Best beginner bike for a woman?

".....My friend (who's 22 years old, 5' 1", 100 lbs) recently got a 2007 Ninja 250 and after having it for 2 months she told me she wishes she got a bigger bike.  Basically, I want a bike that I will be happy with for at least a year and will be able to comfortably ride with a passenger without having the performance of the bike being thrown off (as I've heard can happen with a 250). I'm also looking for performance and speed. I'm not trying to do any street racing by any means, but I do want to have a bit of fun with my new toy when it's appropriate....."

I found this question posted on Yahoo Answers regarding the best beginner bike for a woman.  Does it matter if you're a female vs. male beginner? Should the recommendations be any different? Personally, I Loathe the term "woman's bike". It implies that you need something special and you can't possibly ride any of the other bikes out on the market, which is simply not true. But that's a different blog post....

Each rider is different. Based on this person's question, I suspect that her motives for riding are a little bit misplaced. If she is worried about 'keeping up' with friends on group rides and 'getting bored' with a Ninja 250, I have to question her friend's experience with that bike. You should NEVER try to keep up with your friends, or any group ride for that matter. That can get really dangerous, very quickly. My guess is that the friend who's bored has less than stellar cornering skills. I guess it could be that she's a very quick learner and she's mastered her entry speed and cornering abilities in a short period of time. However, that's pretty atypical from what I've seen.  

I don't know, is that jumping to conclusions? I always wonder if people who say they're 'bored' haven't really explored the capabilities of the Ninja 250, or the bike they've become disillusioned with. When I upgraded, I wasn't bored. I just felt ready for something a little bigger for freeway riding and trips.  I don't know how anyone can, considering how f'ng awesome that bike is in corners! 

What advice would you give to a woman asking this question? 

WIN a weekend in Lake Tahoe!

Lake Tahoe Adventure Ride & Rendezvous Donates Grand Prize: Tickets for 2 + Lodging for Friday May, 4 2012: International Female Ride Day Party, San Francisco

San Francisco, April 19, 2012 -- Some lucky woman motorcyclist will win two tickets and lodging for the Lake Tahoe Adventure Ride & Rendezvous event during the San Francisco’s International Female Ride Day party. The party is happening on Friday, May 4, 4-7 pm at Moto Shop, 325 South Maple Ave, #20 in South San Francisco. Co-founder of the event, Carl Ribaudo, will be riding from Tahoe to present the grand prize, which includes three nights lodging at the Lakeside Inn and Casino.

On this 6th International Female Ride Day the theme is “JUST RIDE!” and women motorcyclists everywhere have planned events, group rides, or are simply riding to work or to do whatever they do. The purpose for this unified day is to bring awareness of the numbers of women who ride, to unify women in motorcycling, no matter what they ride, and to encourage other women to adopt the sport. Women from around the world participate in this globally-synchronized day, including women in Australia, Greece, Russia, India, Hungary, and beyond. The event was founded by Vicki Gray of MOTORESS, an online women's motorcycle magazine devoted to women motorcycle enthusiasts of all ages and styles.

Men and women from all over the San Francisco Bay Area are welcome to join in no matter what they ride (motorcycles, scooters, trikes, sidecars). Other local businesses providing prizes are MAD Maps, BMW Motorcycles of San Francisco, SF Moto, Scuderia West, City Bike, Infineon Raceway, and more sponsors to come. Unfortunately, only women riders are eligible to win these fabulous prizes.

Come meet other women riders, show off your bike, or find out how you might learn to ride. The event is organized by Joanne Donn, founder of GearChic, Aleks Grippo, co-owner of Moto Shop, and Carla King, author of the Motorcycle Misadventures series of books and online dispatches from the road. Let us know how you want to participate.

You must be present to win!

CONTACT
Joanne Donn joanne@gearchic.com
Aleksandra Grippo aleks@bayareamotoshop.com
Carla King carla@carlaking.com

MORE INFO & RSVP:
Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Female-Ride-Day-San-Francisco/283158275086622

Scuderia West Spring Open House, Saturday April 21st.

Come shopping with me! A ton of women's gear has showed up just in time for Open House, so come by, grab a burger, check out all the goodies and say hi. I promise not to make you buy anything.  :lol:

Recent MSF Graduates = Highest Risk Group?

Say it isn't so! That's what this article from the WSJ is saying, based on accident rates in the Golden State from recent MSF graduates.

MSF Training won't prevent some people from making terrible judgment calls in terms of what they're going to buy and how much time it can take to build up enough experience to that 800cc, 150hp motorcycle they've just bought. (Doesn't matter if it's a cruiser either. If you don't know how to manage your entry speed, you're screwed).

I think that although "..... collision claim frequency was 10 percent higher (in CA) compared with 28 states without those requirements", the claim frequency would be Even higher without any requirement for people under 21.

And, women represent 20-30% of students in "some" states. How many is "some"? If it were all 48 states that the curriculum is in, that would be a pretty strong argument for 20-30% of riders in the US being women? Hmmmm.

Article: Data show risk highest for new motorcycle riders. Wall Street Journal, April 15, 2012 http://online.wsj.com/article/AP45597fe150f74e8c881b0eb7c594e806.html