. It's 500CCs but that not so much that it's more than you can handle. And it's enough that you can stick with it as your skills increase. The Harley rider training program uses them as class bikes, so that should be some indication of the ease of use.

Also a fairly new subscriber has a real low-mileage Suzuki GZ 250 for a fairly good price: CLICK HERE. Lots of MSF classes use these as class bikes, so you might get a chance to try one out and if you're comfortable with it buy one just like it.

The only deal with a 250 is sometimes your skill level may advance so fast that you soon find you want a bigger bike.
 
I live in B/CS, and have a '96 Suzuki GS500 you could try out if you'd like. These bikes are great as first bikes, since they are durable, economical, and simple to maintain. Parts are cheap too, since the bike has existed largely unchanged since 1989. I still use it for commuting.

You should check out the TAMU motorcycle club at http://tamumc.tamu.edu , they meet every Wednesday and you can see a variety of bikes suitable for someone new to motorcycling - SV650, Blast, Ninja 500, etc.
 
I'll second my old GS500, great bikes and nearly indestructable!

however, I also have that Ducati 750 Sport which probably wouldn't be a bad option....:)
 
SINGLE! hmm...

Seriously, for reasons of maint and lower running costs, parts avail stay with a fairly current Japanese bike. I understand the SV650 to be very compliant, as well as the 599, being slightly more comfortable. If you are planning to do any touring at all, opt for something with a windscreen, like the SV650s, the afore mentioned Ninjas 250 or an EX500. GS500 stuff is very abundant as well. Test sit for comfort while on the pegs, test ride often as possible.

One advantage you may want to look for mechanically, would be EFI, and/or 2 cylinders. This reduces maint typically. The Monster 620 is an excellent choice as well, but shops are not as abundant, neither is parts. That said, a good smooth 4cyl that is compliant with beginner to expert riding, touring and commuting is the FZ6. Don't rev above 8500rpms until you are ready for a serious blast of power. It revs to about 13k, I believe!

Kyle
Ducati Owner
TexasPanhandle
 
The Suzuki GS500 and Kaw EX500 are nice choices - if you feel ready for a slightly larger entry level bike. The Honda Nighthawk 250 is also a nice entry level motorcycle, cycletrader.com has a couple available in Texas - a 2001 model for about $2,500 seems like a nice bike. Here is the other one in Houston.

00472225720.jpg
 
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I'm surprised that whenever someone asks about a beginner bike, no one recommends the Kawasaki ZR7S. Several folks in the forum, in this thread even, have 'em, Wonder91178, Gilk51, Rick Miller, me. If you can find one, they should be pretty reasonable price, weren't that expensive to begin with. I've had zero problems in 3 years. Easy to ride, taught my son to ride on it and he's not a big guy. Plus, it's not a bike you would outgrow as soon as some of the samller bikes.
Whatever you get, make sure it's one that you really like and feels right when you ridel
That's my $.02

Paul B.
 
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Jing said:
I'm surprised that whenever someone asks about a beginner bike, no one recommends the Kawasaki ZR7S. Several folks in the forum, in this thread even, have 'em, Wonder91178, Gilk51, Rick Miller, me. If you can find one, they should be pretty reasonable price, weren't that expensive to begin with. I've had zero problems in 3 years. Easy to ride, taught my son to ride on it and he's not a big guy. Plus, it's not a bike you would outgrow as soon as some of the samller bikes.
Whatever you get, make sure it's one that you really like and feels right when you ridel
That's my $.02

Paul B.
Click to expand...

Squidward and I both agree it COULD be a good beginner bike. It wouldn't have been for me because I can only tippy toe it if I try to touch the ground with both feet, and my toes barely reach at that. With this member being 5'8" (to my 5'3"), it could be a good beginner bike, it just depends on how comfortable someone is with starting out on it. I was scared at first, I wanted to be able to flat foot a bike, so I went smaller, now that I'm more comfortable, I don't have a problem with only one ball of one foot being on the ground at a time.

It is very user friendly, versatile, and my last tank of gas was about 53mpg (woohoo!). To me it was just too tall of a bike to start out on.

Heck, I would still love to have a Ninja 500 for myself, hehe.

Kim
 
Yeah, I understand the height issue. At 5'7", you won't see me on a KTM 950 (or most of the other dual sport bikes) any time soon.
I didn't think the ZR7 would be a problem for someone that's 5'8". I just think it's a lot of bike for the money.

Paul B.

P.S. Wonder..., seen the new Ninja 650, yet? Really cool.
 
Jing said:
P.S. Wonder..., seen the new Ninja 650, yet? Really cool.
Click to expand...

OH MAN! I told Squidward I thought it was a cool looking bike, I have my fingers crossed that the squids don't get a hold of it and ruin it for us :D

Then again, a lot of places won't insure something that says "Ninja"....er...really sir, it's an ER-6n, not a Ninja! :cool:

Kim
 
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Jing said:
I'm surprised that whenever someone asks about a beginner bike, no one recommends the Kawasaki ZR7S. Several folks in the forum, in this thread even, have 'em, Wonder91178, Gilk51, Rick Miller, me. If you can find one, they should be pretty reasonable price, weren't that expensive to begin with. I've had zero problems in 3 years. Easy to ride, taught my son to ride on it and he's not a big guy. Plus, it's not a bike you would outgrow as soon as some of the samller bikes.
Click to expand...
Good point, Paul. I agree with Kim, for the right height (and inseam), this is a great first and onward bike. It worked well for me (5'10") and my two sons (both over 6') when we got ours to "share" about a year ago. It is carbuerated and therefore a lot smoother than many fuel-injected bikes, at least for a first bike. I think that it is very stable and solid. We got it one week after all 4 of us completed the MSF course, so it was a "first bike" for us.

The only down-side is that you have to shop a little for an insurance company that is reasonable about the engine size (738cc) and it's sport bike looks.

BTW, a ZR7S that is shared between 3 riders gets a lot of use!
On Saturday's it was pretty much "tag team" as soon as one rider rolled it into the garage...

My younger son has declared it as his "primary transportation" (probably until the first rainstorm or cold weather) and just mentioned this week that he really likes it.
 
Any word from Mary about the MSF course and her shopping for a bike?
 
I am here in College Station and had a 2003 Buell Blast that I drove as my first bike. This is probably the bike mentioned for sale in the reply just above this one. It has 600 miles on it so basically brand new and am asking $3000. It is a fun bike to start on and easy to handle and control, but enough power to hang with riding around with your "big dog" friends. Now that i have my own Big Dog bike, I still like to fire up the Blast and tool around on it, because it is indeed a BLAST to ride.
 
Thanks for asking about me. I've been so busy; I recently moved to the Dallas area (Lewisville area to be exact). Yes, I did pass my rider's course, so now I just have to select a bike for myself. I took the Training Wheels course utilizing a Hawk 250. I felt completely at ease with it. Are there any riders in the Lewisville area, male or female? I'd like to get to know other riders, who also enjoy the outdoors. "Lets Ride" asked me to come along on some off rode places that he takes his 250. I'm going to take him up on it; I'd like to try off road as well. Thanks again for thinking of me. I had a blast at the bike training class.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. Sorry it has taken me a while to respond. I moved back to Dallas two weeks ago and I'm just now getting established. I did obtain my bike license. Thanks again for asking!
texxter said:
The Suzuki GS500 and Kaw EX500 are nice choices - if you feel ready for a slightly larger entry level bike. The Honda Nighthawk 250 is also a nice entry level motorcycle, cycletrader.com has a couple available in Texas - a 2001 model for about $2,500 seems like a nice bike. Here is the other one in Houston.

00472225720.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the suggestion, Kyle. I better stick with something like the Hawk 250 for a while. I'm sure you love your Ducati. Thanks again!!
jollyroger75243 said:
SINGLE! hmm...

Seriously, for reasons of maint and lower running costs, parts avail stay with a fairly current Japanese bike. I understand the SV650 to be very compliant, as well as the 599, being slightly more comfortable. If you are planning to do any touring at all, opt for something with a windscreen, like the SV650s, the afore mentioned Ninjas 250 or an EX500. GS500 stuff is very abundant as well. Test sit for comfort while on the pegs, test ride often as possible.

One advantage you may want to look for mechanically, would be EFI, and/or 2 cylinders. This reduces maint typically. The Monster 620 is an excellent choice as well, but shops are not as abundant, neither is parts. That said, a good smooth 4cyl that is compliant with beginner to expert riding, touring and commuting is the FZ6. Don't rev above 8500rpms until you are ready for a serious blast of power. It revs to about 13k, I believe!

Kyle
Ducati Owner
TexasPanhandle
Click to expand...
 
marybcs said:
Are there any riders in the Lewisville area, male or female? I'd like to get to know other riders, who also enjoy the outdoors.
Click to expand...
Can't think of any... :angel: :roll:

OK, I can - but I'll bet they will chime in. :lol:

There is also a Meet & Greet this coming Wednesday in Coppell - designed to get the east side & west side of the metroplex together. Come and meet some people - you don't have to own a motorcycle, just be interested in them... :)
 
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