Hey All, Hoping to get some advise from the pro's ( you guys ). I have my wife signed up for off-road rider training in the spring, but wanted to start looking for a bike now. Does anyone have any recommendations? She is totally new to motorcycles, but does ride a Snomobile. She is not super tall ( maybe 5' 7" ) I don't want to buy anything too tall, but it must have electric start. I have the Kawi KLX 140 in mind, but I am not sure what else might foot the bill. A TTR230 is too tall, and i think a TTR125 is a little small. Any suggestions? Post away! Thanks OPIPE
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid KLX140, TTR125LE and CRF150 would all be good choices. KLX actually has the lowest seat height followed by TTR and CRF. KLX and TTR are about 30lbs lighter than the Honda. When my wife starts riding in a year or two I am planning on getting a used TTR125LE for her to practice on. They are pretty cheap used and hold their value. Easy to flip if it doesn't work out. I also like that it has electric and kick start. A lot of folks seem to put taller bars on if it feels too small.
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid My wife's first bike was also a TTR125L (no electric start, but it was really easy to kick over). She is about the same height as your wife, and the bike fit her well. Being able to touch the ground with both feet made her much more confident on the bike. Any bigger and she would have felt out of control. Nice smooth power and lots of fun. I am sure the other bikes would fit the bill as well, but I thought I would tell you about her experience with the TTR. Good luck with it all!
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid Dont overlook the DRZ125L My daughter learned on it. Very forgiving, reasonably priced and hold value for reslale and although not estart, they are super easy to kick
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid CRF150 definitely. Not the R version, just the trail version. 5'7" is ideal for this bike.
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid How does she do on the snowmobile? That should give you a good idea of where she will end up on a bike. If she goes at a good pace on the snowmobile, it might be better to start with something with more potential. Maybe a lowered Husky 125 or KTM 150/200? I know they don't have electric start, but they should be easy to kick. It might take her a bit longer to get going on one of these, but they have a lot more potential than the small 4 strokes. On the other hand, the small 4-strokes are very easy and fun to ride. The kid's DRZ125 will do a surprisingly good job of hauling me around (6'3", 200 LB), so as Brad said, don't rule it out. Depending on what you want to do with it, it might be all the bike she will ever need.
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid Beta X trainer. Rob Lang should have them in March. http://www.betausa.com/node/1983
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid I'm also a fan of the DRZ125. The Beta would be an awesome bike, even for me, but probably a little pricey.
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid I agree it won't be cheap. My wife helps at ladies training day and the one thing that keeps ladies from riding is the "this is good enough for you to learn on bike" Buying your wife a heavy under powered bike with crap suspension will turn her off riding in one season. My sister but a klx 140 for her first bike and was sick of it half way though the summer. I got her on a 2011 GasGas 250 the next year and she still loves riding. My wifes first dirtbike was a Te510 and now she is probably faster than half the guys on this forum. My point is buy her a real bike, it will cost more but I bet she will stick with riding longer and have more fun.
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid I agree with Hammer. My wife rode my daughters ttr125 a few times. She felt like a trained bear at the circus. I bought her a husky 125 2t and put an auto clutch in it. She loves the bike. It is light,easy to kick, easy to pick up, it is happy to lug around, it has lots of power for her. The auto clutch softens up things and made it easy for her to ride. Now my girls both ride it. Liked it so much, we bought a husky 144 .... The family can all ride the small bores and I get to race it....win win. You should be able to pick one up for a few dollars more than a TTR.
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid This. My wife started on one a few years back and it was an awesome bike. All the major manufacturers make something similar and they're all terrific for learning and will build her confidence quickly be it CRF, KLX, IT, DR, etc. A high dollar Euro bike for a beginner? Add an auto clutch? Really guys? Dial back on the orange Kool-Aid.
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid I think it depends on how aggressive the wife is willing to ride. In any case, a lighter bike is good for any rider on single-track.
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid I'm not a fan of putting new riders on small bore competition 2ts, especially most grown up females.(key word 'most') That type of bike makes the learning curve waaaay steeper than it needs to be. Smaller mild 4t trail bikes are really the way to go. If the wife, GF or whoever decides they like the sport, they'll happily move to a more hardcore bike after they have sufficient experience. (this isn't a judgement, but an observation based on a reasonable amount of experience teaching people to ride, or improve basic skills)
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid Armin- In all fairness, Jaime had a fair bit of experince on sport bikes etc., before going offoad. For newer riders that have little or no experience a bigger bike is likely to be more of a hindrance than anything, especially if the rider has little confidence or experience with mechanical things.... Your sister outgrew her first bike before the first season was over which means it served it's purpose.
Re: Bike Recommendation for my better half ( totally new rid Whatever you get, make sure she can flat-foot it when stopped (or close). This helps with confidence.
