Getting ready to get my first bike! Advice?

[maggie47]

I've got a lil' Ninja (250), and I love her. My husband, who has much more riding experience than me (this is my first season), loves the lil Ninja too. He still has fun when he rides it. I'm 5'6", and I flat foot it, but I think I've got unnaturally long legs, because I flat foot my hubby's 600 as well. So, my vote is for the 250. We looked into some 500's because they were cheap, but there was something that always kept us from committing. Other than that, MSF, ATGATT, and remember no one sees you.

[Fizzer]

Originally Posted by maggie47

I've got a lil' Ninja (250), and I love her. My husband, who has much more riding experience than me (this is my first season), loves the lil Ninja too. He still has fun when he rides it. I'm 5'6", and I flat foot it, but I think I've got unnaturally long legs, because I flat foot my hubby's 600 as well. So, my vote is for the 250. We looked into some 500's because they were cheap, but there was something that always kept us from committing. Other than that, MSF, ATGATT, and remember no one sees you.

This is me on my friends 250R. She slammed it 1.5 inches lower than stock too, and STILL has trouble getting both feet on the ground. She has to wear these bizarre, dominatrix-logging boots in order to reach the ground. It is phenomenally entertaining, although she DID drop her bike on me once on her last visit up here......

I am 6'0" btw and can easily flatfoot my FZ1 which has a 32.5" seat height.

[Fizzer]

Something just occurred to me young lady. I mentioned that 1N (her name is Jen, but with one "N", hence her nickname, lol) had dropped her bike on me last time she was up here. That happened just because of something Mawnkie mentioned earlier. She was not in a "rut" but was parking the bike accross an incline which makes the bike feel taller on one side, in this case her right, and her foot couldnt reach the ground with out leaning the bike over severely. In this case, the point of no return on her strength to right the bike was reached, and PLOP over it went on to my (fortunately braced) right leg. I caught the bike with no problem, partly because I saw what was about to happen, and partly becuase the 250R weighs so little. The point here is that your first few boo-boos are likely to be 'drops'. NOt full-boat crashes. Bear that in mind and you should be fine.

[PartyGurle]

Mine is lowered quite a bit, as you can see here, even TravisJ can sit on it
(I've got a lowering link with 5 holes, from a place in Cali called Roaring Toyz. I had it all the way down to that last hole, but have since brought it back up one hole since it was too far down and we ended up lowering the front end a bit when we put on the clip ons.)

[BrotherGrim]

Originally Posted by Fizzer

This is me on my friends 250R. She slammed it 1.5 inches lower than stock too, and STILL has trouble getting both feet on the ground. She has to wear these bizarre, dominatrix-logging boots in order to reach the ground. It is phenomenally entertaining, although she DID drop her bike on me once on her last visit up here......

I am 6'0" btw and can easily flatfoot my FZ1 which has a 32.5" seat height.

Hmmmmm,

Pics of girl with dominatrix boots is now a requirement. Bike in background would be saweeeet, but not required.

[SassyBikerChick]

I have to agree with several of the posts already on here. I really think the 250 is your best bet. It's definitely the lightest and most nimble bike out there, plus the seat height is a good bit lower than any of the other bikes. I could flat foot the 250 without lowering it. I'm 5'3" and have about a 29" inseam, if that gives you any idea. I really wish I'd had the finances to keep the 250 and get the 750, but that just wasn't possible. Heck, there have been SEVERAL times lately that I wish I hadn't upgraded at all. The 250 was such a fun little bike to ride...and it was a bonus to be outriding guys on 600's and 1000's when I was on a measly little 250 Seriously though, go sit on the bikes and see which one feels the best to you, and definitely keep weight of the bike and size of the engine in mind.