+1 on the S-40. My wife dropped hers in the parking lot when I was teaching her to ride it and actually gained confidence from the mishap after she realized that neither her nor the the bike was significantly damaged and she was able to pick it up by herself.

 

My wife, a beast cancer survivor, doesn't have the upper body strength she used to due to several surgeries. I got her a Suzuki S40. It is a one cylinder 650 and weighs only 350 pounds. She can easily handle it and it has enough power to ride with me on the highway. If she wants something bigger in a year or two I'll be happy to help her trade up but for now she is having a blast on this one.

 

This is exactly what I did with my wife. We rode two up for a while until she got tired of it then wanted her own bike. I told her she had to take the Riders Edge course and if she felt comfortable, we'd talk about her own bike. (Wanted to know she felt safe)
She passed (barely) and I found a 2001 Honda Shadow 600 VLX on Craigslist with under 4k miles for $2700. SHE LOVES IT! She can handle it easily and if she drops it, it's no big deal. As others have said, I'd rather she drop a $2700 metric than a $8k+ Harley. I told her she needs to ride it for a year then we can talk Harley. Now she rides it to work and wants to ride as often as possible......We also bought a communication system (Sena SMH10) so I can talk to her and advise her what to watch for and if she has any trouble, she just talks to me.
The last thing I wanted her to do is feel intimidated by the power or weight of a bigger bike. What she has weighs about 500 pounds or so. My RKC is 850........big difference. So is the 583cc vs. 1700+cc.

Just my opinion.....

 

Just get a bigger wife. Can your old one iron and make coffee? Send picture.

 

Upright seating position, light, and easy to control.

 

I agree. A Sporty can be alot of fun and very easy to handle.

Jeff

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I guess it all has to do with the individual. My wife who is 5'1" 118 Lbs started with her 2008 883L. She practiced in a parking lot with a good friend of her's for a few weeks before taking the HD Riders Edge course. After finishing the course and passing it. She started her solo rides through the neighbor hood. Within 3-4 days she was confident enough to venture out further. She now rides every where and does 200-300 miles a week on her own. We have been on a few weekend trips of 600 or so miles and never a problem. She did drop the bike once while doing some parking lot practice only suffered a small scrap on her knee. And the bike only suffered a bent brake lever and scratched hand grip. Next weekend she will be doing the Advanced riders course. I feel that she will have no problems with it.

 

Have her take the course and then have her go to the dealer and sit on bikes. Unless you want something sitting in the garage it really has to be what fits her body. Once she takes the course have her (what is your wifes name?) come over and ask a bunch of questions down in the queens of the road section that is only for women. We love new riders and help women all the time when they are just starting out.

But one thing I must say. You don't need to think she needs a small starter bike. Many of us started on our current bikes or on only harleys. And we all ride as many different bikes as the men. I started with a sporty 883 C bought it then took riders edge. In two years I put 27,000 miles on that bike including a 14 state trip to sturgis for my honeymoon. In nov, I traded it in and got a deluxe. I am 5'9 so can ride anything. I just liked the deluxe after testing riding a deluxe and a roadking.

 

Deleted....couldn't post pics.

 

I like having a smaller bike around for fun times when the weight of my Harley gets old. Couple years ago I went looking for a fun lightweight and all that was out there was cr*ppy looking Suzuki 250s and Royal Enfields from India. Never even considered a silly little Buell as it looked like a half thought out half-a-sportster, sorry Harley. Not very inspiring. So I bought a 2007 Triumph T100 Bonneville which weighs 500# wet.

Now I see Honda has introduced a truly neat little 250 that can run pretty good on even highway speeds---the Honda CBR250. If my wife wanted to start on her own bike I would definitely give it a look. Our local Harley dealer over in Blairstown, NJ even has one on the showroom floor next to FLHTs, haha. Looks cute as a button. Seems more of a real "bike" than the Ninja 250 which all ways seemed more of a toy than a bike to me.

I guess I am not much for "buying just to trade it later." To me either a bike is worth the hassle of owning and learning its secrets or it is a waste of time. I would keep that little Honda is my guess. I am real tempted to buy one even though I don't need it now as the Bonnie is a complete blast to ride. But the Bonnie does weigh 500#.