No doubt two up touring on a Softail can be a challenge, especially camping. You might find the Aerostich web page to be a cool read. They cater to the adventure touring and sport touring crowd, but I use their dry bags, and their various size luggage bags to help organize things. And, they sell ROK straps of various sizes. They're bungee cords on steroids, excellent stuff. Forgive me if you know about all this, but other readers might find the web page interesting.
Another great idea would be to get your partner riding his own bike......
Another great idea would be to get your partner riding his own bike......
Definitely trying to get my gf into riding herself.
She's very iffy about it and much more of a chill at home and do stuff indoors than I am.
But the more and more she's around me and the bikes, the more she's getting the interest up, and she wants one of those little mini bikes people were riding around at DreamRoll. I found a mini 40cc 4 stroke that looks like a tiny M8 Fat Boy and she's down for us getting one and her learning to put put around.
The biggest problem is really that she's so damn short. She's only 4ft11in, and it makes so many bikes intimidating and out of reach for her. So we've been searching for bikes that she can tippy toe or we could slam down and let her flat foot. She's really scared of not being able to flatfoot.
I'm not gonna push her, but if I can get her to ride her own bike that'd be fantastic.
She REALLY likes a lot of the choppers and wants something pink. She follows this biker gal on instagram who just started building a Sportster chopper, and she really liked the Glam Fairy by FNA Customs. She asked if it was ok for a motorcycle to be pink so I showed her Eric's pink chopper since it looks so radical. She thought it was great.
She sat on a Rebel 250 and can ALMOST tippy toe.
I wonder if someone is going to make some slammer shocks for the new Nightster, because doing paint or wrap of pink would be really easy on that bike, and with Rainmode and a full crash cage, I would be ok with a new rider riding that bike.
Would absolutely make things a lot easier if we could each ride in our own gear.
This has the makings of a new thread. I met a lady who was riding a cruiser style bike, might have been a Yamaha. She was very short but handled the bike just fine. I bet some of the members here would have all kinds of suggestions for different makes and models, modifications, platform boots, etc. If riding is truly for her, she'll figure something out!
Talked to a lady on a "dresser" a few weeks ago. She was petite and said her bike was lowered, seat was lowered, and she wore thick soled boots. She said this total combination made the bike comfortable and she didn't have any lack of confidence. As has been said, tipovers WILL happen, but there is almost always someone willing to help you pick it up. My softtail standard "feels" lower and I can easily flat foot it, A softtail can be lowered pretty easily- all it tales is time and $.
Installed the Trask Power Plate. Piece of cake install. Definitely fixed the slipping I was feeling. Lever pull is a little stronger, but not enough to worry about.
Definitely trying to get my gf into riding herself.
She's very iffy about it and much more of a chill at home and do stuff indoors than I am.
But the more and more she's around me and the bikes, the more she's getting the interest up, and she wants one of those little mini bikes people were riding around at DreamRoll. I found a mini 40cc 4 stroke that looks like a tiny M8 Fat Boy and she's down for us getting one and her learning to put put around.
The biggest problem is really that she's so damn short. She's only 4ft11in, and it makes so many bikes intimidating and out of reach for her. So we've been searching for bikes that she can tippy toe or we could slam down and let her flat foot. She's really scared of not being able to flatfoot.
I'm not gonna push her, but if I can get her to ride her own bike that'd be fantastic.
She REALLY likes a lot of the choppers and wants something pink. She follows this biker gal on instagram who just started building a Sportster chopper, and she really liked the Glam Fairy by FNA Customs. She asked if it was ok for a motorcycle to be pink so I showed her Eric's pink chopper since it looks so radical. She thought it was great.
She sat on a Rebel 250 and can ALMOST tippy toe.
I wonder if someone is going to make some slammer shocks for the new Nightster, because doing paint or wrap of pink would be really easy on that bike, and with Rainmode and a full crash cage, I would be ok with a new rider riding that bike.
Would absolutely make things a lot easier if we could each ride in our own gear.
If it does not have to be HD, you can find a Shadow for her to begin with. Honda Shadows are low, easy to handle, and you can find them really cheap. A buddies wife is 4'10" and rides a lowered heritage and says a Deluxe works well also.
I haven't ridden a Nightster, but I have a Sportster S, and that bike is more fun than a basket full of kittens. I wouldn't give up my LRS for it, but I really enjoy it, and it is especially nice to have a light bike when I am in town. I would guess that the Nightster is a similar riding experience, but with a lower center of gravity (gas tank under the seat), and maybe better for heat (lower exhaust pipes). I would not hesitate to use either of these bikes as a first bike -- what you have is a 500 lb bike, and in rain mode it has very mild, predictable performance and a full suite of safety systems (ABS, traction control, etc.) I guess my only caveat would be that the new rider would have to be someone you can trust to keep it in rain mode for a while while they are developing their basic skills, because it is a whole different ride in sport mode. Things can start happening pretty quickly in sport mode, and might get ahead of a new rider. The Sporty seems to have a pretty low standover height, but I'm 6'1", so I can't fully appreciate what it would be like for someone 5'.
My go to bike for new riders is the SV650, light handles great and can be made snappy as your skills increase. At < 5 feet tall the seat height would be the main thing. Thinking Triumph has a few small single cylinder bikes but the seat height might still be an issue.
Sportys are one of my favs but they are a bit top heavy. An 883Low might fit the bill.
My older brother is learning to ride and he digs my Amazon kit bike an air cooled enduro. It’s super light and when I take all of the preload off the rear spring it settles enough for him to ride comfortably. The little kit bike we call Kim Jong is a blast, over a year old 1.5k miles and starts right up, sounds like a wet fart and has the cool dumb & dumber vibe.
@FranBunnyFFXII , might I suggest some throw over waterproof saddlebags? A lot of your strapped on gear there will travel in them, and prevent the risk of loose gear falling off or getting tangled up in the wheel.
For your GF, don't forget thickish soled boots, they help me quite a bit. Not silly platform shoes like ole Huggybear used to wear, just an inch or two under the ***** of the feet, and 3-4 under the heels.
Presuming you're looking at new bikes for her, so you can get ABS and such, the likes of the Honda Rebel 300 might fit the bill for a year or two. The 500 would fit longer, but it's more bike for a new rider.
08-18-2024, 08:28 PM
