Motorcycling for Women

Beginner
Bikes
by Carla King
Beginner
Bikes
WHAT’S YOUR STYLE?
What’s a beginner bike?
I was lucky. I learned how to ride when I was 14 years old, flying through tobacco fields and over
hills and through the woods. When I fell off I bounced right back up again. When the bike broke I
either figured out how to fix it or pushed it back home. Usually I’d figure it out.
The little Honda I started on was definitely a beginner bike—a term widely debated today. Makers
of large motorcycles claim their new 500cc machines are beginner bikes. I beg to differ. They’re
heavy and have so much power they can flip a newbie onto the road while it continues on down it.
Yesterday’s 500cc motorcycles were considered mid-sized. An 800cc motorcycle was impressively
monstrous. Today, a 250cc or under bike may actually be all you need for years if you’re riding
backroads, commuting, or enjoying off-road adventures. When your skills are honed, and you decide
what kind of riding style you prefer, you can always trade up. Most beginner bikes hold their value.
If you’re lucky, you’ll find a little bike waiting for you somewhere in a barn or in a neighbor’s garage.
If not, go shopping! The kind of bikes recommended in these pages will give you confidence,
allowing you to hone your skills and to enjoy motorcycling in the long term.
—Carla King
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
Sport
Buzz and zip. Looks fast
even when it’s standing
still. Red and yellow and
green streaks down the
highway.
Standard
Dean, Brando. Amelia.
Battered brown leather
jacket, silk scarf, avaitor
glasses. Classic.
Dual-Sport
Cruiser
Uptown and downtown
and long leisurely road
trips. Low slung, attitudinal
rumble. Ultimately
customizable.
Off-Road
Head down the highway
and detour into the desert.
Commute from suburbs to
city, jumping potholes in the
financial district.
Scooter
No muss, no fuss. Italian
shoes, briefcase, cell phone.
Mount and dismount with
grace and style.
Country byways and desert
highways and skidding in
the mud. Gear up and get
ready to tumble.
Electric
Modern, ecological,
alternative. Consciously
quiet. Try not to smirk when
you pass by the gas stations.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
tandard
S
Classic. Retro. Naked.
Suzuki TU250X
SIMPLICITY
Standard motorcycles make great beginner bikes but they’re also really nice all-purpose bikes.
Some people start with a standard and move on to a specialty bike, like a cruiser or racer or
dual-sport, and end up keeping the standard. They’ve been around so long there are lots of
used ones on the market.
One of the rare under-250cc
standards being made today, this
is a great keeper bike for city and
backroads. Freeways are doable
but not its forte. Under $4000
and gets over 60 mpg.
The upright riding position makes it easy to look around without having to bend your head
into uncomfortable positions. The controls lie exactly where your hands and feet naturally
rest, which means it’s easier to deal with emergencies. It’s also very well balanced, with your
center of gravity exactly in the middle of the bike.
Honda CB Series
Like many manufacturers, Honda
stopped making small standards
about a decade ago when
specialty bikes became the trend.
But chances are you can grab
one of these babies for cheap.
Bonus: it’s classic enough to win
admiring glances!
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
Standards come “naked” without plastic coverings, fairings, or any kind of bling. This means
that when you drop it you won’t be breaking a lot of expensive parts.
Many manufacturers stopped making standard bikes under 250ccs, but there are plenty of
older models on the used market that make great starter and around-town bikes.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
ruiser
C
Low. Laid-back.
COOL
Honda Rebel 250
This popular cruiser is light
and low and a real keeper with
decent performance on the
freeway. Buy it new or find one
used, but plenty of people don’t
want to give up their Rebels.
Take a standard bike, extend the front fork, put a teardrop gas tank in front of the
lowered seat, and you’ve got a cruiser. You’ll need to reach a bit more forward with
your feet to find the foot pegs, but that all contributes to the “laid-back” styling of
this kind of motorcycle.
California Scooter Company
These little bikes were inspired by
the Mustang motorcycle built from
the 1940’s to the 60s. The 150cc, fivespeed engine gets you up to 50-60
mph and, at only 240 pounds, it’s
easy to throw around. Add a 90 mpg
range, an under $4000 price tag, and
a nice array of accessories to the list
of temptations.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
Cruisers are good bikes to learn on because they’re low enough for most people
to get both feet flat on the ground, which gives you better balance and more
confidence.
They come “naked” so if you drop it you’re not breaking a lot of expensive options.
But once you’ve got the hang of it, you may be tempted to add saddlebags, a small
windscreen, maybe even tie on a sleeping bag and tent and take off on a classic
American backroads journey.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
port
S
Zip. Zam. Zoom!
SPEEDY
Kawasaki Ninja 250R
The Ninja name is practically
synonymous with the category
sport bike. This zippy little 250
has a liquid-cooled parallel-twin
engine with 6-speed transmission
and 36 horsepower.
Sport bikes are made for racing. For that reason they’re not really the best choice for
a beginner, but there are a few under-250cc models that won’t scare a newbie out of
motorcycling altogether.
When you sit on a sport bike you’ll be tilted forward with your feet back behind your
seat and some of your weight resting on your wrists. You’ll have to lift your head up to
look around, because the sitting position forces you to curl into the shape of the bike.
Hyosung GT250R
This Korean company makes a
slightly lower-cost competitor to
the 250cc Ninja. With its lower
27 horsepower and 5-speed
transmission, it was built with
beginners in mind.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
That said, they’re made to be light and maneuverable so they can corner better. But
when you drop it, there’s a lot of expensive plastic that’ll scraped and broken. And it is
for that reason you may be able to buy one quite cheaply. (You may consider removing
damaged plastic altogether for a more “naked” look.)
A good alternative to a sport bike is a “scrambler” or a street-focused dual-sport, like an
old Honda CL series or the Derbi Mulhacen Cafe described in the Dual-Sport section.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
Dual
Sport
Jump curbs. Ford streams.
VERSATILE
Honda CRF230
This is really a dirt bike with
features that make it street
legal. But Honda makes a
version--the CRF230M-that’s tuned for commuters
who want curb-jumping
fuel-economy.
These bikes are made for maximum maneuverability so you’ll find that the seat puts you
upright at comfortable attention and the controls are all sitting where you intuit they’re
going to be. This is a basic bike that comes fairly “naked” with an exposed engine and
higher ground clearance (and therefore seat height), so you can jump logs or curbs and
ford streams or ditches. The handlebars are straight ad wide providing stability while
you’re out of your seat standing up on the pegs.
Derbi Mulhacen Cafe 125
Here’s a stylish dual-sport with
naked styling on the “scrambler”
side of the equation, built with
aggressive city riding in mind.
Derbi also makes the Terra
Adventure 125, built for long
journeys on mixed-terrain.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
There are many varieties of dual-sport motorcycles, but all are made for both street and
dirt riding. Some dual-sports have dirt bike roots and others, such as “scramblers,” are
street bikes modified to ride or race on dirt. The old Honda CL 360 is a good example
of a scrambler.
Though seat heights can be high, the smaller dual-sports are great beginner bikes and
really wonderful second bikes. Like standards, they don’t have a lot of expensive chrome
and plastic that will be damaged when you drop them. Adventurous travelers will
throw a couple of saddlebags on and take off to anywhere in the world.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
Off Road
Slip. Slide. Speed.
Yamaha TT-R125LE
WILD!
Like dual-sport motorcycles, off-road bikes are built for maximum maneuverability with
wheels and suspension that can handle rough terrain. Also called enduro motorcycles,
they’re super-lightweight with no extras to weigh you down or break off in a fall. That
means no mirrors, turn signals, horn, license plate holders, and sometimes not even an
electric start or a headlight. They’re not legal on the road, though you can add items to
make them street legal.
This 5-speed, air-cooled
4-stroke weighs under 200
pounds wet. A 31.7 inch
seat height and 11.6 ground
clearance gives you plenty
of stump-jumping fun.
KTM 125 EXC
The 36.4 inch seat height and
15.4 inch ground clearance may
be too intimidating for all but the
most ambitious budding off-road
enthusiast. The liquid cooled,
6-speed, 2-stroke engine was
made for competition.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
Many off-road motorcycles, especially motocross racing bikes, are equipped with
2-stroke engines, which are simpler to manufacture than 4-stroke engines, because
they have no valves. Two-stroke engines deliver power faster and cheaper but burn fuel
inefficiently and are more polluting.
The higher ground clearance and seat height of off-road bikes is necessary to allow
riding in rough and uneven territory without damaging the engine or your lower
extremities.
If you’re looking for family fun, 50cc off-road bikes are made for kids so you can all ride
together.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
cooter
S
Classy. Practical.
UTILITARIAN
KYMCO People
KYMCO is an example of the many
relatively new companies that offer
low-cost scooters and motorcycles.
KYMCO’s “People” scooter come
in various sizes designed to fit you
from 50cc to 200cc.
Vespa
Scooters are ideal entrees into the world of motorcycling because they have automatic
transmissions and feet-on-the-floor positioning so you can concentrate on staying
upright and cornering.
Many scooter riders decide they want to try motorcycling, but many decide to stick
with scooters. Why? Because they’re ideal commuter vehicles that are comfortable to
ride while wearing street clothes and shoes.
As gas prices rise so do scooter sales, and manufacturers are eager to offer lots of
options like candy colors, matching accessories, and special-purpose models like highperformance touring scooters and even three-wheeled all-terrain machines.
Vespa scooters are classics and
you might find that your first twowheeler is a “keeper” for life. There
are lots of old Vespas for sale, and
they’re easy enough to work on
that you might even consider restoration on your own.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
lectric
E
Economical. Ethical. Shhhh!
FUTURISTIC
Brammo Enertia
The Brammer Enertia models have no
clutch like a scooter. The seat is 32 inches,
and they weigh 324 pounds. Maximum
speed is about 60 mph, and they get
about 40 miles to a charge. With an
$8000 price tag, you going to love the
gas savings. Other models are faster and
have a 6-speed drive train.
Vetrix VX-3
None of the handful of electric motorcycle makers are making beginner bikes per se,
but offer scooters and smaller dirt bikes that could be suitable for beginners.
Seat height doesn’t matter on the three-wheeler shown here, which could be a fun start
for beginners exploring the feeling of riding. It’s even powerful enough to keep up with
your motorcycling friends—if they stay under 65 mph.
Because it’s a rapidly developing technology, these bikes tend to be expensive and you
can’t expect to make up your investment on the resale value. By the time you’re done
with it, the next generation will likely make yours obsolete. Factor in gas savings, and
maybe that’s not so bad.
This spiffy three-wheeler costs about
$15,000. It gets up to 68 mph and has a
range potential of 80 miles. Set the front
wheels to either full-stability for low speed
manuvering or fully-articulated steering
for higher speed travel. It accelerates and
decelerates with a twist of the throttle.
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes
Your guide to learning, shopping, choosing, riding, staying safe, and having fun.
Carla King began motorcycling when
she was 14 years old in rural North
Carolina. Her first bike was a small
Honda enduro that provided her with
temporary escape from adolescence.
Today she lives in the San Francisco
Bay Area where she occassionally escapes adulthood by
embarking on long solo motorcycle adventures around
the world. You can read her dispatches from America,
China, India, Europe, and Africa online and in her books.
Find more at her website http://CarlaKing.com
Read American Borders, the story of Carla’s
advenures on a Russian sidecar motorcycle.
More in this series of booklets will provide the basics of what you need to shop intelligently for the right
motorcycle and gear for your riding style. Join the mailing list on the author’s website to be notified when
each of these booklets are published. Click here to visit CarlaKing.com/
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Beginner Bikes: Standard, cruiser, sport, dual-sport, dirt, and scooter.
Lingo: Rake and trail, wheelbase, clearance, drum vs disc brakes, chain vs belt vs shaft drive.
Gear: Jackets, pants, boots, gloves, helmets. Leather, Cordura©, mesh. Practical fashion.
Accessories and Modifications: Lower seat hight. Add options. Customization. Bling!
Resources: Learning to ride.
and more!