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FZ6If you’re looking for one bike to perform a multitude of missions, look no further.
Take it from Cycle World* Magazine - “For a more advanced rider looking for a bike to do it all, there is no other choice.”
Showin' up late to the party, as usual, but yeah, my SO rides and had never been on a bike until I bought my Sportster back in August, '03. I bought it so I could get back into riding after a 17-year hiatus, but also for her to enjoy as well, and went with a cruiser specifically for that reason. (The FZ6 in April '05 was for *me*.) In response to friends' urging that she get her own bike, she swore she would never ride on her own. By Christmas she was shopping for a bike and bought a Sportster 883 between Christmas and New Year. Over the next couple of months I taught her to ride it in the parking lot of a nearby elementary school, she took the MSF basic course in March '04 and passed with flying colors (the pre-course instruction helped immensely) and has done great, getting better every year since. In August '04 she moved up to a Dyna Low Rider, started going with me on long, 300 - 400 mile day rides and 2000+ mile vacation trips to Deal's Gap and other points all through the southern Appalachians. She now has over 20,000 miles, has only dropped it once (low-speed parking lot thing), and can't imagine herself not having a bike to ride. She has joked on more than one occasion (thinking about losing her job) that she may have to give up her house and live in a trailer, but she'll still have her Harley.
For her it's a total success story, but I agree with another poster that it's not for everybody, male or female. She is very competent, coordinated, cautious, and generally very smart, so she doesn't make many mistakes. Each person has to evaluate the risks and consequences against their own desire to ride and skills for doing it, but there's no reason for someone's SO not to at least consider getting in on the enjoyment.
We talk about it occasionally and it is totally my girlfriends decision, with agreement from me, not to ride a bike.
We came to that decision because we like riding together. We point things out and chat about what we see. I get nudges and taps and know what they mean. It feels to us that we are enjoying the ride together.
If we were on separate bikes that closeness would not be there. She would be concerned about her being by herself and she knows I would probably push on a lot harder without her behind me and that would concern her.
On top of that it would mean storing and paying for another bike which we really do not need or want.
At the end of the day guys, if your other half wants to ride a bike then that is there choice and the best you can do is support them to the best of your ability.
We came to that decision because we like riding together. We point things out and chat about what we see. I get nudges and taps and know what they mean. It feels to us that we are enjoying the ride together.
Sylvia has said she misses the togetherness of going 2-up with me, but we have Chatterboxes so we can talk whenever we want and that makes it very enjoyable for her. She says it gives her the best of both - the enjoyment of riding her own bike, and being able to share the experience through conversation. Bottom line: She's been on the back with me all of twice in the 4 years since she started riding on her own.
My g/f wants to ride. I've got my old KZ in the shed waiting for her to see if it fits her. my biggest concern is how small her hands are and whether or not she'll be able to pull/handle the clutch.
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Old enough to know better; still too young to care.
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