New Member in Bryan/College Station

Hello,

I'm Jolene, I'm from Bryan and I recently took my MSF Basic Course to obtain my Class M. I do not have a bike yet, but my instructor from the course directed me to this forum so that I could look for one and become part of a motorcycle community.

I started riding bikes when I was 6 years old on my dad's Sportster, and have been riding ever since. I just recently turned 18 and am now looking for a 750 cc or smaller Cruiser to purchase for myself. I am having a hard time (because I stand at 4ft 11in tall). Overall, I would really enjoy being part of a riding community.

I bounce back and forth between Austin and B/CS, and hope to meet some people around those areas.

Thanks for letting me join the forum!

Aloha and welcome to TWT. The forum area has a for sale section where you might find what your looking for. Love the Longhorn there in B/CS for chicken fried steak,maybe someday they will be open on Sundays.

Welcome to TWTex Jolene, glad you are here. MissMez and her husband Kevin Graulty have a very clean bike for sale that sounds like what you are looking for. I have attached a recent photo. It's a 2006 Honda 750. Kevin has been preparing it for sale and will probably list the bike soon.

Welcome ! Lots of great bikes in your category. I would recommend checking around various dealerships and sitting on what they have - there are no bad motorcycles anymore. Make a list of the ones you like, then try Cycletrader to look for used bikes.

Used sales typically are a cash sale, so your minimum insurance would be liability only. If you finance, you be required to carry full coverage. Something to keep in mind financially. I like Progressive for motorcycle insurance.

Other financial considerations will be the outlay for a good new helmet ($300 - $700), gloves ($50 - $150) and a riding suit or jacket ($200 - $1200). Gloves and helmets should be new, you might find some used jackets / pants / riding suits on this forum.

Of course we can all give you our opinion of the "perfect bike" but it will be so very subjective! You'll know the one you want when you see it!

Welcome again,

Dave.

mlinkibikr said:

Welcome ! Lots of great bikes in your category. I would recommend checking around various dealerships and sitting on what they have - there are no bad motorcycles anymore. Make a list of the ones you like, then try Cycletrader to look for used bikes.

Used sales typically are a cash sale, so your minimum insurance would be liability only. If you finance, you be required to carry full coverage. Something to keep in mind financially. I like Progressive for motorcycle insurance.

Other financial considerations will be the outlay for a good new helmet ($300 - $700), gloves ($50 - $150) and a riding suit or jacket ($200 - $1200). Gloves and helmets should be new, you might find some used jackets / pants / riding suits on this forum.

Of course we can all give you our opinion of the "perfect bike" but it will be so very subjective! You'll know the one you want when you see it!

Welcome again,

Dave.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the information. I am always appreciative of a firsthand cost projection, as I am a broke college kid.

Thankfully I have multiple helmets and a nice pair of gloves, but still on the hunt for a used jacket that will fit me. Unfortunately because of my small stature finding any sort of gear (or bike) is kind of difficult.

I know everyone has an opinion on the perfect bike, but if you have a suggestion for a bike that can be easily lowered or already sits very low, I would appreciate it.

I just test drove a 1995 Yamaha Virago 535 and I was still about 3 inches from being able to put my feet flat on the ground.

Thank you,

Jolene

pkiser said:

Welcome to TWTex Jolene, glad you are here. MissMez and her husband Kevin Graulty have a very clean bike for sale that sounds like what you are looking for. I have attached a recent photo. It's a 2006 Honda 750. Kevin has been preparing it for sale and will probably list the bike soon.

Click to expand...

That is exactly what I'm looking for, I'm interested to see the listing when it goes up. I've got my eye on just about every "For Sale" thread or motorcycle listing site I can find.

I'll upload a couple more pics in a few.

Here's a few we took the other day. The saddlebags were custom made. The single seat is modified to sit a little lower. I do have the original unmodified seat as well. It's a very clean bike --I think the mileage is about 4500. I don't ride enough to justify keeping it!

My wife started on a Virago 535. Good looking bike, but it just ran out of steam at highway speeds. If I recall correctly, it had about a 25-26" seat height. You will be hard pressed to find many bikes with seats lower than that unless they have been modified. Cruisers already generally have very little ground clearance, so I would be careful lowering them. The best bet might be to lower and NARROW the seat foam. Reducing the width of the seat between the legs can make a BIG difference in your ability to reach the ground. You can keep it wide back where your rear sits, but you just want it kind of narrow in front of where your rear will sit.

I would definitely check out Cheryl's bike. Kevin takes immaculate care of ALL of their toys!

IF you can find one, a naked Suzuki GS 500 is a great starter bike. You can lower these quite a bit. They will run highway speeds without an problem. Case guards are real cheap for them. If you do drop it, it is light and easy to pick up. Also, about the only bad thing that might happen to it is the clutch or brake lever might break. They are about $10-15 to replace. A friend of ours had one of these bikes and kept it in our garage. I rode it every now and then and it is a fun bike. She had a generic windscreen on the front that kept the wind blast off her but wasn't a huge screen.

One thing to keep in mind if you buy a lowered bike or lower one that you buy is that you will also need to shorten the kickstand. If you don't think bike will stand to much upright and will be easy to tip over. They can even blow over just from a good gust of wind. Most any welding/fab shop can cut them shorter and weld them back together for you and should not charge more than $20-30.

For gear, you might check RevZilla.com. They tend to have a good variety of gear and sizes. Also, their returns policy is VERY easy to use if you find something doesn't fit like you want.

I have a couple of jackets that you can have if they'll fit you. They were (very lightly) used by my daughter who is also 4' 11". I can't remember the specifics off the top of my head, but it's one textile and one mesh. I'll dig them out of the closet and ping you when I get home.

Welcome to the forum. There are lots of friendly folks here, and more than enough advice. Sounds like you know what you're looking for. Take your time and get one that is solid and reliable. And as others have suggested, hold back a little bit of money to invest in riding gear. The good news is that we're a very effective pay-it-forward community, so you'll probably be able to get yourself outfitted pretty cheaply.

wildebube said:

I have a couple of jackets that you can have if they'll fit you. They were (very lightly) used by my daughter who is also 4' 11". I can't remember the specifics off the top of my head, but it's one textile and one mesh. I'll dig them out of the closet and ping you when I get home.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much! I appreciate that.

& enjoy!

Welcome !
Lots of good riding around this area.

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner....this might be perfect for ya...

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114149

Sorry I'm a little slow getting back to you. It's been a rough couple of days. The jackets are a Frank Thomas textile jacket and a Cortech mesh. The Frank Thomas is mostly black and grey with white highlights and piping. It has a zip in liner. The Cortech is silver/grey. The Cortech says Women 8/10. The only thing I can find on the other one that looks like a size says LM - which means nothing to me. But since my daughter wore both, I'm assuming 8/10 is a fair estimate.

If you want either or both, just say the word and they're yours.

Welcome!

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Check out Brazos Valley Sport Riding on facebook, good local group of riders!

Welcome from Huntsville! I'm more of an offroad guy but ride both.

Ever find a bike?

Welcome!