He's tall!
If a Harley maybe a used Dyna over a Sportster.

Many other choices...Honda 750, Moto Guzzi, Kawasaki KLR.
Low rpm motor over a "screamer" for a new rider might be a good statement.

 

^^^^^^^ This!! After taking the course and if it's something he enjoys then get the bike he wants. I bought an older Honda 600 Shadow to 'learn on' after my course. While it was a great bike a outgrew it fast. I always drooled over a FatBoy so one day I took one for a test drive and bought it. It was a TOTALLY different animal and I basically had to learn how to ride all over again. Looking back on it, I should have just went straight to the FatBoy. The beautiful thing about a Harley is how amazingly balanced they are and how you can customize the living daylight out of the thing to make it yours.

I'm thinking because you're on a HD Forum that you're wondering what Harley he should look at. I think the Wide Glide you mention is a great bike for him to look at. I think $6,200 for an 02 is a bit too much though. I would stick to the Dyna or Softail lineup. A Wide Glide, Lowrider, FatBob, FatBoy or Heritage would make a great first bike. I'd get an older one simply because they already took the majority of the depreciation and if he doesn't like riding all that much he won't be out too much money if he sells......and obviously the older the bike the less out of pocket $$$$ he'll be spending.

 

At 6ft4 screw the mid controls. Does he have any riding experience at all? Dirtbikes? Anything? If not, start him on a honda for 2500

 

I'm 6'6" tall and learned to ride on a Yamaha 250 dual sport.



I'm in the school of thought any new rider should buy used, and small (light) to learn the basics. A lot of people get into trouble by buy big and fast for a first bike.

 

I don't give a damn how big/tall he is. He NEEDS a starter bike. First bike? How about "First time he takes a motorcycle training course?"
Once he takes (and successfully completes) the course, THEN you ask HIM what he wants. Not us.

 

Size has squat to do with it I knew a kid in highschool who was 6'5" & 260 lbs and rode a Triumph 250 single cylinder. For a cherry rider look for a mid size cheap import of some kind preferably not the popular rocket bikes or an older dyna base harley. Sportster will be a waste of money he'll outgrow it skill wise quick and want something bigger.

 

bingo !

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Kawasaki KLR 650. Tall bike and easy to fix and handle for a tall person.

 

My first bike is my current bike, 2009 Dyna. Its bigger than a Sportster but still lighter than a Softail/Touring. If you can find an older Dyna, I'd go that route. Then take the MSF course and then practice practice practice!

 

My son is tall also. We got a Suzuki SV650.and when he took the course the 250s were too small for him to ride in a standard position so they threw him on a 500. worked perfect. Now 8 years later he is still riding the SV. It had 15K on it when we purchased it in Ct as a repo, he's moved it to Georgia and now Texas and currently has 78K with only routine maintenance. He still enjoys it at 30 years old. He says for the fun factor he can't find anything to replace it.

You stated you were in Ct where is he taking the course?

As an afterthought my son had no experience either we learned the basics in driveway, like clutch control and not to use front brake when turning sharply. I replaced a clutch lever and shift lever from those experiences before he took the course in Plainfield Ct.