First Bike for Wife

[norcalmotocross]

I did some searching and gathered some information, but some of the topics seem to go off topic towards the end and I never quite found what I was looking for, so if this has been asked 1 million times before, I apologize.

My wife is 5'5 145-155 lbs. She is in good shape and not a timid person, nor a complete kamikaze. She is a great snowboarder, and can wakeboard, ride a skateboard, bikes no problem.

My son and I go to the motocross track every weekend, we dont do much trail riding. A few months back, we borrowed a TTR125LE for the weekend and my wife road the kids/womens track and had a blast. Now she hooked, we went to the shop and she bought everything she needed (except helmet, we couldnt find one that fit quite right), but I digress.

The TTR125 was to small, it was perfect for her to get her feet wet, but when she would stand up on the pegs, it was clear it was way to low. I saw a thread on here about a KLX140 that they put KX100 forks on it, but the thread morphed and turned into another topic.

I look at the TTR230 and the CRF230 and they just look heavy and not fun to ride. My son and I ride 250fs, and while I think she could ride it around in 2nd gear, its just to fast of a bike for new rider. So I am stuck. To big for a TTR125 style bike, not experienced enough for a 250F. I though maybe a WR250F, but they are even heavier than my bike.

I am worried about being the over protective husband, I can can watch my 17 year old son crash off a 60 ft triple and not blink an eye, but my wife tips over in a corner and my heart stops.

Do I go with a heavier WR250F style bike and just let her fight through lifting up when she crashes? At least it has electric start.

Just looking for some feedback? She has no desire to race, just cruise around the pratice track and maybe hit some off road trails now and then.

Thanks for the help.

[Deviant253]

the WR is a good choice. If that is too heavy for her you could always try a 125(yz,cr,kx, ect). They may be a little fast and choppy but with a flywheel weight it could work.

[norcalmotocross]

the WR is a good choice. If that is too heavy for her you could always try a 125(yz,cr,kx, ect). They may be a little fast and choppy but with a flywheel weight it could work.

I was thinking yz125. I am fairly new to riding, so we have never ridden 2 strokes, can you elaborate on the flywheel weight idea? They 125 2 stroke looks so peppy, I am worried it would get away from here. But maybe thats me worrying to much

[657pinkKTM]

Kdx200

[vinilla gorilla]

CRF150R. A great track bike that's a four stroke and she can learn on and get faster on.

[YamaMama]

Check out the sticky at the top of the forum to see what other gals are riding (or have ridden). If you guys plan to ride a LOT, more bike may be better. If you don't ride often (or she doesn't plan to ride often), more bike can be like starting over every time she rides. If she just wants to putter, wants something light, the smaller bikes can be modded to be more comfy for a taller rider. The USD forks, remounting the rear shock, tall seat foam, bar risers (and longer cables) can all make the bikes fit the rider better. Same to be said for the bigger bikes... shaving seat foam, lowering links.

It is all in the type of rider she is going to be. If you are going to ride every weekend, she'll outgrow the smaller bikes fast. The same scenario, she'll build strength fast to pick up the heavier bike (but will probably need some help because she's going to be down a lot in the beginning).

Once you figure out a few possibilities (try looking at and sitting on new ones in the shop), check out the forums for the individual bikes. There is tons of info on here if you make the effort to look (did you try looking for the fork mod in the bike specific forums?).

Everyone has an opinion on what the right bike is... but you won't truly know for sure what that is until she has a bike to ride and has some serious seat time. Hopefully you pick right the first time around... but be prepared to sell that first bike!

[LR615]

Don't totally disregard the 250F's. Im about the same height and weight as your wife and when I decided I wanted to ride my husband and I were looking into getting either a CRF150 or an RMZ250. We were both worried I would out grow the CRF150 pretty fast and didn’t want to bother with trying to sell and buy a new bike so I ended up getting the RMZ250 and im totally loving it!!! Since I won’t ride without being able to reach the ground I had to shave most of my seat and change out the linkage. It was/is a good beginner bike for me, I putted around in 2nd gear for the first few months but I have tons of power to grow into. The bike was a little heavy at first but after about 3 months I was able to pick the bike up myself and after about 6 months I was able to put it on the stand on my own (a mini stand but it happens to be the perfect height for my bike after changing the linkage). Sorry for rambling....

Let us know what you guys decide on and how much she likes it!

[norcalmotocross]

Thanks for help. I wasnt sure what to look for in terms of mods, so I couldnt search the site very well.

She is going to ride this weekend on my 250f, just to get a feel for it and let her make the call if its to much. Ill start looking for linkage kits and lowering kits.

Thanks again. Ill post back with our results.

[blndebmbr]

Hopefully you will check back one more time on this thread. I would try really hard to get her on a WR/CR___X. Main reason is suspension. Yes the TTR's are a hoot, however the (stock) suspension totally blows. Try any kind of jumping and it only gets worse from there.

The CR150R could be fun, however it isn't any taller than the TTR125.

Her learning curve on the taller bike will be huge. I am 5'6" (32" inseam-the part that matters.) and tippy toe on the 250F. As long as she is prepared for the challenge of not touching, she should do ok. First thing to teach her is to slide her butt to the side of the seat when stopping. For some odd reason that one took me forever to realize. I would just stop and tip over!!! ?

The full size bike is feasible, it will just be tough until she gets the ins and outs of it. The e-start would be such a benefit to her. Kicking when you can't touch is such an additional challenge/frustration. Good luck and keep us posted!

[Plushpuppy]

If you got her a wr you'd have a great trail bike to use ?

I pm'ed you

[tangerinesarah2008]

Honda 230... best bike EVER... electric start, easy to handle, its not that heavy... I am the same height and weight as your wife, and I can pick up the bike, just takes practice (riding... learning to fall properly... it all takes practice...) I started riding in January, I ride almost every weekend, people think I have been riding for years... nope... just lots of practice... Get her the rear seat tugger if she needs help lifting the bike, besides, I am sure you could lift it for her. good luck!