Forget the weight part... FInd a nice used Dyna Low Rider...

I'll chime in with my experience.. My GF however is not petit, 5'10" with a 33" inseam (lucky me :-)
Anyway, I bought her a 750 Honda Shadow, paid $2300 for it with 4000 miles on it, sweet little ride. Promised her when she got 3000 miles on it I would buy her anything she wanted, of course she wanted a Harley. Every time we went into a dealership she sat on them all, every time we went to a bike night she looked at them all.... Decided she wanted a Heritage in teal and sand.. Low and behold, when she was only at the 800 mile mark we came across a 09 with 4000 miles for sale privately. Price was $13,500 which I thought was very good, but just premature, she still was having a little typical beginner trouble. I decided I better buy it before I dropped $20k fulfilling my promise. Well to my surprise, when she got on the Heritage she looked like she'd been riding it for years! I was very pleasantly surprised. I think the Heritage is balanced far better than the Honda, and the mini apes that come on them give more leverage than the handlebars on the Honda.. BTW, that little Honda weighs in at 540lbs, it's not that much lighter!

A tad off topic ref the MSF course.. They're not all the same. I took it myself 6 years ago in Florida, there were several people in the class that never were on a motorcycle in their life. I was impressed with how well they took those from knowing absolutely nothing to how to ride. My GF never rode a motorcycle before, in her younger days a star athlete, so I decided that I would not teach her anything before taking the course. The people giving the class are trained in teaching this, I'd prefer she learn from someone who knows what to teach first. Also, as we all know, the significant other must always be questioned and is rarely right.. We're from NJ so she flew up from Florida to do this while I stayed at our home in Florida.
Day one, all classroom except for walking the bike, and I am informed that she is the only one in the class that never rode before at all, she is not happy with me already. Second, the 250 Suzuki was so small she had real trouble finding the brake pedal and operating the shifter.
Day two, she calls me about 11:30 crying. She was doing great except with the bike not fitting her and then doing the figure 8 she grabbed the brake instead of the clutch.... She was hurting. Got back on, finished the class and passed the test.
Next morning, she can't drive, barely can walk, she calls a taxi to take her to motorvehicle, gets her endorsement, then takes another cab to the hospital.. Sprained wrist, badly bruised elbow, shoulder and both knees, and a concussion! She rode like that for 5 hours! How can I not love the woman?
Here we are a week later meeting friends we ride with for lunch, they had no idea of the incident. They thought we were messing with them, she calls it her crash course on motorcycling.
BTW, I sold the Honda 2 hours after I put in the driveway with a for sale sign on it.

 

Rooster37
Senior Rider
2012 Harley Davidson UC Limited FLHTK
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: central, ohio
Posts: 418



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know a lot of people learn on a Honda Shadow. Great thing is there are a million of them out there and a dime a dozen around here. Also, my brother had a V-Star 600 and light and easy to learn on and low. One metric company has a 250 cruiser out, cant remember who but someone on here knows....


Yeah, What Rooster37 said.

 

Thank you all for the replies and stories. Some very interesting reads here. So here is an update. My wife, Robin, gave up the idea of riding on her own. I just went with the flow. I want her to do what she is comfortable with and I was not going to push the issue.

In the meantime our oldest son had started looking for a bike and we went with him a lot looking at used and new bikes. He ended up getting a sweet deal on a used 883 iron. Last week he took and passed the safety course. So my wife is now asking him all sorts of questions. The same ones she asked me. WTF? I swear sometimes it's just because we are married that she refuses to believe me. And hell I am easy going about it all. So, one day I come home and guess who is riding my son's iron up and down the driveway? Yep. With my son teaching her. I saw the smile on her face and knew what that meant. So now she is getting her permit and has registered for the safety course. After she gets her license we are still going to go look around at different bikes. Not sold on the 883 yet although I think she could handle it.

Thanks again everyone for your input. I really appreciate it

 

If a person can't learn how to ride on an 883 low they can't ride anything. My son started on a Honda Rebel 450 and moved to the 883 in one month. He regrets not starting on the Sporty. It actually handles better then the Honda in his opinion.

And why does everyone assume she's gonna drop it a few times? Most of the people I know have never dropped their bike. Ever. Even if they've never ridden before.

 

I'll chime in with my 2c worth. Female 55 and 5'6", returning rider after over 25 years not riding. I did the MSF course about 5 weeks ago on a nasty Kawasaki 250 that was too low for me, passed and went out and bought a 1200c Sporty. I'm loving it and it's not too heavy to ride at all. Did 50 miles today without any jitters or nerves and I'm not finding it too powerful. Admittedly the mechanics of riding have come back right away so I'm not having to think what my hands and feet are doing while I ride.

I personally think that there is no point your wife buying any bike till she does the MSF course. She might hate riding.

 

I've got .02c too.

I've just started riding this year and am female. 5'6" I started on the vstar 650. It is a bit heavier than some other "starter" bikes at about 520 lb. wet, but worked fine for me.

While taking the MSF class, I actually chose a little dual sport. THAT to me, was the perfect tool to learn to ride... for a girl.

As for the vstar, it worked fine AFTER the course. I wasn't thrilled with the way it got thrown around in the wind at highway speed though. I didn't even realize it was an issue, until I took the first ride on a larger bike. A friend of mine, is still slowly learning on her vstar 250, and happy with it.

So much depends on confidence, miles driven, and whether we like it or not. I took to it like a fish in water, and I'm not looking back. Love my new Switchback, and often trade with my husband and ride his Ultra Classic so he can "play" on the 103. I don't think size matters once the confidence is there, but I think too much bike would have wrecked my confidence early on in the game. (My humble beginning rider opinion)

 

Ill agree with the Vstar 650, I had a 650 custom and the Lowering mods are easy and just plain good looking. 3-4 inch lowering mod that takes one hole drilled ote and 2 extra washers. Im 5'8 and the bike seat standing was eazilly 5-6 maybe more inches from my inseam. If bent on a harley, the most Menuverable by far is the sporster, she should look at the XL1200L LOW or the 883 LOW Version. They both have more that enough power. She should have a year or 2 on either of these 3 bikes before even thinking of a Big Twin.

Heres the 650 lowered, front raised, drag pipes 4 inch pullback risers. Sold it in April.

 

I really think the key is you have to let her figure it out. If she wants to ride and what she wants to ride. No one could have figured it out for you so you can't figure it out for her.
But if she wants to discuss it with other woman who ride send her to us. The queen are everything from seasoned riders to brand new ones.
Good luck and congrats on your boy getting a bike.