[MissKoreanNinja]

hi I'm a seventeen year old asian girl (haha very short as well, only 5'2) and I'm planning on getting my first bike this summer. I'm in love with the ZX-6 and the ZX6R but know little about them... I've also been hearing a lot about how the 250 and the 500 would be a better idea for a beginner like me. hmm just fishing for advice on this.. [/b]

 

[MaineKawi]

Allow me to be the first to welcome you to this great forum. I myself have got nothing but good here and I know you will too. We always like seeing women on here and on motorcycles for that matter. 8)

To answer your question. I know I speak for everybody in here when I say that the bikes *ZX6(R)* that u are interested in are a little over your head, and I mean that in the nicest way. The first thing you should do is take the motorcycle saftey course. I too lived in Canada and its a worthwhile investment, and everyone here including Freakinout. will back me up on that. The ZX6 and ZX6R are a little bit too much bike for a woman as yourself and even for me, a somewhat experienced 6'1'' 215 rider. I suggest to you the Kawasaki Ninja 250(R) or 500(R) as a starter. They've got plenty enough kick for what you want to do, great gas milage and will teach you the tricks of the road.

I know you'll be getting more input from others but thats what I suggest. Hope it helps

Again Welcome and Ride with a good head

 

[michiganarft11]

I'd go with something smaller than the 6. That's a lot of bike to handle, especially since it's your first. Get something used, like a 500. You can always go bigger later.

Good luck

 

[Strictly VN 1600]

I'd recommend smaller bikes, but at least 500cc. Actually there's no reason to be afraid of big bikes (other than being too short). Everything is inside your head. If you mentally prepare yourself before driving, you can drive any bike you want (you should also own a drivers licence). Just decide not to accelerate too hard, take corners too fast, lock your tires applying too much brake etc. and you'll be fine.

It's the walking speeds you'll have problems with. Just learn to handle that bike in every situation and you'll learn the rest of driving in real world and traffic.

 

[Freakinout]

Welcome to the forum.

To answer your question, I would suggest a 500R (ex500) as a good first bike, the 250 is a little low on power, but the 500 is great. Plenty of power for even somebody my size (6'2" 175lbs) but you'll still be able to fit on it easily. The smaller bikes are more forgiving when you do make a mistake. A 600cc+ bike is a huge difference from the 500cc.

Insurance is also cheaper on the 500, a whole lot cheaper.

Take the MSF course if you can, it'll help out with the basics and keep you from wobbling around too much.

Just remember, ride safe, always wear your gear and keep the rubber side down.

 

[pranqster]

The perfect beginer's bike!!!

You might want to consider buying an old used bike. I learned to ride on an early 80's Kawy CSR 306. It's light weight, short, and has about 20 hp at the rear wheel. Riding on this bike was exactly like riding a bicycle. This bike was very forgiving, hard to stall, easy to stop, and pulls very small wheelies when you pop the clutch(you will most likely do this when you are learning). I bought this bike for $500 dollars, put about 3,000 miles on it and then sold it for $800 (this bike did not run when I first got it). I figured if I recked this bike or did'nt enjoy riding, no great loss. From that bike I rode my fathers 920 Y Virago. It is tall, heavy, v-twin cruiser with terrible suspension and massive amounts of torque. I rode the bike with no problems but I personally dislike big heavy cruisers. The ninja 250 is also a great beginers bike that looks good. I think the 500R is out of your league right now. Just remember that most bikes under 500cc are really sketchy at highspeeds and are hard to control on freeways and underpowered for mountain riding. Well good luck, and I hope you wear the max protective gear, I work in a hospital and motorcycle trauma's are the worst, so be safe!!!!
Later

 

[MaineKawi]

So there you have it MissKoreanNinja. You got some great advice from some great guys 8) let us know what you think about all of this, give us some feedback

 

[darkninja]

Now advice from a Ninja girl: You are brave, sexy, fun and cool for choose to get a bike. However, take the motorcycle riding course before you committ to buy a bike. You may decide that it isn't for you. Shop around for something in good condition and cheap also for something in the 500cc range. I have a Ninja 500 that is great. I fell in love with it quickly. See picture to the left (me on my bike). If there are any other questions feel free to ask. No matter how stupid they may sound to you it is better to ask.

 

[iakai]

600 ?!

ask urself if u wanna look pretty on a bike or u really wanna enjoy the riding on a bike ?! sure it looks cool riding a 600cc bike but are u sure u will be enjoy riding it though ?! I doubt it. I amost bought a honda CBR600RR myself but i bought a 500R instead. why ?! I think i will be too afraid to drop the bike somehow and not enjoy the riding as much. I can put both of my feet down on the 500R no problem while i m stepping on my toes when i m on an RR or ZX6R. It's totally up to u see if u wanna look pretty on a bike or enjoy riding a bike. oh yeah... I m from vancouver as well so hope to see u on the road soon

 

[nathan600r]

Buy the smaller bike, there's not a **** thing wrong with something like a 250. I learned to ride on a 1980 200cc honda, that could do 70 mph easily.

 

[MissKoreanNinja]

=D so much great feedback, thanks so much everyone...heh i think i'll go for the 250 or the 500 (R) like everyone has been so kindly recommending. hahah thanks again you guys, you probably just saved me from killing meself here hehe.
much much much appreciated, again

 

[MissKoreanNinja]

Re: 600 ?!

ask urself if u wanna look pretty on a bike or u really wanna enjoy the riding on a bike ?! sure it looks cool riding a 600cc bike but are u sure u will be enjoy riding it though ?! I doubt it. I amost bought a honda CBR600RR myself but i bought a 500R instead. why ?! I think i will be too afraid to drop the bike somehow and not enjoy the riding as much. I can put both of my feet down on the 500R no problem while i m stepping on my toes when i m on an RR or ZX6R. It's totally up to u see if u wanna look pretty on a bike or enjoy riding a bike. oh yeah... I m from vancouver as well so hope to see u on the road soon

haha yay another 604er =) hmm i have a question for you...how brutal is it riding in vancouver? i mean, considering it's always raining and whatnot here, how often are you able to ride? anyway haha yeah, ithink part of the reason i was trying to consider the zx6r was because it's soooo **** beautiful, but i mean, if i'll most likley end up killing myself from it, then that's something i gotta accept hehe.

 

[MissKoreanNinja]

Now advice from a Ninja girl: You are brave, sexy, fun and cool for choose to get a bike. However, take the motorcycle riding course before you committ to buy a bike. You may decide that it isn't for you. Shop around for something in good condition and cheap also for something in the 500cc range. I have a Ninja 500 that is great. I fell in love with it quickly. See picture to the left (me on my bike). If there are any other questions feel free to ask. No matter how stupid they may sound to you it is better to ask.

yayyy another biker girl =D hehe. thanks for giving me the opportunity to ask questions, even if they're dumb...they'll most likely be dumb, since i still have a LOT to learn about bikes. anyway, hehe oo on your profile there, is that you on the 500? =) lovely hehe, anyway is it dangerous to wear heeled shoes when riding a bike? i've seen girl biker boots with heels on them but i'm not sure how safe that is..i mean, it would definately help height-wise, but i'm not sure if it'll be too good for riding...

 

[michiganarft11]

You want somewhat of a heel when riding so that your foot stays on the pegs.

 

[iakai]

Re: 600 ?!

haha yay another 604er =) hmm i have a question for you...how brutal is it riding in vancouver? i mean, considering it's always raining and whatnot here, how often are you able to ride? anyway haha yeah, ithink part of the reason i was trying to consider the zx6r was because it's soooo **** beautiful, but i mean, if i'll most likley end up killing myself from it, then that's something i gotta accept hehe.

I just bought the bike the day i registered this board. It was rainning quiet a bit but it was so hard to resist not taking the bike out. So i actually learned how to ride the bike in wet weather. It didn't take long for me to figure out since I do drive a manual car. It also gave me quiet a bit of confidence when i can put my feet comfortablly on the ground.

I dont ride in the rain since i only ride for pleasure. But u know the weather in vancouver and there are quiet a few people they do ride in all kinda weather. I do ride everytime when its dry outside though

I know those 600 are the devils. I think i will sell the 500 and join the dark side later this year :twisted:

oh yeah.. you should check out the up coming bike show this weekend in abbosford. :wink:

 

[darkninja]

your profile there, is that you on the 500? =) lovely hehe, anyway is it dangerous to wear heeled shoes when riding a bike? i've seen girl biker boots with heels on them but i'm not sure how safe that is..i mean, it would definately help height-wise, but i'm not sure if it'll be too good for riding.

yes, that is me on my bike hauling ass on a straight-away in Florida's back country. As to your question about heels - I was not recommend wearing stilettos or platform hooker boots on a bike. Have a small bit of a heel does help, as michiganarft11 said. It helps you find the foot pegs easily without having to look so that your foot is in the proper place for shifting and braking. A bigger heel would also do that, but the downfall would be just that, you falling down: fashionable heels usually do not have nice rubber soles that are necessary for grabbing the ground, you may twist your ankle when putting your foot down etc. I compromised between function and style and got a pair of black work boots with a steel toe and steel heel guard and have a small chucky heel. In my search for riding shoes I did come across some great Doc Martins that would have been nice but too expensive. Usually any gothic store for happen discent riding boots. Of course, my fiancee was pleading with my to buy some racing boots with plastic armor all over (very ugly if you're not wearing the whole get up).

 

[michiganarft11]

I'm with ya about the riding boots. If you don't have the full leathers, they look real goofy. The cheap ones especially. The more expensive ones look better, but definitely not something you'd wear around.

 

[Maiku]

beginner

Anyonghaseyo! One thing I didn't see mentioned, and perhaps it's only a Florida thing, but to my knowledge, it's all over. But you HAVE to take the motorcycle safety course if you want a license. They do not issue permits to anyone under 21 years of age.
So if you want to ride, you have to do that first, as recommended anyway.
Now... I have a 500R, and I would have to say that it will kinda (barely)be big for you. My girlfriend is 5'4" and she's on her tippy toes when on the bike holding it up. So that's kinda a stretch for you. I do agree that you should only consider the 250 or 500 because you will most likely kill yourself on anything bigger than that. Lol. I would too though, so take no offense.
But the 250 is pretty underpowered and you probably won't be all that happy with it. So look for a 500R, and just make sure you get to sit on it and fool around with it for a while before you buy.
As far as pricing goes. I just bought a 2000 500R for $2000. Which is pretty decent.
Good luck, and feel free to ask any questions. I just entered the learning process as well. Have fun!

Oh, and heels might be a little hard to shift in. Lol.

 

[rlovrin1]

Welcome MissKoreanNinja!! Cool website you setup, just checked it out.

Now on to the recommendations, I also agree that a 250 or the 500 Ninja would be a great start bike. If you get a chance, sit on each one at your local dealership or friends house if they have one.

A girl that I know went too big for her first bike, Yamaha R6, now she's scared to drive it. She'd rather ride on the back then drive it. Now she wishes she got the Ninja 500R which she originally wanted, but the R6 was a gift and she doesn't want to get rid of it.

Also, if your just a hair too short from touching securely on both sides, heels help. I would suggest in a good pair of motorcycle boots.

 

[Maiku]

I know you're probably having a hard time debating which one to get as it is, but the girl across the street from me has a ZX6 and it's really not much bigger. I didn't get a chance to sit on it. Although she's like 5'6 or maybe taller.
However, if it waives your options very much. You might consider the money aspect of it. She has a 2000 ZX6 which she spent over $4k on, and my 2000 500R which I bought for $2k.
Again, have fun. Lol.