Search the forum for your input. This has been a question many have asked before.
Lots of opinions and none are wrong just different. Good Luck

 

the lightest Harley is the 883 Sportster. It still is a heavy bike for a tiny woman. if I were in your shoes after she's completed the MSF, rent her a 883 Low and see how it goes. If she feel confident on it, then you are safe to buy one. If she doesn't feel confident, take it easy and get a cheap used Metric like the rebel 250. It is a rubbish bike, but perfect for a beginner to learn and practice.

 

+1 on a Shadow - there are LOTS of used ones out there, cheap! When she's comfy with the Shadow, the change to a Sporty is mindless!

 

One more vote for the school, light moderate power metric, and see how she handles it. If she comes out of the course with high level skills and confidence have her rent an 883. As bikes go I don't think any Harley is "easy" to ride.
Bikes are considered Heavywieght if they have more than 900 cc's
900 - 883 = weedwacker

 

You can get a little 883 Sporty on the cheap these days. Not many bikes worth having at this price range...much less a Harley.

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone. We have been to the dealership for her to just get a feel for the different bikes. She is too intimidated. I want her to take the rider's course but she is not sure about it. I think the advice on a smaller bike other than a Harley is great and probably the way to go. I could buy one on the cheap and take it to the shopping market parking lot when they are closed and have her practice there. This would be a step in the right direction and probably push her to take the rider's course and then move up to a bigger bike (if she wants to)

Thanks again everyone
John

 

Vespa makes nice scooters

Kidding. I agree with the smaller metric or even a VStar 650 as others mentioned. Low center of gravity on those and she'll be able to feel more in control before even turning it on which will help. My wife is 5'1 and learned on a 883 sportster she bought on impulse and it would of been MUCH easier with a smaller lighter bike. She was determined (stubborn maybe) though and even though there were a few parking lot drops, she wanted to learn on the bike she would be riding.

Taking the class is definitely what she should do first though. Then like someone else said, you could rent to try a Harley. Good luck and hopefully your lady will like it. It's great being able to ride with your woman next to you instead of grabbing on to you.

 

Confidence is going to play a major part in her riding. A buddy of mine has a wife that wanted one of those breast cancer Sportsters really bad so she bought one. She took the MSF course and passed, though she did have a few problems with the bikes they had. Once she passed that, she would ride up and down her own street only. To help her out, he then spent LOTS of money having it converted into a trike thinking that would help her with her confidence. Even had some tire maker specially make a set of pink wall tires for the trike part (to match the front). Still, she just would not get out of her neighborhood and into traffic. Sadly, they wound up getting rid of it.

On the bright side, they wound up trading it, and his two year old Electra Glide Ultra in on a new 2012 CVO Electra Glide Ultra.

But if that hadn't worked out in his favor, they would have taken a huge beating in getting rid of that Sporty.

 

The V Rod is often overlooked...The older ones sit low and not hard to handle.

 

Dont be fooled by the sportster weight and size. My ultra is 300 pounds heavier and handles 10x easier. Nothing wrong with a Honda shadow. But if it has to be a Harley the heritage is easy enough too.