Learning the wife to ride

I am glad this post is still going. In my opinion, it is a better idea to have your wife or girlfriend go take an MSF course instead of trying to teach her yourself. I have had mixed experience with different girlfriends and other ladies. Sometime ago, I tried to teach an ex-girlfriend how to drive a stick in a car, and failed miserably - WTF was I thinking - I have no training as a driving instructor and I am not the greatest with a stick in a car. I have had a little better luck with some motorcycle training because, I asm better prepared since I am certified as a rider coach and have some teaching experience. Anyway, after reading the posts and thinking more about training a significant other I think the best idea is to either have her go to an MSF course and then you are stuck riding with her, or get her to start on a dirt bike and then you may have better luck teaching her to ride a bike - particularly if you have experience as an instructor/coach. Please do ot get me wrong here, but I find that it is hard for a man to teach a woman anything (generally speaking). There are a majority of women who think every woman on the planet is smarter than any man. So what i am saying here is that some women seem to do better with a lady instructor. I have had the good fortune to work with a couple of ladies in different motorcycle clubs who want to work on cornering skills. If a fellow female rider tells the ladies I know what I am doing it is more likely I will be sucessful in getting my message accross. I do not think I would be sucessful without that. I do not mean to be a male pig because I think it is kinda the same for guys when it comes to some things.

 

LOL Thats one thing I can take to the bank, It'll never happen.

 

OK...I'm really new at this site. To get back into sportriding I picked up an '86 VFR700 and have enjoyed it for a couple of weeks.
But, back to topic... after riding behind me on my 1800 Wing the wife had to try riding on her own. I taught her a few of the basics and then she took the Basic Rider Training program on a Rebel 250. Passed with ease.
She bought a Rebel 250. Sold it after a year and bought a 2005 Vstar 650. Shield, saddlebags and lots of chrome. She loves it.
We love riding together, even if it's slower than I would ride without her.

I say go for it...any thing you can do together that makes you smile can't be bad!

Oh yea...she was 51 years old when she learned. But don't tell her I told you that.

 

Today I finally let my wife ride my beloved VFR in real live traffic. We started on the MSF range on base & then rode 10 miles to the house. She did just fine & says she like my bike better than hers. Time to start browsing for a slightly used Red 5th Gen.:biggrin:

KC-10 FE out...
lane:

 

She actually went and did it!

On May 11 my wife started the MSF BRC. Because of normal SNAFUs at the local station she even had to go well out of her way to get to the class. But she stuck with it, and apparently did very well and got her endorsement the 14th. She has taken the bike out a couple times on her own, but today was the first weekend day since then that it didn't rain. Got out for about an hour, about 40 miles. Really had a great time. Couldn't convince her to get in the picture though.

 

Can anyone here give me a yay or nay as to whether or not I should buy a 2005 VFR for my Wife? She's 5'6" & can comfortably touch the ground on my 2000. I have a sale lined up that I will close in September. She doesn't squid (I'm not sure she even knows how to), rides slower than most bikes & is extremely cautious almost to the point of being annoying to other drivers.

I would particularly like to hear from anyone who's owned both gen's 5 & 6. I've ridden a 2002, 2004 & 2006. I can honestly say I like my 5th Gen better. My wife is looking to be comfortable while riding & from what I can tell, the 6th Gen's lean just slightly more to the touring side of sport touring as compared to the 5th Gen.

I would prefer to get a 2001 Red 5th Gen but it's next to impossible to find one that doesn't have loads of stuff done to it. I wouldn't mind a windscreen & muffler but everyone I can find has new forks & other stuff like that. She rode my bike & said it felt perfect to her just as it is. Mine has a K&N air filter, Scorpion pipe, Targa Windscreen & new foot pegs, that's it.

KC-10 FE out...
lane:

 

Zerosum - It must be a small world... My first bike was/is an '82 Seca 400!!! Reading your post reminded me of the first time I tried to teach a friend to ride. Did the same thing, like it was a BMX - feet out, then grabbed the brake before bringing in the clutch. Dropped it hard - broke the clutch lever and managed to kick me in the face jumping off of it. His lesson was over.

To the topic at hand - that same '82 Seca 400 was used to try and get the wife going on two wheels. She got the basics down, clutching, braking, riding in a big circle....etc. She even got her Vermont learner's permit. But once she got out on the roads (big neighborhood loops, really), the other traffic really freaked her out. After several attempts ending in a bawling wife in a helmet and a dejected husband, she gave up. A passenger for life.

Good thing the VFR is so capable 2-up.:wink:

 

My wife has a thing about not riding on the back but once I got her a bike I couldn't keep her off the roads....

 

Hi Everyone,
I only have three thoughts about this subjuct,
1. i never thought of it like this but i could never get away to think alone.
2. i love my wife she my best friend i would not want to see her ever get hurt
3. after seven kids the center of gravity might be a little off ?

 

im sending my wife to the basic riders course since its free for military. what way i dont have to do it, and if she falls its not on my bike. lol

 

yes your right if she wanted to ride i would send her to a course first, and the more i think about it ..... this might be a cool thing ?

 

the course is a hundred and something dollars (i dont remember cause i didnt have to pay for it). even if i did have to pay, that money would be a lot cheaper than the wear and tear on my bike, or even replacing a body panel if she dropped it. also, out here in AZ after you finish the course, you get a form to take to the DMV and you dont have to take any test, they just give you your motorcycle endorcement

 

I'd start her out at one of the local MSF classes (with a rebel or nighthawk)
just to teach her the controls


then step up to the VFR
you gotta learn to swim somehow.



my roommate started on a 2003 VFR
I normally wouldn't suggest someone starting on this big of a bike,
but it's very "forgiving"

in a perfect world
someone who wants a "sporty bike" to start on:
I'd start them with a Suzuki SV650S or a Kawasaki Ninja 650

 

Yea Bubba,
If Momma ain't happy, nobody is gonna be happy.

Mac

 

My wife took the MSF class first. We bought her a Suzuki Savage S40 single cylinder bike that weighed about 350 pounds. She rode it for about 2 years before she upgraded to a larger bike. Was a very good choice for her

 

I started my G/F (of 9 years) out on a 250 ninja. The day she got it she rode out in the side yard (1 acre) for Hours & Hours. she took to it quickly because she really wanted to learn.

I bet we spent 40+ hours in the church parking lot 3 doors down before she ever rode on the street.


and yes, I taught her with help from another buddy.

6 month later she now rides my old SV650. And is taking the riding course in march


still though... there are times she impresses the heck out of me with her riding. And the other times she maes me very nervous.


I too have delt with the "bawling in the helment" but after she calmed down she wanted to go back and "redo" that road again... like a champ the 2nd time around

 

My wife is getting a 2006 Ninja 250 to learn on. After 2 years if she is still interested I will upgrade her bike to something a little bigger. Options are limited but maybe then she could upgrade to a 600 CBR or even a VFR.

 

My wife wanted to ride so bad. I let her take my 85 700 rwb across the street. Hurt leg, broken turn signal, broken brake lever. Gonna let her start on something a little a. shorter b.less heavy c. cheaper to fix. I am thinking take her on a freinds teenagers dirtbike. let her ride around a parking lot til she gets used to stopping and going and all that. I think that an upbrupt stop on a 80 or 100 wont result in a tipover like it did on my 700.

Easy to fix mine luckily trip to a wrecker and less then 40$ mine is all back to normal