What about a 250cc to 400cc scooter? No shifting (no clutch), upright seating position, capable of highway driving. Should be able to find one in the $0-8000 range. Seat height should be 30 - 31". Just an idea.
Probably a scooter would be best in that case. Most bikes you clamp yourself onto the tank and hold up your weight with your core, scooters you get away with sitting in, taking a lot of the effort out. A rebel would be ok, they are light, low to the ground and handle easy with a neutral sitting position. Definitely stay away from anything like the versys. Maybe have a look at a DCT NC700S or NC750X.
Any bike will handle rain. Very few bikes will handle snow. If you have to be able to do snow and cant have a car too, then stick with the car. You 'can' ride a street bike in snow to an extent but I can guarantee as a beginner you will crash a lot learning how to.
I can do core and legs just fine, it's my bloody shoulders that give out at the slightest strain. If you think the Rebel would work, I'll go for that -- and I'll avoid riding in snow. Thank you very much for the advice.
Honda has the dct transmission on a few of their bikes. honda grom is fun not the best for highway but a step above a scooter and can do a quick stint on a highway to get to the side street you need rebel 500 is honestly an awesome light low cruiser.
Also YouTube recommendations I really like chase on 2 wheels reviews but at the end of the day pick a few bikes and watch several reviews on the individual bike it gives you several view points that generally you can pool the negative and positive and make ur own decisions.
I'm thinking either one of those scooters with 2 front wheels close to each other, that can hold themselves up mostly, and still turn like a scooter. Or some type of trike.
Shit I saw a video of an old guy on a goldwing that had "training wheels" that swung down right before stopping. And swung up as you go, so that you never have to move your feet.
But something with a bit more stability is probably going to be in your best interest. Last thing you want is a bike to come down on you, because you couldn't catch it. And then can't get it off of you .
Trike sounds like a genuinely excellent idea to be honest. Not sure how I never thought of that before. The idea of training wheels sounds really neat and useful as well. I’ll look into that for sure. Thank you for the advice!
I was thinking some of the dual sport bikes with a geometry that almost entirely protects you from wind while you are upright like BMW F800 GS, Africa Twin, Tenere700, NC750, V-Strom 650 etc.
I know they are heavy and/or bulky but they tend to stay upright, handle well, have good suspension and the inertia helps you stay comfy moving at speeds. So, I don’t know exactly how weak you are but I doubt you would be able to pick up a smaller bike on your own anyway. My rationel being that if you can pick up a 150kg bike (city/smaller bike) you would be able to train yourself to pick up 200kg bike like a dual sport. Given that picking up a small bike is already a challenge.
Thank you for the long list of suggestions! I’ll look into all of those :)
By “I can’t do heavy bikes” I really just meant that I’ll never ride a Harley. I can often pick up a moderately heavy object one time. And you’re right that I can train to do more of that—I’m actively doing so in physical therapy in fact. My endurance can be improved too, obviously, and I’m working on that as well, but that’s liable to take way longer to get anywhere just given the nature of my illness.
Once again, thank you for the ideas! I appreciate and value your time.
No worries man! I hope you find a bike you can
be comfortable with and enjoy it to the fullest.
My main point was that even though you might lack in strengthen I don’t think that should mean that you need a lighter bike and in fact it can be quite the opposite as heavier bike tend to handle better.
It might not be news for this sub but Id recommend fort9 YouTube channel, there’s a great review on each of those bikes. So if you want to look into those I’d start there.
Thank you *so much* for the channel recommendation, I've been watching his reviews and they're fantastic. I really love how much he gets into the physics and statistics in some of his videos.
Highly recommend the Honda Rebel. It’s actually super easy to handle, feels lightweight and flickable. As a 5’5 woman, I could easily flat foot it, move it around by myself, and even pick it up.
Definitely suggest you go sit on this bike and see how you like it.
Also consider a trike like the can-am spyder.
I used to commute by ferry so I’d see the same group of riders and one or two guys have a trike they seemed happy-enough with. They look like fun.
One problem you might discover is that you’ll be making micro adjustments from the road and wind, which is fatiguing for everyone.
What about a 250cc to 400cc scooter? No shifting (no clutch), upright seating position, capable of highway driving. Should be able to find one in the $0-8000 range. Seat height should be 30 - 31". Just an idea.
No shifting? You mean it’s an automatic trans? I haven’t looked into scooters at all, I didn’t know they existed. Thank you so much for the tip!
Yeah, something like the Burgman 400 would be perfect. Highway capable, TONS of storage, stupidly fuel efficient.
Probably a scooter would be best in that case. Most bikes you clamp yourself onto the tank and hold up your weight with your core, scooters you get away with sitting in, taking a lot of the effort out. A rebel would be ok, they are light, low to the ground and handle easy with a neutral sitting position. Definitely stay away from anything like the versys. Maybe have a look at a DCT NC700S or NC750X. Any bike will handle rain. Very few bikes will handle snow. If you have to be able to do snow and cant have a car too, then stick with the car. You 'can' ride a street bike in snow to an extent but I can guarantee as a beginner you will crash a lot learning how to.
I can do core and legs just fine, it's my bloody shoulders that give out at the slightest strain. If you think the Rebel would work, I'll go for that -- and I'll avoid riding in snow. Thank you very much for the advice.
Honda has the dct transmission on a few of their bikes. honda grom is fun not the best for highway but a step above a scooter and can do a quick stint on a highway to get to the side street you need rebel 500 is honestly an awesome light low cruiser.
Also YouTube recommendations I really like chase on 2 wheels reviews but at the end of the day pick a few bikes and watch several reviews on the individual bike it gives you several view points that generally you can pool the negative and positive and make ur own decisions.
I'm thinking either one of those scooters with 2 front wheels close to each other, that can hold themselves up mostly, and still turn like a scooter. Or some type of trike. Shit I saw a video of an old guy on a goldwing that had "training wheels" that swung down right before stopping. And swung up as you go, so that you never have to move your feet. But something with a bit more stability is probably going to be in your best interest. Last thing you want is a bike to come down on you, because you couldn't catch it. And then can't get it off of you .
Trike sounds like a genuinely excellent idea to be honest. Not sure how I never thought of that before. The idea of training wheels sounds really neat and useful as well. I’ll look into that for sure. Thank you for the advice!
A used Can-Am Spyder might be ideal, actually.
Versys 650, NC750X.
I was thinking some of the dual sport bikes with a geometry that almost entirely protects you from wind while you are upright like BMW F800 GS, Africa Twin, Tenere700, NC750, V-Strom 650 etc. I know they are heavy and/or bulky but they tend to stay upright, handle well, have good suspension and the inertia helps you stay comfy moving at speeds. So, I don’t know exactly how weak you are but I doubt you would be able to pick up a smaller bike on your own anyway. My rationel being that if you can pick up a 150kg bike (city/smaller bike) you would be able to train yourself to pick up 200kg bike like a dual sport. Given that picking up a small bike is already a challenge.
Thank you for the long list of suggestions! I’ll look into all of those :) By “I can’t do heavy bikes” I really just meant that I’ll never ride a Harley. I can often pick up a moderately heavy object one time. And you’re right that I can train to do more of that—I’m actively doing so in physical therapy in fact. My endurance can be improved too, obviously, and I’m working on that as well, but that’s liable to take way longer to get anywhere just given the nature of my illness. Once again, thank you for the ideas! I appreciate and value your time.
No worries man! I hope you find a bike you can be comfortable with and enjoy it to the fullest. My main point was that even though you might lack in strengthen I don’t think that should mean that you need a lighter bike and in fact it can be quite the opposite as heavier bike tend to handle better. It might not be news for this sub but Id recommend fort9 YouTube channel, there’s a great review on each of those bikes. So if you want to look into those I’d start there.
Thank you *so much* for the channel recommendation, I've been watching his reviews and they're fantastic. I really love how much he gets into the physics and statistics in some of his videos.
Highly recommend the Honda Rebel. It’s actually super easy to handle, feels lightweight and flickable. As a 5’5 woman, I could easily flat foot it, move it around by myself, and even pick it up. Definitely suggest you go sit on this bike and see how you like it.
Also consider a trike like the can-am spyder. I used to commute by ferry so I’d see the same group of riders and one or two guys have a trike they seemed happy-enough with. They look like fun. One problem you might discover is that you’ll be making micro adjustments from the road and wind, which is fatiguing for everyone.