My girlfriend and I have been together for over 2 years now. She went with me last summer and attended a motorcycle safety program and was actually the only female to complete the 2 day course. She has basic background knowledge of riding dirt bikes and 4 wheelers but she is set on getting a zx300r. I trust her ability behind the bars but it still scares me a little. Finding some decently priced bikes and have about $2000 dollars to put down. Anyone ridden one before or know any females who ride one? Do you feel this a bike she can learn well on and keep for a while? I think we are gonna make a trip down to Ridersville cycle in WV on Friday and see what we can do. I wish i could talk her into a supermoto! lol
My Daughter did the same, only I bought her a Suzuki 250 exciter, basically the same as they used in the riders course in NJ. She rode dirt bikes too & was top of her class. Instructor said I can tell she rides in the dirt, cause she wasn't afraid of moving around on the bike while riding. The Ninja cool, but I'd take the fairing off , til she get some miles under her, cause it would suck the 1st time she does a parking lot dump. I remember my 1st new street, a 82 KZ550, I rode from the dealer to a friend house to show it off & it rolled forward off the side stand & over she went. Find a used bike, let her ride it & i'll bet she'll want a 500 by next year.. I only keep the 550 1 season & moved to a 750 the following year. Now's a great time to look for a bike , before the warm weather starts to get people in the mood for riding.... Husky John
only 2 problems with the smaller ninjas in my opinion...as above, the fairing can get damaged by falling over easily, and the powerband. the 300 will only be happy when being operated somewhat hard (think 125)...they will flow with traffic fine but they have to be run...the price is certainly right and they have little roll on power. roll on is nice and almost a safety feature at times...
Like they said, take the fairings off. At the very least get frame sliders. There really isn't a better option. It will be good to learn on and even when she gets better she'll embarass people on big bikes in the twisties. I'd really have her sit on a cbr300 and that bike to see which one feels better to her. A comfortable seating position will be important
there are lots of options, maybe less if all you are considering is a brand new machine. for a first time rider, not sure thats a good idea.
WARNING: Words from a guy well over 30 here. Lots of options for sure with bike riding ... I've said it before out here on different life adventures, you gotta plan for the down side ... Everyone can handle the up side usually so its the easy side also... You omitted your ages and did mention your GF has some dirt bike riding experience and some quad stuff ... First, that quad stuff is about useless for bike riding other than wind in your face and bugs in your teeth. And you gotta jump off both sometimes in the event of a crash. You will never lay a quad over like a bike to stop the machine in an emergency event. I laied a bike at age ~14 and have executed that move dozens of times through the yrs to save myself or just to stop before it got worst ... Don't know if this bike-move can be practiced on a street bike but you can do it all day long on a dirt bike. Same as the most important safety device on a bike, the front brake. Lots of riders are afraid of this device. ESP street riders from what I've gathered thu the yrs ... talked to many who say the brake caused the crash they had. I'll admit, the first disc brake on my 02 CR250 was scary (12 ys back) ... I got out in a dirt field and at high speed, I would grab that front brake hard and harder trying to lock it. Maybe 20 times in a row till it was apparent to me that the brake does not want to lock. Brakes are very good on bikes now...beyond most of our abilities I'd guess. If you are afraid of that brake, might be a good idea to help yourself and others possibility, by getting with that safety device or stop riding. Responsibility ... It's an adult word. Kids never use it and pretty much are exempt from it. It's too hard a word for most. You ride a bike, you are living that word whether or not you conceive it as such. Not really but it's heaven and hell. Good luck with your riding and your GF ...
Thanks for all your input. My girlfriend is 27 years young and I am 24. She has a level head on her shoulders and has gone on plenty of rides with me on the TE and even runs it around the neighborhood on her own. The motorcycle safety program was definitely a good course for her to learn (she was also riding a Crf230f in supermoto trim) but I feel like it wasn't quite challenging enough for her also. I am more so worried about just educating her on safe riding and always being fully aware, you know like those split second decisions. I am hoping that she becomes an aggressive rider but only in a good way. We'll see what happens tomorrow!
I understand where your coming from Dave, I do. it's a whole 'nother game on the street. She's older than me and even her parents tell her they don't want her to have a bike. I am confident in her as a person and as a operator and I feel like she will be okay. We will definitely start out slow and in less stressful environments (open back roads that sorta thing) and slowly make baby steps into building her own confidence on the bike. She's built pretty well and is very strong for a female. I wouldn't worry about her and the weight of the motorcycle, she's definitely strong! Not one of those lil 5'5" 110lb things lol . I also don't want her to become discouraged or afraid if something were to happen. I'm also going to invest in some nice gear for her and some good protection for the bike.
wear all the gear all the time...with a level head and good planning that will cut out the vast majority of accidents on a bike...of course some things cannot be avoided. always plan an escape path...
A small used cruiser type bike like a Honda 450 rebel or something for cheap like that is probably the best bet. Low and easy to ride and inexpensive tool for learning. Let her learn and drop it a few times then move to a nice bike.
My girl friend asked me to help her find a bike. she hasn't been riding long and started on a Honda 750 Spirit Shadow...A cruiser. I looked around wondering what bike to get her and found the perfect bike. A Honda RC31 otherwise known as a Honda Hawk 650 GT. It's got some pep, it handles pretty good, stops very well and easy on maintenance. Fits her perfect and she loves it. She rides everyday the sun shines. Well the Hawk gave her so much confidence over the cruiser that she bought a BMW R1200R. We found her a very clean used one with the lower frame and seat. Now she struggles to decide which bike to ride! Mike
I think the ninja 300 will be boring within half a year in Holland the learners bike on all driving schools starts with 550cc (cruiser or touring bike) I have a CB 400 Vtec (variable cam timing) which I would say is a great bike to start with but also to continue with. you keep it below 3000 rpm and it is responding like a moped you keep it below 7000 rpm and it is responding like crf 230 type of bike hitting 7000 rpm and above this bike does spit venom (sort of 2stroke hitting the power band) I bought this bike below market value, very cheap with the idea of testing it out and resell it in about 2 a 3 months I have it now 3.5 years to use it in the city and my wife doesn't alow to sell it Robert-Jan
People have been riding 250 ninjas for their first street bike for a looong time. Let the lady decide. Safer that way...
She pulled the trigger on a black '14 ninja 300. I'm happy for her. We got a fair price on the bike. She was torn between that and the cbr300 but chose the Kawasaki. She seemed set on a 300 and is now very eager to ride. I'm ready for some new adventures as well. We'll be picking the bike up Thursday. Will grab a couple pictures then! Thanks guys.
