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Why not rent a twin, see how she likes it?


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:tab Is she opposed to a regular clutched bike?

:tab If not, I would look for a DRZ400. You can find great deals on used ones that are often already nicely accessorized. They are easily lowered if necessary. She can try it out for a while to see if that is a direction she really wants to go before spending a LOT of money. If she decides Adv riding really isn't her thing, she could sell the bike for probably the same as what she paid, or real close to it. If she really does want to go deeper, then she will have a much better idea of what she really wants from a bike. The DRZ would also be a great bike to use for taking an AdvRiding class, which would be WELL worth the money! In fact, it would be fun to take the class with her ;-)

:tab Looking at your sig line, I see your wife has an XT250. That would be great for your daughter to use for getting her feet dirty. Just don't start with a new or expensive bike. It's pretty much an ironclad rule in adventure riding that you WILL fall down at some point. The odds are much higher when you are new to it. There's no point tearing up a nice pretty new bike to get that out of your system. Something like a TW200 might also be worth consideration.
 
Many bikes can be lowered without a great deal of trouble. I lowered (actually, DFW_Warrior did most of the wrenching) my VStrom nearly an inch. It was as simple as replacing the dogbones on the monoshock with a shorter pair, then loosening a few bolts on the forks and dropping the front height to match the rear height. That was less than an hour's work. A few weeks later, we went back & lopped a little bit out of the kickstand. Obviously, if you lower an adventure bike, you're losing some ground clearance. But given where most adventure bikes spend their time, that's really no big loss unless you occasionally plan to jump a fallen tree trunk.
 
Forget the auto clutch and go for a used 250 or 300 ninja. She will not need it lowered and it will go anywhere you would take a big adv bike. They are tame to learn in the low rpm bands, but are stupid fun to run through the gears at redline.
 
Is that a bike you'd ride from here to Arkansas on?

That's good to know. Maybe the NC700X could be lowered, if needed.

Really, they are good off road bikes?[/QUOTE]


Good enough for double track and forest roads if it isn't muddy. I rode my 650 ninja over a few rocky mountain passes with no trouble, had to keep waiting for the GS's to catch up. Go for a cheap under $2k used example that someone has already dropped and scratched but is solid mechanically. That way you don't have to worry about it. I commuted on a ninja 250 for over 70,000 miles and had a blast on it, including weekend trips and a saddlesore 1,000 ride. Easy on tires and chains, valve adjustmants are as easy as it gets.
 
Is that a bike you'd ride from here to Arkansas on?

:tab People take off on them and ride down into Mexico or up to Alaska all the time, so I don't see any real reason why you couldn't ride it up to Arkansas, especially if you are staying off the interstates. They will run 75-80mph on the highways, but it is not real fun to do it for any serious amount of time (several hours or more). You can run them at 65-70mph on back roads all day long. If desired, you can add a simple windscreen that mounts to the forks/handle bars just to make the highway speeds smoother.

:tab If you were going to ride it all the way to Arkansas and back, I would definitely go for a more 50/50 big block adventure tire rather than a full on knobby (Dunlop 606, Pirellie MT 21, etc,...).

Here is the DR/DRZ thread in the Dualsport section of the forum.
http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49092

LOADS of info there.

:tab I mention the DRZ400 primarily because you said she wanted to use it for adventure riding, which means different things to different folks, but in general I take to mean a mix of pavement and dirt. The DRZ is great for that, inexpensive, cheap to maintain/repair, and readily found. It has plenty of power but is not intimidating. It can carry a good deal of luggage and depending on the gas tank will have decent range on a tank. And, as I mentioned before, you can sell it later if you think she needs something different and take little to no loss on it unless you tear it up.

:tab There are some other newer bikes. Honda has the CB500X, which is probably a decent 50/50 bike. However, I'd throw some crash bars on it real fast before going down any dirt roads. I don't know if they are available with the DCT or not. If you buy one new and she decides this is not for her, you will take a serious hit on it when you try to sell it. The same will be true for the 700X. I would not make a big deal about the DCT. Learning to ride a bike with a clutch is not hard. Unless you are stuck in stop-n-go traffic for any length of time, there's not really any time it will be a real negative.

:tab Another often overlooked aspect is the size of the front tires. Bikes like the DRZ usually have at least a 19" front and more often a 21" front. When riding on dirt/gravel roads, this usually improves handling versus a 17" front wheel. For instance, I never developed a trust in the V-Strom 650 I had when riding on unpaved surfaces because the front end simply never felt planted compared to other bikes I'd ridden with bigger front wheels. That said, there are a LOT of people that love their V-Stroms for dirt/gravel roads. This is where the type of tire can also make a BIG difference.

:tab Unless it is just too tall, the first thing I would do before spending ANY money (except maybe on gear for her) is put her on that XT250 and let her putt around. That will tell you a LOT in a hurry.
 
Wee Strom ...

Good starter bike
Cheap to purchase and operate
Lots of options
Tons of aftermarket
Very capable

If it get wadded up, not a lot of investment.
 
Or Honda cb500f. Easy Off road capable, won’t get board with it off the bat. I agree-man up and teach her to clutch
 
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Can she drive a stick shift car? If so, bike is nothing to learn. My wife knew how to ride a bike, but not drive stick when we met. Funny huh?
 
I've pretty much done all those kinds of rides on a TW200. Size isn't everything ;-) I'd say have her tushie test a bunch of bikes at shops to see what she likes. Her height gives her greater options over we who are more...fun sized. :-D
 
Wee Strom ...

Good starter bike
Cheap to purchase and operate
Lots of options
Tons of aftermarket
Very capable

If it get wadded up, not a lot of investment.

I love the Wee and will defend them all day....but, prolly too tall for someone who is a 5'6"-7" beginner. Even lowered, they still are top heavy, esp for a beginner and esp for (hate to say it) a woman, who typically has less upper body strength than a man of similar height.

Like others have said, you really don't need to buy anything right away--let her play with that xt--y'all will know pretty soon.

With her experience, I'd bet she'll have no problem learning how to shift. And it is such an enjoyable aspect of riding...
 
I think the models I've seen with DCT are:

Africa Twin
Gold Wing
NC700X
NC750X
CTX700
VFR1200X

The 700x seemed a little lower when I sat on one than the wee. Weigh about the same but if you must do the dct, it's really the only choice. If your not doing too much technical stuff I'm sure it would work. Like spirit said, heavy bikes can be a handful in less than perfect conditions.
 
CTX 1300 too, but that's kind of a bagger and not what you're looking for.
 
I don't think the Honda X-ADV (DCT) is coming to our country yet but it might be the holy grail for your daughter. Then again maybe not. I report, you decide.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS8bT1WPoFc"]Honda X ADV Review │First Ride │ Don't call it Scooter │ Cracking Mechanics - YouTube[/ame]
 
I love the windshield adjustment and storage. That Adventure X is a cool bike. Lots of storage.
 
Wee Strom ...

Good starter bike
Cheap to purchase and operate
Lots of options
Tons of aftermarket
Very capable

If it get wadded up, not a lot of investment.
The same....but different....

Kawasaki Versys 650.... Lower seat & lighter than the Strom 650

I owned both at the same time

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Bear in mind, this is her first bike but not her first foray into two wheels or power sports. Like me, she has been riding bicycles for a bit and has done 40+ mile rides on them. She also used to race closed course on 1200-1300cc jet skis that were 250+ hp that out turned and out accelerated my Africa Twin.

Not to mention, she's been riding, breaking and competing on performance horses at the highest levels since she was 5.

Based upon that, I bet she wouldn't notice the weight or placement.

Of course, I've never been a female. So it is pure speculation on my part. :doh:
 
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