What first "big" bike would you buy for your girlfriend?

Originally Posted by Phoenix22

I would say the naked SV. Replaced that with the SV & she loves it. Same insurance too. In a lot of respects I rekon a bigger bike is actually easier to ride.

+1. I had my 125 for a year, loved it but was more than ready for something more by the time I came to do my test. Got a curvy S which then got converted to a nekkid then immediately had a 2 month stint away from my new purchase (torture!)...Came back and had 3 weeks to become acquainted with the SV before taking it up to Scotland on the motorway for the first time. And it was amazing. I had that time all to myself to learn about my new bike, best thing I could have done and I've been back a few times on it since.

Asking which first big bike to get for someone is always going to get a biased viewpoint on here but I'm just telling ya how I did it and it worked for me. It's a weird concept getting a bike bought as a surprise but as you say Serdna, I'm sure she'd be over the moon enough to at least try it out and see how she gels with whatever you end up as your choice for her

Originally Posted by Bibio

if she is going to be riding all winter then get a naked SV and some decent crash bungs. i would then tell her it's for getting used to a bigger bike and not permanent.

Edited. Then she won't be afraid to drop it because the Motosliders are fantastic at what they're designed for. This coming from someone with much experience of dropping in different and annoying situations

Originally Posted by Bibio

better dropping something with no plastic than smashing up something with then having to turn it into a street fighter. if she is scared to drop it she will make mistakes to try and rescue a situation rather than just dropping it. it's amazing the damage you can do to yourself even just trying to stop a bike falling over.

Exactly the thought that when through my head, see previous quote

Serdna, how tall is your lass, is she likely to struggle with the height of an SV?