What bike do I buy for the Mrs??

Hi all, I am trying to persuade my other half to change her bike. She has had an old Honda 400/4 for about 15 years. Im now in the position to be able to buy her a new bike or nearly new.
The 400/4 keeps going wrong and, compared to a new or new-ish bike, is complete S**t to ride. But she has ridden nothing else... I think she would enjoy biking even more on a modern ish bike.
So what do we look at? Apart from an SV650 of course...
It needs to be lowish (She is 5'7" so not tiny but not really tall) and narrow with fairly upright riding position so no faired sports bikes. I have suggested:
Ducati Monster
Honda Hornet 600
Suzuki SV650 or Bandit 600
Kawasaki 600 (new one)
Yamaha Fazer.

All modern bikes appear huge and bulky to her and compared to the 400/4 they are. So where is the modern equivalent? Most riding is Sunday rides with one or two long trips to Europe a year.
Adam.

Hornets are good for short people. Plus they are a real hoot to ride and reliable.

Bandits I love but they are heavy bikes. SV650's of course are great.

[Viney]

Dont forget the cool looking IMHO, GSX600. Any of those would be a good choice. We would all recomend thew SV, but all i say, is get her to ride them all (If possible) and buy the one that makes her smile.

How about a CB500 (or something similar)? Might not be your cup of tea, but it might be the replacement she is comfortable with.

Adam,

The best first step is to get the little lady around as many dealers as possible and let her do the "bum tests". Also allowing her to not be over awed by the larger looking bikes. I had a 400-4 which I loved and agree they are very slim and small compared with today's offerings.

I think the bikes that you have mentioned are definite contenders and all will boil down to her preference and no doubt your wallet! :P

[fizzwheel]

What bike does she want next ? at 5ft 7in she should have plenty of choice. As Peter says take her round the dealers and get her sat on a few bikes she what she likes.

I dont think theres really a modern equivalent to the 400/4. Also IMHO they are expensive for what they are. VFR's and RVF's seem to hold their prices very well for what they are.

All the bikes you have listed look like good choices to me. But at the end of the day its down to personal choice.

You'd be surprised what she'll be able to manage. Liz sat on a 2004 R6 and couldnt get her feet down comfortably. Then she sat on a 2004 R1 and she can get her feet down on that as the seat is narrower on the R1. Liz is is lacking in the heigh department shes edit 5 3

Not saying that would be a good choice of bike for your other half though. Just dont rule out bikes because she thinks she wont be able to manage them as they look to big. Often they are not.

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Liz is is lacking in the heigh department shes around 5 2

OI! I'm 5" 3" if you don't mind

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by e.d.

OI! I'm 5" 3" if you don't mind

[Biker Biggles]

Get her another 400 four,but one in first class nick that won't keep going wrong.
My Mrs went from a 400 four to an SV and never really got on with the modern bike,hence I ride it far more than she does
You could uprate the useless front brake and have a perfectly good bike even if it is thirty years old.

[northwind]

The Fazers are gerat bikes, but to me they always feel physically large. Which Monster would it be, a 620? IMO, nice bike, feeble engine, if it was the match for the SV engine then it'd be a different story. Bandits... Bleh. Can't see any point ot them whatsoever any more, unless you're on a really tight budget and it just can't be a 500cc. Engine's indestructible of course, but then so are most modern motors.

SVs of course are small, and can be made smaller. Hornets seem pretty good for the short of ****, as well as being fantastic bikes in their own right... I'd purely call that IL4 vs v-twin, both are bikes touched by genius. The Hornet's better made of course, and tend to be more expensive.