Newbie

Hey Racer7

Unless I can coax my legs to grow a bit, the 800's may be more in line for me. I do check out seat height specs, but get carried away with other bike features.
At 5'5 on a good day, I run into this every time I get on a bike. I seriously won't do the tip toe and lean thing at a stop. Thats just asking for trouble. Hope you won't mind if I pick your brain when I have it narrowed down after test rides?

Hi, Laney,
My late wife kept telling me, in 2001 and 2002, that she wanted to get back into riding. So I took her to the Blitz to Branson in 2002 and she asked every woman rider there if she could sit on her bike. From that, she determined she wanted a K75 with a low seat. I still have her last K75, a '94 with windshield, bags, ABS brakes, heated grips and crash bars, and ride it frequently. When you go to a rally, don't be afraid to ask questions, for help, whatever. Welcome to BMWMOA!

Thanks Phil,

I got an idea of how much I don't know about BMW's today after visiting my first dealership. (whaddaya mean the 650's are really 800cc's??) lol
But, they sure are pretty! Dealership didn't have any of the lower 800's in stock for me to try out, but they promised to call when one comes in. I may be planning a day trip to other dealers just to check out a larger inventory.
Your wife sounds like she was one cool lady.

Laney,
You're about the same height as my female riding companion and tall enough that you have quite a few choices in BMW's new and used. While new bikes are nice, there often some sweet deals to be found on used models and you can find bikes that have been out of production a while if you are patient. BMW is pretty good about parts so just because a machine is out of production is no reason to stay away from it, if you like it. And you'll need to evaluate other stuff like how much weather protection you want (if the model name ends with a T it has more than otherwise).
If you're into new and it fits you, well respected Motorcycle Consumer News (an ad-free publication) has just had extremely good things to say about the F800R that's been available in Europe for a while but is now being imported here. Its just the latest edition in the size range so compare the whole set. The R is a "naked" and there are ST and GS models you've probably seen by now. A lot depends on what kind of riding you want to do with the bike and a new bike will open up new possibilities.
The comments about what female riders like may well be more useful to you than what guys like me think but I'll add my $0.02 when you ask. At 6', I still find a lot of BMW's to be annoyingly tall and I'm not paranoid about having to put both feet flat. But there are women your height who ride the big bikes so don't think you're automatically stuck with an 800. My riding companion loves her R1100S (an 04 model) but I am currently fitting it with a larger screen and barbacks because she wants to do road trips with me and wants a slightly more upright position for 500 mile days. Such parts are available, many after market only, for most BMWs- its pretty easy to make some adjustments to most of the models even if its not always with factory parts.
If you can wait until the National before springing for a new machine, you will be able to see examples of everything made and most things BMW has ever made, and sit on all kinds of stuff just by asking- plus you can get the opinions of the female riders there.
No matter how many showrooms or computer simulators you see, nothing else will match that opportunity.
Paul Winter
aka racer7

Welcome

Glad to see another poster from Pa. I think it is great more and more women are piloting their own bikes. Have been trying for 30 yrs to get my wife interested in riding her own , but no luck. If you are planing a trip through this part of the state give us a ring.. See you in Bloomsburg this summer George

Thanks George. Ditto to you and your wife.
I'm thinking your wife must really like being next to you to pass up on her own bike. Hope to see you both at the rally.