Restrict HP or Throttle?

[Andrew TLR]

An opportunity to purchase a bike for my fiance has come up! She's been wanting her own wheels ever since I got mine nearly five years ago.

The only problem is it's another TLR and she's never ridden before. She's promised to take a motorcycle safety course before riding it but it's still a lot of hp for a novice rider.

Any thoughts of restricting hp, similar to some EU models, or possibly modifying the throttle to only allow 30-40%?

It's a great deal and I'd hate to pass it up, but if it's just too difficult to rework the power I'll probably pass on it and keep looking.

[katana750]

Novice rider? Heavy...very fast bike?
Only my .02, get her a nice GS500.

[Andrew TLR]

Oh trust me. I've had my eye out for a good SV650s but those little buggers really hold their value.

[kevh]

i think i would be more worried about the weight than the hp. new riders (especially women) have a tendency to lose control at slow speeds. remember the 1st time you tried the 90 degree turn in the msf course? or the figure 8?

[Ryno]

I wouldn't start her off on a TL
With the new SV's out, 99-02's are selling a lot cheaper than before.
I've seen plenty in the $3000 to $4000

[delong31]

wait it out and get her an SV. I think that the weight is the bigger problem that she will have. Winter is coming on fast and prices will drop and you can bargain more with the seller. I have already seen prices drop about 1500 on the SVs...get a good one for about 3000. I went and looked at an '03 for 4200 ...the person just needed the cash fast. Patience...I know it's hard.

[BrianTLS]

My fiance started up with a SV 650 and loved it. Nice power and not too heavy.
She then got a Monster 900 and HATED it because it was too heavy. I think if you get your fiance a TL she won't enjoy riding because the bike would be a little heavy for starting out.
I would start her out on a SV and if she doesn't like the styling, a 600. If you want her to ride and enjoy it.

Good Luck,

Brian

[tlxsess]

fuck it. Get her ass on that tl. If she can ride that thing she can ride anything. My first real bike was a tls. Now i'm rolling stoppies and rockin 3rd gear balanced standups and people cant understand how i'm doing that on a tl. I can smack around my tl....i can rape any other bike.

[vane]

Six of the one, half dozen of the other. It's pretty much down to the rider. My mates wife started out on the SV650, loved it to bits, but now she's starting to nag about the SV1000.

It would be good to start her out on a lighter and less powerful bike, but sooner or later, she's going to want something bigger or more powerful. If you've got the quid then get the SV till she's fed up and then get her a TL.

If money is tight, as with most of us, get the TL! If she's got any brains, she'll take it easy. I'm on my fourth bike in 13 months, simply because the weaker bikes get boring!

[Steve TLS]

My ex was a pretty experienced rider and hated my TL, to the point where we had to buy another bike for her (YZF1000R Thunderace).

The seat height was too tall for her and the low speed "Stumbles" made it hard for her to manage as well, once upto speed she was fine though.

[eurotrash]

. i think she'll struggle more at low speeds manouvering the beast around. is she a big lass? if so she may be ok. girls tend to show more restraint with the throttle. us boys wanna be valentino rossi the week after we pass our test.

[Kris]

She'll be fine if she physicaly fits on the bike. Can she straddle it and keep both feet flat footed? If not... As far as power is concerned, most women I know have a heck of a bunch less ego / testosterone than men. Again, find a bike that fits her physicaly. There are plenty of smaller/narrower bikes out there.

Tried the new Buells yet? They are absolutely tiny.

[danny never]

a new rider has no business being on a 1000. get her a 500, and when she can scrape the pegs off of it, get a bigger bike. she will be a much better rider and have alot more fun when she is ready to move up.

[Schussboelie]

Originally posted by kevh
i think i would be more worried about the weight than the hp. new riders (especially women) have a tendency to lose control at slow speeds. remember the 1st time you tried the 90 degree turn in the msf course? or the figure 8?

Really, I let my girl the Tiller once at low speed but when she stopped the bike was still a bit slanted and she dropped it, too high but even more so way too heavy.

My Tiller's restricted at 100HP, lemme tell ya, for a novice, there might as well be no restriction
It will always be too much, as will the torque.

My babe's on an '01 SV650 now and loving it, so do I by the way

[Dover338]

my sis just took the MSF course and she looking into the SV650. I let her try to ride my TLS but she's way too short and it's way too big for her.