My mom is looking for a bike

[SRTie4k]

I'm not a guru when it comes to bikes, but my mom wants to buy a bike for her and my dad to share. These are her stipulations:

The bike must be $5000 or under, used or new, doesn't matter
Must be reliable, and have relatively low to moderate mileage
Relatively new, she doesn't want to be calling around to find parts for it
She wants a standard seating position, i.e. as bolt-upright as possible with minimal reach to the handlebars
Low enough for her to flat foot, she is 5' 6"
Prefers Japanese simply for the smoothness of engine, but ultimately doesn't matter if there isn't a lot of vibration from the engine
Wants something with decent power, but nothing 1000. Probably 500/600/650, etc

The bikes I've recommended thus far are the SV650n, the Bandit (couldn't find any locally) and potentially the HD Iron/Sportster 883. Like I said, I'm not a bike guru and it seems to be hard to find a standard Japanese bike these days that resembles the reliability and comfort of the UJM's of yore. So please help me out and throw some suggestions my way.

[MikeyZ]

Ninja 650R.

[fineout]

Ninja 650R.

great fit for what youre saying.

[R7]

Yamaha FZ6

[SRTie4k]

The 650R still seems too aggressive. 16* forward lean for someone 5'6" according to cycle ergos. Reason I brought up the SV650 is because you can easily find higher risers...don't know if thats true for the 650R or FZ6 though.

[Doc]

Ducati Monster.

Or maybe a Honda Shadow.

The Suzuki TU250x is kinda cool too.

[G21forme]

Yamaha FZ6

Winnah

[JettaJayGLS]

street triple and kawi z750 work as well.

[Rada]

The Suzuki TU250x is kinda cool too.

My sister in law just started riding out of the blue and loves her TU. Super easy to ride and i bet you could drop it a hundred times without hurting it.

[SRTie4k]

Wirelessly posted

You guys are thinking too sport oriented. This bike will be for a 56 year old lady that grew up riding a honda cb ujm, and wants similar ergos. Anything more than about 10* of forward lean is too much.

[Doc]

Looks UJM to me.

[KB]

Oh come on seriously no one yet??? Ok I will...........

Pics of your Mom???

KB

[Rada]

Wirelessly posted

You guys are thinking too sport oriented. This bike will be for a 56 year old lady that grew up riding a honda cb ujm, and wants similar ergos. Anything more than about 10* of forward lean is too much.

The TU is perfect. Maybe a little light on Powa but still.... I would ride it.

[Jank]

Suzuki GS500.
An old E model or the new F for fairing.

[jasnmar]

With the less popular vote, if she's used to the older Honda look at a shadow or smaller Yamaha's of similar size. They're heavier than the sport bikes, but have a more relaxed seating position and aren't as aggressive from a performance perspective.

I restarted riding 5 yrs ago on a cruiser. They're "fine".

[fineout]

very straight up id nominate a versys, but its too tall, maybe with a lowering link or something?

[noxin]

They use the TUs at Ironstone for the BRC and they take a beating and keep on ticking.

They're fun to ride, but, like was mentioned, they're light on power. Good upright position as well.

[Father Ribs]

Suzuki VS800GL Intruder. Nice upright position, low enough to put both feet down comfortably. Relatively current bike that you can still get parts and you can find them used for $2,000ish. I'm 6'2" 290lb and except for being a little cramped it was great if not a speed demon.

[Hammerspur]

The bike must be $5000 or under, used or new, doesn't matter
Must be reliable, and have relatively low to moderate mileage
Relatively new, she doesn't want to be calling around to find parts for it
She wants a standard seating position, i.e. as bolt-upright as possible with minimal reach to the handlebars
Low enough for her to flat foot, she is 5' 6"
Prefers Japanese simply for the smoothness of engine, but ultimately doesn't matter if there isn't a lot of vibration from the engine
Wants something with decent power, but nothing 1000. Probably 500/600/650, etc

Yamaha Road Star 650


One of my bikes is a cruiser and was my re-entry into riding after over a decade without a bike.
Low seat height, long ride comfort (regardless of complaints some make about cruisers) smooth, tractable power and low speed handling around parking lots, etc. no sporty bike can match.

This is coming from someone who once believed he'd never be caught dead riding such machines!

[GearHd6]

My girlfriend just started riding motorcycles a couple years ago. We picked up a mint used Honda Shadow VLX (which is a 600) with 6500 miles on it for $1800. She loves the bike, she can easily flat foot and it's very upright.

[SteveM]

Triumph bonneville

[nhbubba]

Versys nails your wants lists, IMO. Except the flat foot bit. That probably won't work.

I've ridden a recent Shadow 750. It is utterly forgettable and not very good on the highway, but very, very low.

[SRTie4k]

So far, I think the TU250X and the Bonneville are probably some of the best runners-up. She's not entirely convinced by the cruiser style, although I told her to at least try sitting on an 883 to see how she likes it, so maybe that will open her up to more cruisers if she does.

[SRTie4k]

Versys nails your wants lists, IMO. Except the flat foot bit. That probably won't work.

I've ridden a recent Shadow 750. It is utterly forgettable and not very good on the highway, but very, very low.

She actually had a VStrom 650 for a few years, and she loved everything except for how tall and top-heavy it was. Maybe the Versys is different, but I have a feeling it is still too tall like you said.

[csmutty]

BMW F650GS?