I received this question from a potential beginning rider:
A very close high school friend of mine was just killed by a drunk driver on her bike.
Instead of shying away from riding this has made me want to ride even more.
My question is this, she was built like me 5 foot tall 95 lbs. She was riding a 2009 Ducati Monster when she died. I do not know what size bike would work for someone of my stature.
I have been reading website after website with no luck. Can someone here please help…
Shilo
No related posts.
13. December 2010 at 3:09 pm
Shilo,
I’m sorry for your loss. I don’t profess to understand the complexity of your emotions… and your new desire to purchase a motorcycle.
The ‘best beginning motorcycle’ is different for every rider. Looking and researching is fine. But for now, I would hold-off on purchasing one.
As you know first hand, there are serious risks associated with owning/riding a motorcycle. Coming to grips with the death of your friend is more important.
14. December 2010 at 7:49 pm
Shilo,
I agree with David, my advice would be to hold off buying a bike and take care of you and the emotions of losing a friend. No need to rush into a big decision like buying a your first bike. You have plenty of time to look into motorcycling.
You may want to ask a trusted family member about your decision to start riding. Keeping in mind that high school has enough pressure of studying and preparing for collage. Holding off may be the best thing for now.. Take care good luck!
2. January 2011 at 9:08 pm
Shilo,
I agree with the others on dealing with your emotions first. Being districted is never good when riding.
That said, I would suggest the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic Rider Coarse before you even buy a bike. First it will give you some hands on experience and information on sizing a bike. You should be able to flat foot the bike for safety when stopping.
Before I started riding I read that a first bike should not be over powered. I would likely look for something 650cc or less and be cautious of sport bikes. Really what a beginner should be careful of is a bike with too much torque where it can over power the beginning rider. A sport bike look without too much torque would be fine. One needs to learn to ride safe.
Two things to remember… anyone can get hit and killed by a drunk driver. It really doesn’t matter if you’re on a bike or in a car. Second, and most importantly, you need to ride safe and defensively. One needs to ride like there are lots of idiots on the road.
Take the BRC and ride safe.
21. January 2011 at 9:19 pm
To answer your question – no one can say what type of bike is suitable for a certain size person (man or woman).
It all depends on past experience and your confidence and ability to ride the specific bike. My advice would be to just test ride as many bikes as you can to get a feel for it. Of course there are more practical considerations like seat height, how easily you can touch the ground etc. But if you really want to you can find ways to ride around things like that (like sliding towards the left side of the seat before you stop, so you can put your foot down easier, etc.)
Of course the generally accepted rule is that if you’re completely new to riding it’s not a good idea to buy a 1000cc sportsbike or a Hayabusa or something like that. But you haven’t said anything about previous riding experience, but it sounds like you’ll be new to riding. But again the main thing is that you’re comfortable, confident and able to safely ride the bike, whatever it may be.
Hope that helps, and take care.