Well said Vlad   That's what I've been saying all along   It's about your OWN personal comfort zone   Which includes, confidence in YOUR OWN ability to ride the bike and that the bike suits your needs   It should NEVER be about what works out more economical   Because the bottom line is, if you start out being "timid" or "fearful" of the bike, it's much more likely that the experience becomes a negative and frustrating one If you are worried that you might drop the bike and cause expensive damage (easily cause £100's of damage just falling over with some modern bikes)  That will obviously detract from the pleasure of the ride   I rode all kinds of bikes of varying size and power in my younger days and I am of the FIRM opinion that gaining experience on smaller bikes DOES make for a better and more confident rider   HRC, I hope you are happy and confident with whatever you choose   But it MUST be your choice, regardless of what the various and sometimes conflicting/confusing advice you see or hear     Ride safe Ride on Ride free Em                                                                                                                                                                               

Have been keeping up with all the comments with huge interest and have to say I wholeheartedly agree with most of them.

Part of my reason for buying the Virago 250 was that it was there, nobody else wanted it and so it was cheap! Which does matter to me – after all, I don't know yet if getting my own bike is just a passing whim or a bug that's finally got me again after all these years! And I don't want to sound disrespectful of the bike, but the odd bump and scratch won't exactly be a disaster.

I'm sure everyone who says I'll soon be wanting to upgrade to something bigger is right. But so is Emzed when he says that confidence is the most important thing. This bike feels comfortable, is low and light enough for me to handle and probably won't break if I drop it. So pretty much ideal, I'd say!

So, best of luck to all of you about to take your tests (it was much easier back in my day) and I hope we meet up at an event in the not-too-distant. Meanwhile, I'll see how I go about gradually getting back on a bike!                                                                                                                                                                             

At the end of the day ladies, you makes your own choices. Everyone can give advice,  but only you can decide whats right for you so good luck to you all, and I look forward to hearing about your experiences on your chosen steeds in the near future                                                                                                                                                                              

I don't know if I can get anything similar to my little Ziggy Zhongyu ( chinese version of a Suzuki GN125) ...lol   I do like the viragos, but have never ridden a cruiser style so I'm not really looking at them as I don't think I could handle that riding position .. WHEN I pass my test!  lol   I am also in the 'vertically challenged' club, only being 5ft 3ins and couldn't get my feet down on the riding schools ER5's so had to change riding school and took my test ( failed ) on a GS500 which I absolutely loved..   So I've been looking at that kind of bike.. or maybe an xj600 or a kawasaki 550 or a GPZ?   I can't decide though, until I have sat on one, as it's not just the height, it's also the reach over the tank to the handlebars .. i do have a bit of obstruction in the way                                                                                                                                                                                 

Well Kaz, you've just given me the "germ" of an idea   How about us organizing a .....   "Try before you BUY day"   At Squires  (or other meets around the country)  for those lady members who are "vertically challenged"  (I know, I'm a short ar*e too )   I'm sure there are guys out there too who would welcome the opportunity    Get members of similar stature who are prepared to come along with their bikes, for those who are undecided about what might suit them, to try out for size/feel    Maybe get some dealers along too with new or secondhand machines    Just a thought                                                                                                                                                                              

Hey Steve... I'm liking your style!     We will have a natter about this on the Sunday rideout..                                                                                                                                                                                 

Good Idea. It's always best to chat to other bikers before deciding what bike to buy. Most dealers are only interested in your money and will tell you anything to get a sale                                                                                                                                                                             

What an absolutely ace idea emzed! I'm definitely up for that                                                                                                                                                                             

I love this post. Loads of ideas and recommendtions. And i'm finding out which of us girls are still elarning or have recently passed tests. Kasrey are you re-taking your ttest? I've got my Mod 1 coming up.                                                                                                                                                                             

ChilliD... I think about my test every single day! I want my license more than anything, but I've been out of work for over a year, so just couldn't afford to take it again........   But.......I have just got a new job and waiting for a start date, so as soon as I can afford it, it's first on my list   Good Luck with your MOD 1    I've been lucky to sit on a few bikes while I've been at Squires, one random chappy and his lady, let me sit on their bikes, one was a Deuville (400 I think?) which was great and I could get my feet down, the other was an xj400 been lowered and that felt good too.                                                                                                                                                                                

Karey i'll let you know how it goes, and i hope you get back out a bike soon!                                                                                                                                                                             

Cheers ChilliD                                                                                                                                                                              

great idea emzed,                                    I have just lowered my yzf 750 and am really happy with the results. the kit was £59 and took half hour to fit.               it still handles fantastic but is so much more comfortable.                              I am sure some people would be interested to see an alternative to a cruiser.                                                                                                                                                                                      

YZ, just looked at a pic f your bike, and it looks huge, so is it much lower now? The tank look pretty big too, is it?                                                                                                                                                                             

Thanks for that Sam   I'm sure you're right about the interest from "others"   Would you be up for attending a meet (in your area) for the "others" to sample your bike                                                                                                                                                                              

hi chillid,                                            the yzf is quite low to start off with and the reach to the bars across the tank looks a little daunting but I find it easy and am only 5ft4. the reason I lowered it was because I had a shoulder op in feb. I had done a few k miles on it before the op but it just makes it so much easier now. I will put some pics up soon I don't think it looks as nice but how it feels is the important thing.(lowered it 30mm).     would be only to happy for peeps to have a try emzed and don't mind bringing it along to meets etc.               I want to get a few miles in during the summer so don't mind where.                                                                                                                                                                             

  I have a short inside leg measurement and altho the Virago 535 was ok for seat height I found it too top heavy for me, I had a Kwak EN450 and that was the same.                                                                                                                                                                                      

Great idea for a meet Emzed. I'd def be up for that - i'm going to want to change the Virago one day after all!

Karey brought up another difficulty we women face too - that of certain obstructions to leaning over a huge tank to reach the handlebars! And, as an adjunct to that, I personally find huge tanks really intimidating, not sure why. Possibly because bikes just didn't look like that 'in my day'! Anyway, that's yet another thing I've got to get over at some stage perhaps... But not yet!

Karey I'm with you on that   so want my licence 
Chillid good luck x

and Sam ...i  really like the bike I'm 5.4 so maybe ....                                                                                                                                                                              

   The reach to the bars across the tank looks a lot further than it feels,I don't tend to lay prone and prefer to sit up when riding which even with two busted shoulders is not a problem.I don't want to sound like I am trying to sell my bike its just I have had the same problems for over 30 yrs and have found this to be the most comfortable sports bike for me.                                         If you don't want a sports bike or cruiser then might be worth trying a guzzi 750 breva, it must be one of the easiest bigger bikes on the road to ride a bit more expensive but worth it I think.                                      feylin you would get both feet flat on the floor on my bike and that gives a lot of confidence.