Need help deciding what bike for my (very) short wife!!

Hi all,

My wife has always wanted to learn how to ride a motorbike, and I am looking at paying for a CBT and some lessons etc for her 30th Birthday as a suprise.

The problem is, she is only 4 ft 11 inches and I am wondering how much choice she will have when it comes to bikes she can get.

She likes Cruiser style bikes and I have been looking at the Suzuki Marauder and possibly the Intruder 125 bikes but have no idea whether they would be suitable or how easy it would be to get them adjusted.

Ideally, I would love to buy the bike for her, and then just hand her the keys on her birthday, with an envelope for the CBT.

Is it completely crazy to try and buy a bike for her, without her trying them out first?

Thanks for any help you can give!!!! (Note we are in the UK!)

Hex  

The Honda Shadow models (all 750 cc bikes) have a very low seat height and a low center of gravity.  With the wide handlebars, the bike is very easy to handle.  

Hey....my wife is short also....5' 1". She handles a Suzuki S40 650 Boulevard like a pro. Very user friendly, light.....it's like a Honda Rebel on steriods. My wife took her test on a 250 Honda Rebel when she was 43! Thats a good bike for a beginner also, but the S40 has bit more in the power range for keeping with traffic without winding tight. Check them both.

Alan...New Jersey, USA.  

The Suzuki GZ250 is very beginner friendly, and it has a low seat height. I'm 5'2" and flat-foot the bike very easily. It's a great cruiser to start out with.  

If you mean to get her a starter bike, then no, you're not completely crazy to buy it without her setting on it first. The starter bikes (mini cruisers) are really designed around a standard frame and are much more 'short people' friendly, but they don't satisfy most folks for very long, which is why they are available fairly cheap as used bikes.

Cruisers suitable for highway use are a whole 'nuther matter. Overall height is only a very general indication. The length of her arms and legs is important. While cruisers in general have a low seat height, few of them also have the footpegs located for a shortlegged rider, and many people who are not short armed, still find they need to add risers to reach the handlebars comfortably. The shortest rider I know, rides a V-Star 650 and is quite comfortable on it.

regards,
Joe  

Congrats on getting your wife on 2 wheels. Mine hates to ride, as a passenger. I started by getting her some good leather gear and boots, good helmet. Then took the advice of a good friend. Never pick a bike for someone else. Repeat after me: Let the wife pick out her own bike. Stay out of it. Let her make the decision. My bride of 34 years is 5' even and 95 lbs.

I was expecting a Rebel 250 in the garage or a 250 Ninja. But no. After sitting on many bikes she ends up with a Suzuki 650 Savage. Why? Because it fit her the best. Low seat height is one portion of the equation. Width is the other one. The 750 Shadow has a low seat but is wide. Savage is low and narrow.

Well we started slow and rode around the block the first few hours then out on the Turnpike to visit her mom. When we got back the bike was on the market. She owned in only 2 days and we started shopping for a Suzuki Boulevard s50.

It's an overlooked bike. Looks like a water cooled 883 Harley-another choice for her to look at.

S50 has lots and lots of power. It's a 13.5 second 1/4 mile mover.

Go to bike dealers and see which one fits her the best.