[Hiltz]

Thought I would shed some light on having the woman I love start riding...

At first thought I was extremely excited when my girlfriend said she wanted to buy her first motorcycle. She had already taken the safety course but it was a while back and she didn't have any previous experience. After a few days of riding in an empty parking lot I was stressed beyond explanation haha. We all know the significant difference of an empty parking lot and a busy freeway, not to mention traffic circles, tight right handers and emergency situations. The lady decided she was ready to hit the road non rush hour and only on small neighborhood and streets. I am pleased to say she is doing very well. The R3 is slightly too tall for her but she has some strong legs to keep the bike up. This being said I am still a little skeptical of any emergency situations that might arise, but I guess I can't keep her on training wheels forever. here are a few shots of the first open road experience.

anyone else in the same boat? please do share and any tips!

 

[Hiltz]

Also first inpressions of the R3

All around a great starter bike for the missus. Good power acceleration and peppy. I think the brakes should have been larger or dual fronts, and suspension could have a little more adjustability. I found the throttle on/off was a bit torquey (is that a word) for a beginner but a very decent bike, light and nimble and like I said peppy! the lady loves it and is excited to get better, maybe eventually drag some knee... lol

 

[EcoRider]

I'd probably say that the 40+ cc's you gain on an R3, outweigh the lighter weight and few mm lower seat height on a CBR250/300R.


I'd say, you could try softening up the rear suspension, so the bike goes down a bit when standing on a red light, and her feet can touch the ground better.


The R3 is just about as good of a bike as you can get her!
Other option would be to check out a CBR300R.
I'm not sure if they are smaller, but should also provide sufficient power to go 90+MPH without breaking a sweat.


you'd have to look for 300cc twin, or 400cc single cylinder bike minimum, for enough speed for interstates.


My personal weight ratio for a bike, is 400LBS wet max.
Anything above 400LBS I find too heavy for beginners.
Under 400LBS it's pretty ok to handle most bikes safely.


I don't know how accurate the speedo is, but you can reduce acceleration torque, by changing the sprockets.
Either +1t front, or -3t rear, should make it easier on acceleration, and correct any speedometer deviations (by ~10%, should the speedo be off, but I'm not sure if it is).
It also should make 1st gear more useable.
Some people mentioned first gear gets you halfway across an intersection; and is too light. should help with that problem as well.

 

[OneTwo]

well congrats, I know the feeling. My girl just started talking about getting a Vespa, I've ridden bicycles with her and that terrifies me enough... now this... AHHH, glad to have her expressing interest though

get that girl some gloves...

 

[sdriv3r]

Im currently doing the riding courses with my girl and do stress a little, more when I think about it.

In consequence I am buying her better/more expencive gear than I buy myself. Personally going for price/quality for myself and buying simply quality for her. Bought myself a 200$ icon helmet, DOT and ECE approved. She got a 400$ HJC thats DOT/ECE/Snell 2010. I'm getting a textile A* jacket with armor, buying her a leather one with armor.

I tell myself that she deserves the better protection. Don't mind hurting myself a little as long as shes safer than me

 

[YR3]

well congrats, I know the feeling. My girl just started talking about getting a Vespa, I've ridden bicycles with her and that terrifies me enough... now this... AHHH, glad to have her expressing interest though

get that girl some gloves...

At least get her on a Grom

Even a Ruckus would be better!

 

[Maverick]

I found the throttle on/off was a bit torquey

Agreed... it has solid engine braking above 3500-4000rpm, combine that with the crisp throttle response and you can get a little jerky in traffic.

 

[Zorfnab]

At least get her on a Grom

Grom lets you get away with bad things because it is too light/small. I noticed this when I was riding one for my MSF course. Actually also took my test on it - it's basically cheating because you can't screw up unless you really try. That doesn't really help you build good habits (which is why I got the R3 instead of the Grom - even though I really want one).

I'm not sure it is a good "beginner" beginner bike, but would be a great 2nd bike. It's loads of fun...

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Hiltz]

well congrats, I know the feeling. My girl just started talking about getting a Vespa, I've ridden bicycles with her and that terrifies me enough... now this... AHHH, glad to have her expressing interest though

get that girl some gloves...

Don't sweat! I got her all top notch gear, that was just for the photoshoot...

 

[Hiltz]

I'd probably say that the 40+ cc's you gain on an R3, outweigh the lighter weight and few mm lower seat height on a CBR250/300R.


I'd say, you could try softening up the rear suspension, so the bike goes down a bit when standing on a red light, and her feet can touch the ground better.


The R3 is just about as good of a bike as you can get her!
Other option would be to check out a CBR300R.
I'm not sure if they are smaller, but should also provide sufficient power to go 90+MPH without breaking a sweat.


you'd have to look for 300cc twin, or 400cc single cylinder bike minimum, for enough speed for interstates.


My personal weight ratio for a bike, is 400LBS wet max.
Anything above 400LBS I find too heavy for beginners.
Under 400LBS it's pretty ok to handle most bikes safely.


I don't know how accurate the speedo is, but you can reduce acceleration torque, by changing the sprockets.
Either +1t front, or -3t rear, should make it easier on acceleration, and correct any speedometer deviations (by ~10%, should the speedo be off, but I'm not sure if it is).
It also should make 1st gear more useable.
Some people mentioned first gear gets you halfway across an intersection; and is too light. should help with that problem as well.

I have the rear as soft as it'll go, but thinking about it maybe I can spin the spring retaining grommets up. I may consider a sprocket change if she has too many issues with it. I think most important right now are some adjustable levers... she has small hands and I can imagine it's a tough grab when panic sets in.

 

[Hiltz]

At least get her on a Grom

Even a Ruckus would be better!

HAH! Never!

 

[Hiltz]

Im currently doing the riding courses with my girl and do stress a little, more when I think about it.

In consequence I am buying her better/more expencive gear than I buy myself. Personally going for price/quality for myself and buying simply quality for her. Bought myself a 200$ icon helmet, DOT and ECE approved. She got a 400$ HJC thats DOT/ECE/Snell 2010. I'm getting a textile A* jacket with armor, buying her a leather one with armor.

I tell myself that she deserves the better protection. Don't mind hurting myself a little as long as shes safer than me

I have her covered... litterally! I made sure she has all the best because I wear the best too.

 

[slolane]

Sounds like you are doing it right, all geared up and on a bike that is mechanically sound.


I taught my wife to ride but first started out on a dirt bike in our back yard, then moved onto my Yamaha YSR50 in a parking lot with cones a lot more practice. At this point she was itching to get onto her Ninja 250 but I had her first go out on the street for a bit on the YSR. Later we got the Ninja 250 out and went back to the parking lot before hitting the street again. We then started on secondary roads with little to no traffic.


One of the best tools for teaching were our Cardio Scala Rider communicators. They allow us to speak in full duplex while standing in the parking lot watching and giving direction and then riding together. This was really nice because I could prep her for things before they happened, explain lane positioning, traffic hazards, etc. and didn't have to wait until we hit a light or stop sign to discuss. I highly recommended this or any other brand that would work for you.


We started with the Q series but now have the G9's and love em. http://www.cardosystems.com/scala-rider


Good luck to you guys!

 

[u3c307]

Awesome that you got your gf into riding. It is definitely stressful when you got to be concern on the road while riding with her. (Example: A turn is coming up we need to slow down, there is an a-hole riding her tail, etc...) Buy Sena if you want to lower that stress level so ya'll can communicate better on the road. Book both of you for advance ride course or what we have here is BikeSafe (ride with police with motorcycle. They will give you pointer almost like SuperBike School.) Hope that helps.

 

[Hiltz]

Sounds like you are doing it right, all geared up and on a bike that is mechanically sound.


I taught my wife to ride but first started out on a dirt bike in our back yard, then moved onto my Yamaha YSR50 in a parking lot with cones a lot more practice. At this point she was itching to get onto her Ninja 250 but I had her first go out on the street for a bit on the YSR. Later we got the Ninja 250 out and went back to the parking lot before hitting the street again. We then started on secondary roads with little to no traffic.


One of the best tools for teaching were our Cardio Scala Rider communicators. They allow us to speak in full duplex while standing in the parking lot watching and giving direction and then riding together. This was really nice because I could prep her for things before they happened, explain lane positioning, traffic hazards, etc. and didn't have to wait until we hit a light or stop sign to discuss. I highly recommended this or any other brand that would work for you.


We started with the Q series but now have the G9's and love em. http://www.cardosystems.com/scala-rider


Good luck to you guys!

Awesome that you got your gf into riding. It is definitely stressful when you got to be concern on the road while riding with her. (Example: A turn is coming up we need to slow down, there is an a-hole riding her tail, etc...) Buy Sena if you want to lower that stress level so ya'll can communicate better on the road. Book both of you for advance ride course or what we have here is BikeSafe (ride with police with motorcycle. They will give you pointer almost like SuperBike School.) Hope that helps.

Thanks guys! that's actually the best advice yet, communicating was difficult and that's a wicked solution! I'll look into the advanced riding courses.

 

[Lollingthunder]

Yeah when I bought the Sena SMH10R dual pack for me and my wife, it changed everything.

 

[Marquiess]

I have an issue with my foot dragging across the seat when I get on or off so I went out and bought the single seat conversion and it is about 2 inches less tall and now I don't have that problem.

 

[Timbo64]

If she ever decides she wants a bigger bike, the 2012 Yamaha FZ6R that I used to own fit me perfectly and I'm only 5'5" tall.
I'll probably get another 600 in a few years, but I wanted to get a small bike for when I didn't want to ride my Star 1300 Deluxe and I just fell in love with the R3 the fist time I saw one at the dealership.
I'm having a blast riding mine!
Your concern for her safety shows that you really care about her! It really pisses me of when I see a girl/woman on the back of a 600 or 1000 super sport wearing flip flops, shorts, and a tank top going 80 mph down the highway!!!!

 

[Audiolad]

Keep your lady safe.

Thought I would shed some light on having the woman I love start riding...

At first thought I was extremely excited when my girlfriend said she wanted to buy her first motorcycle. She had already taken the safety course but it was a while back and she didn't have any previous experience. After a few days of riding in an empty parking lot I was stressed beyond explanation haha. We all know the significant difference of an empty parking lot and a busy freeway, not to mention traffic circles, tight right handers and emergency situations. The lady decided she was ready to hit the road non rush hour and only on small neighborhood and streets. I am pleased to say she is doing very well. The R3 is slightly too tall for her but she has some strong legs to keep the bike up. This being said I am still a little skeptical of any emergency situations that might arise, but I guess I can't keep her on training wheels forever. here are a few shots of the first open road experience.

anyone else in the same boat? please do share and any tips!

Ride in front of her to control the situation as best you can. I know your girlfriend looks super in those blue jeans, but maybe you should buy her some riding pants with armor, and a jacket if that one isn't also armored. It might be the difference between a pissed off girlfriend and one in the hospital.