Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think what we're gonna do first is check out some mini motos like a little 50cc mini bike/pocket bike, or one of those maddogg knockoff honda Ruckus bikes.
Something cheap and easy, and if she doesnt like it, I can play with it afterwards.
Unfortunately atm we're a bit stuck since we have to move house, and I lost my "garage" a few days ago. (**** never stops rolling down hill does it?)
Next year when Demo days tours start up for bikes we'll keep watch and ill bring her along to sit on bikes and see what she can handle or not.
So far the Iron 883 with slammed shocks and lowered forks may be the bet we go with, since that's a bike I know how to maintain and work on.
Not going to be able to work on and finish my bike for a while.
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.
did you consider air shocks? You can have the bike slammed when parking, backing, etc… then raise it after getting up to speed.
steve
did you consider air shocks? You can have the bike slammed when parking, backing, etc… then raise it after getting up to speed.
steve
It's not a bad option. I had a 07 Road Glide that I put on air (frt/rear) for a couple years. It was purely for looks when parked. I ended up going back to conventional suspension as the air system took up a lot of space, wiring and just didn't handle very well.
If someone needed to be able to adjust it on the fly, as in raise after pulling away from a parking spot, you would need to have a tank on-board. Otherwise it takes a long time to raise up when there is rider weight on the system. My experience with them is 5+ years ago, so maybe something has changed since then, but I was using quality stuff. Arnott shocks, Viair compressor and Accuair dump block.
did you consider air shocks? You can have the bike slammed when parking, backing, etc… then raise it after getting up to speed.
steve
Actually yes I was looking into Arnott air ride for the rear. If we can put the switch on the bars and she can flip it to drop the bike down while coming to a stop, and can lift it up when she puts her feet on the pegs that'd be awesome.
I'm just worried that it would be very jerky and difficult to do safely, I'm also not sure if the drop touches the tire to the fender or not.
We were looking at a street bob 114, and I was thinking if I can put an airbag rear on that and have it drop and raise slowly, it'd be a bike she could ride and It'd also be a bike that I know inside and out how to work on.
Problem is spending that much money on a first bike is a really bad idea.
But it is a option we're hoping works out if she wants a bike like mine in the future.
It would be awkward and not something I would put on an inexperienced rider. If she's really light weight, lowering a Street Bob would be better. The ride wouldn't be as compromised with a lighter person. I would rather spend money on a nice lowered shock that can be custom made to he specs. Wilbur maybe?
Zach
Originally Posted by FranBunnyFFXII
Actually yes I was looking into Arnott air ride for the rear. If we can put the switch on the bars and she can flip it to drop the bike down while coming to a stop, and can lift it up when she puts her feet on the pegs that'd be awesome.
I'm just worried that it would be very jerky and difficult to do safely, I'm also not sure if the drop touches the tire to the fender or not.
We were looking at a street bob 114, and I was thinking if I can put an airbag rear on that and have it drop and raise slowly, it'd be a bike she could ride and It'd also be a bike that I know inside and out how to work on.
Problem is spending that much money on a first bike is a really bad idea.
But it is a option we're hoping works out if she wants a bike like mine in the future.
It would be awkward and not something I would put on an inexperienced rider. If she's really light weight, lowering a Street Bob would be better. The ride wouldn't be as compromised with a lighter person. I would rather spend money on a nice lowered shock that can be custom made to he specs. Wilbur maybe?
Zach
Yeah the idea is that it would be a "forever bike" if we did the air ride. And I'd rather have her on something small to learn on first.
I'm thinking about a lowered Iron 883 atm after she gets used to riding around one of those little mini bikes.
Burly makes slammer shocks, I can drop the forks, or put a lowering kit in the front.
This will most likely be a next year thing though, the rains are coming back to ruin the end of the riding season. Dammit.
Thanks for all the suggestions and Ideas. I'll let yall know if and what we go with.
Almost 20K on my Fat Boy. Thankfully the tires look great.
Any Fat Boy riders here, that Tourance NEXT2 tire is a fantastic front tire. I'll be buying another one when this is used up.
Yeah the idea is that it would be a "forever bike" if we did the air ride. And I'd rather have her on something small to learn on first. I'm thinking about a lowered Iron 883 atm after she gets used to riding around one of those little mini bikes.
Burly makes slammer shocks, I can drop the forks, or put a lowering kit in the front.
This will most likely be a next year thing though, the rains are coming back to ruin the end of the riding season. Dammit.
Thanks for all the suggestions and Ideas. I'll let yall know if and what we go with.
As Zach says, a Street Bob or a Standard would be preferable, certainly heavier on paper, but with a lower center of gravity which makes it much more manageable and a much lower original seat height and there too you will be able to lower it.
My best friend's wife had a Sportster, she upgraded to a Softail standard that her husband lowered for her because she too is short and she is delighted and much more comfortable...
Everyone has their own comfort level. My wife and I took the motorcycle safety class a week apart. I would say at least 60-70% of the students had never been on a bike before - including me. The bikes were Suzuki 250s and certainly manageable for a newbie. By the end of the first day on the course, we were all zooming around in second and third gear. No big deal as they say.
Since my wife had to have a Harley, she financed a Sportster and I paid cash for a Honda 600 cruiser. As you might guess, metrics are generally about half the price. Great starter bike but unfortunately screamed (in a bad way) on the highways over 60 mph. Awesome commuter bike and good on the back roads. In two years, I moved up to a HD Dyna 88. I was certainly nervous about it and after 20 minutes in the dealer parking lot, finally got it out on the road for a test ride. It was bigger and more powerful than I was used to with the Honda, but I knew I could do it. My point is, I would suggest getting the biggest bike you can handle well in parking lots, on hills and on gravel. Going down the road is easy but you don't want to get in over your head in less-than-perfect situations.
There are tons of medium size metrics for sale that won't break the bank. Early fall and early spring are a great time to be looking as many have just traded.
Shifting gears, I made a socket for my preload adjustor **** on the SE/Ohlins shock.
This adjustor is actually a pain in the *** for me to use, despite being hand turnable. I was using a strap wrench but it's slow and ineffective.
So I made this.
Craftsman 1 1/2inch socket and KBS NuMetal epoxy.
Masking taped off the ****. mixed up some numetal, and spread it all over the ****.
Packed some numetal into the walls of the socket, and pushed the socket over the ****, held it there till it got somewhat stiff and left it to dry.
18 hours later, I come back with a can of TriFlow and squirt the hell out of the socket from the inside and out.
Pops off after a few tugs.
Rubbed the front of it on the asphalt sanding it down to a flat surface.
Works fantastically with shallow reducer sockets.
I can use a 1/4 drive or 3/8 or 1/2. I'm thrilled. I am so pleased with this.
It's not pretty and nice, but it works and I did it first try. I am so please this worked.
Adjusting my bike from 2 up to solo mode will be so much easier now.
I'm going to finish this by filling in the other side more and getting it cleaned up.
08-20-2024, 08:20 AM
