[fz6innh]

My wife rides. She's shorter so no sportbike really fits. She's on a Suzuki Boulevard S40 (650cc thumper). She had never driven a bike before, just a 49cc scooter. I had her sign up for the Basic Rider Course to get her license. They taught her all the basics and she passed the class on the first try without much trouble. She's actually quite good on the bike and her last bad habit went away on the Catskill Meet when she didn't head-check and damned near got mowed down in front of me and Dan (the sweeper). She still doesn't understand how close she came but Dan and I do... both of us were pretty scared for her but after talking to her (both Dan and I) she now does her head-check without fail.

Since your wife is taller, I'd suggest for a starter bike the new Ninja 250. Great bike with all the power she'll need. Once she is confident on that you can move her up.

I wouldn't recommend the off-road stuff. Without the BRC. she'll develop habits that can be harder to break. She should start with the class and you should take it with her but do your dead-level best to not interfere with her training, just be there for her to offer all positive and encouraging words. My wife damned near quit the class because of the U-turns but I talked to her about it. I told her to just run the course and don't worry about the U-turns... hit all the lines if you have to just don't put your feet down. She had the rest of the course in the bag and I knew she couldn't fail on the turns alone. So, she heeded my advice and hit every line possible on two extremely wide turns but aced the rest of the course. Along with a 100 on the written, she passed. I told her in real life, most riders don't do U-turns anyway.

You're not being selfish, you're being over protective and that is purely natural to care for your SO like that. But, you can't shelter her either. She wants to do this and you need to let her go. Take the course with her, encourage her and be there for her should she need you. One negative comment could ruin it so please, nothing negative at all. If she does well in the course, THEN go look at bikes... not before.

Good luck and I hope she passes, gets a bike and you two enjoy the time out like we now do! Take care!