Triumphrat

Sheepdog

My daughter has a motorcycle endorsement and some riding experience. She is also 5'8" and is a very athletic person. However, she didn't care for my T100. I was sorta surprised, so I asked her what she WAS looking for in a bike. As it turned out, she wanted something much lighter...she always felt she was not in "command" of the Bonnie. I suspect this is true for many women. The average weight of American females is only 80% of their male counterparts. Therefore, in order for them to have the same experience with a Bonneville, the wet weight would have to be 400 lbs (vs 500 lbs for guys). Factor in height differences and you can see that there are damn few choices available to the ladies. No wonder that the Honda CBR250R (357 lbs wet) and BMW G650GS (428 lbs wet) are popular among women...they are actually sized to work for them. I suggest that if you really want your girl to enjoy motorcycles, you need to stop thinking about what you want and help her to find what she wants.

__________________
2003 Bonneville T100 and 2007 Moto Guzzi California Vintage

sprouty115

Yeah, at 5.8 I'm betting the bike will be too tall for her to feel comfortable on. It will also be heavier by 45lbs, so if it tips over it may be an issue to get it back up-right.

__________________
- Stephen

Thrux2k7

Sorry, misunderstood your thread.
I was just going to say I'd be happy to take a Scrambler in exchange for my missus !!!

BDKrivit

You're looking for a Bonneville SE. With a 17" front wheel, the SE was designed and marketed as a bike for those in that sub-5'10" world and many women ride it stock. In addition, the SE has a sculpted seat as it approaches the tank, helping even more.

Go have a seat on one.

__________________


IBA# 53256

Olhogrider

The Bonneville and SE have the same wheels, frame and seat. And yeah, I would swap my Mrs for a Scrambler any day!

__________________
Damned Dirty Biker!

BDKrivit

Incorrect. Bonneville is 19" spoked & SE is 17" mag.

Bonneville has 30.5" seat, SE has 29.1". The Bonneville is 4.5" longer than the SE.

http://motorcycles.findthebest.com/c...onneville-T100

__________________


IBA# 53256

dam1

and they have different rear and front shocks....

Magwheel suits more a small ish person

Sheepdog

Both the Bonneville and the SE tip the scales at 495lbs, wet...the wheelbase is the same, too. The Scrambler and the T100 have identical wire wheelsets and the Bonneville and the SE both have mags. 1" less seat height is a very subtle difference...

__________________
2003 Bonneville T100 and 2007 Moto Guzzi California Vintage

BDKrivit

I forgot they changed the names around last year...when the mag wheel was intro'd in 09 it was only the SE and incl tach & kneepads. The T100 was a Bonneville (19" spokes) w/ a tach, gaitors, kneepads, & chrome cases.

Now the Bonneville is also a 17" mag and only the T100 is the 2001-10 style...

Any other model changes?

__________________


IBA# 53256

vzshadow

The VLX Shadow was discontinued after 2007 and never had more than 4 speeds. You'll need to look for one of the Shadow 750s. However they do not compare favorably with the Triumph cruisers.