A good bike to learn on that you can resell pretty easy and will teach you all sorts of throttle control and you won't have to worry about dropping it hasn't been said yet.

A 225XT or 250XT dualsport or something similar. She can learn on dirt and street and you don't have to worry a thing about dropping it. It's low cost, and resells decent. Plus since it is dirt bred, it's got low end torque to get you use to twitchy throttle.

Yamaha TW200 would also fit the bill.

Do you pat her on the head when you talk to her about it?

How about, did you ever say the words "You shouldn't get that..."

I only ask because women won't hear any of the reasons WHY - they just hear the YOU SHOULDN'T part and assume you mean THEY can't. Not that any human shouldn't - but that THEY can't because of some inability that they have.

At that point, said female will usually ball up their fists and assume the petulant child "I can do it myself" stance.

If that is the case - the ladies here [myself included] would be more than happy to help her off the ledge.

I wish everyone can hear and see you give this speech. :lol: Especially the balling of fists and "I can do it myself" part. It's the best. :lol:

If she is forking out the cash for it, tell her to go for it. If she expects you to help out, deny your funds. Just get her to take MSF.

F4I huge??? My wife is 5'1" at most, she rode the Ninja 500 prior to the F4i, for HER there was no comparison between the ride and which one SHE rode better, the F4I weighs slightly less the the Ninja 500 dry. She could not wait to get off the Ninja, whereas she has that I want to play some more look when she gets off the F4I.

I also think that the compression braking and general engine characteristics of a twin, (low end torque and such) relatively speaking sometimes can be more of a deterrent than the smoothness of an I4 style engine. My wife certainly felt that way at least.

As mentioned everyone will have their own choices/preferences but in the end it's her choice and as Lauralynne was alluding to most female riders can start off with bikes that perhaps teenage or younger males should not because most women are not looking to prove anything.

Agreed. Although I pretty much bought what my now husband suggested. And I liked it. A lot of women like the SV but I do not and she might not either.

She will do everything better if she is able to get the bike that is more comfortable for her. She will trust it and feel all around better therefore allowing herself the freedom to learn and just ride.

That is exactly what I was told at the track too, that the women tend to learn more and better because they "don't have anything to prove".

I started on a 250 Ninja and loved it. Looking back my hubby said he would have rather I started on the 500 since it's a little more powerful. I could have ridden it a little longer, but he broke me by letting me ride his ZX9. It was downhill from there (in me getting a 600).

In our riding group, all of our wives or girlfriends ride their own bikes or are in the process of gaining experience. The most experienced in terms of years riding and mileage is about 2 years/12,000 miles she started on a Ninja 250 went to a katana 600 to her present 07 GSXR 600. My wife started on the 500 because I bought it at a good she deal hated it, and then moved up to the F4I which she loves and feels completely confident/comfortable and it shows big time. The other women started out on 06 and 07 R6s with one having some dirt bike experience and the other having no experience at all. We have one more just learning on her boyfriends GSXR.

Not a single one has crashed or had any type of incident. For the most part I'd bet the farm with a group of guys the story would be different.

If she's short and a small build it will limit the majority of bikes for her. I'm 5'2 and about 110lbs. and only have about a 29" inseam. I can't reach the ground on either the Ninja 500 or the F4i. When I say can't reach the ground I mean there's a good few inches between my tipy tiptoes and the ground. It would take some major lowering for me to be able to ride either of those bikes.....or have someone waiting for me to hold the bike up when I came to a stop each time. :panic: I strongly agree with everyone's comments to take her to sit on a few bikes and see what she likes. She'll know what she's comfortable with or not. I'd also recommend she go through the MSF class before you guys went bike shopping or you took her out in the dirt. My boyfriend tried to teach me how to ride back in college and all that did was annoy me and make me want to kill him. Neither of us had the patience for that.

What bike do you own/ride now? We did lower than ninja about 3/4" and I lowered the F4i about 2.5 inches for her.