Advice?

Originally Posted by Bibio

if your happy riding a custom styled bike that go that route if you feel safer. confidence is everything when riding a bike so go with what you feel confident on.

get out and go round the shops now and sit on as many bikes as you can,find one you like even if it is a little to tall there are things you can do to get it to fit.

I agree with you there.

Not being confident on a bike is what causes most accidents!
I think for now I'll stick to my Yamaha and see whats available

Try the Monster, they are lovely, I had one as my first big bike. My dad has a Gladius (same engine as the SV650) he likes it because it is so low, he is short. I was actually built with women in mind and is a very easy bike to ride and is therefore an excellent first big bike.

[Bibio]

she wont get on a gladdy as i cant even with their supposed lowered seat.

[johnnyrod]

Test rides test rides test rides! Not easy when you're a learner as shops don't like the look of you but really there's no other way to tell if a bike is for you. You could line up the "same" bike from different manufacturers and they'd all feel different e.g. ER6/GS500/CB500. Custom style might not be a bad option as they can be comfortable and tend to be low, every time you go up in bike size they feel heavy and fast till you get used to it. Did I mention test rides?