Bike for the wife

[HeliMark]

Looking for suggestions on a different bike for my wife. She currently has a Harley Sportster (Iron) 1200 that she loves, but it is killing her neck. Every time I ride it (fun) potholes in the road kills my back. She does not really want to do anything dirt, but okay with the idea of good dirt roads. We are also planning on doing more long distance rides as I will be retiring in the next 1-2 years.

She has had a Ninja 250 (weak on the freeway), Harley Dyna Superglide, and several Sportsters. She loves the Sportster for the size (she is 5' 4"). I am looking more towards the Vee Strom 650 for the size (will lower) and suspension. The 1000 would be too heavy for her, much less the S10. She has sat on the "Wee" and liked it, and we will set up a test ride in the near future. She was not as happy with sitting on a KLR. Looked at the Honda (NC700), but I have read that it is good up to about 70 mph and freeways around here, you will be run over. Would love to have a shaft drive. BMW, which as a brand I want to stay away from (been there, done that). Looking for reliability, so not so sure about the British/Italian bikes. It does not necessarily need to be a adventure style bike, just something that has a decent suspension for the size of bike that would fit her and would do well on the freeway.

What say you?

-Mark

 

[True Grip]

Hey Mark she might like an FZ6. They can be lowered and have some wind protection. They won't run out of steam on the highway. I had one and thought it was an underrated bike. I changed fork springs and put heavier weight oil in the forks for better rebound. You can put some Givi bags on it and it travels pretty well. She may need an after market seat,stocker is pretty bad for long days. Good thing is you can buy them cheap. Just a thought.

 

[Firefight911]

Wait until after June 5th to decide. There could be a new Yamaha that could fit the bill in the new twin they are bringing to market. Also, go take a look at the new Ducati Monster 1200. That is an amazing bike that would fit her extremely well.

 

[arjayes]

Wait until after June 5th to decide. There could be a new Yamaha that could fit the bill in the new twin they are bringing to market. Also, go take a look at the new Ducati Monster 1200. That is an amazing bike that would fit her extremely well.

Can't imagine a Monster for long distances. How about a Ninja 1000? About the same seat height as the Wee-Strom. Heavier, but a sweet bike and built for long rides.

 

[Checkswrecks]

How about a nice FZ-09 with a plexi windshield?

 

[HeliMark]

Not looking for a "sport" bike setup. We are looking more for a adv/cruiser set up. Sit up more straight. Her back wouldn't handle it. The Ninja 1000 would be ticket city.


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[Firefight911]

You're way wrong on the new Monster 1200 Duc. Do not judge this bike by its past or pedigree. It's an all day cruiser easily. I've ridden it and it can be just about anything, except the adventure part.

Wee Strom would fit for what you're after.



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[Firefight911]

What about the Moto Guzzi California?

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[archer]

Anybody riden the Moto Guzzi V7? Shaft drive. Small. Light weight. Easy handling. Air cooled motor. Easy low tech major fun! If I was going to buy my wife a bike to go on rides with me, that would probably be the one. Most Guzzi dealers are happy to give demos. I'd recommend you check it out. ::001::

 

[Firefight911]

Anybody riden the Moto Guzzi V7? Shaft drive. Small. Light weight. Easy handling. Air cooled motor. Easy low tech major fun! If I was going to buy my wife a bike to go on rides with me, that would probably be the one. Most Guzzi dealers are happy to give demos. I'd recommend you check it out. ::001::

Yes, it's a great run about. It is anemic when asked to push all day touring but the day trip up to the twisties and vistas are what this thing begs for. It's always more fun to ride a slow bike fast than it is to ride a fast bike slow.

 

[rfulcher]

How about a used BMW R1100RS. My wife is 5'5" and can flat foot the bike stock. Her bike is a silver 2000 R1100RS and has been reliable since we went thru it to inspect, repair, replace, and tune. I have not had to do anything except routine maintenance. We got one in rough shape from being stored for $3000 put about a $1000 into upgrades and repairs and it has been great since. You might find a well maintained one that needs nothing. I think the pre 2000 bikes were more reliable and should have issues/recalls worked out. I would not bother if you are not willing to work on it yourself or have a good shop that you trust to go thru it and maintain it for you. I tend to lean toward the independent BMW specialists.

PS, I have no desire to deal with a modern BMW but I kind of like the old boxer BMWs

 

[HeliMark]

Although I am thinking more on the lines of the strom, we want to look at all of them, and test ride what she can. All of the suggestions we will look at.

As said before, one of the most important ingredients is suspension, that is why I am more on the lines of the adv style suspension travel. I just won't mention that when the S10 is parked next to her current bike, she thinks hers looks like a scooter....

Mark

 

[MotoPumps]

My wife has an Iron 883, GSX650F, XT250 and 2007 VStrom 650 (lowered). The VStrom gets all the miles, especially on long trips. They are great bikes. Easy to ride, fast, fun, fuel efficient, handle great, easy to work on, cheap to own.

Rob

 

[Rainer]

Kawasaki Versys 650

 

[liguorien]

^
That's our combo....
An S10 for me,
& a Versys for her

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[Rainer]

Here is a good summary of the Versys:
Three Years with a Kawasaki Versys

And when you twist the throttle, you can also have fun (FFW to 1:30):
Versys 650 - 220Km/h & Knee Down