I met a guy once who was right around your height, and he was on a Hayabusa. He would be on his tip-toes and at a slight lean just to hold his bike upright at lights. It looked really awkward, heavy, and tiring. It almost looked like he was always about to drop the thing, but to each their own. I didn't think about it until I met him about how much of a pain it must be to find a comfortable bike as a shorter rider. At 6'1, I don't have that issue, but your comment helped me back my decision for where my brother should start looking.

@@MGooGM Yes sir, the idea of having to struggle to hold my bike up is terrifying to me. Even a Harley Sportster 883, it is low enough to touch the ground, however the bike is so heavy that it seems unrealistic/unsafe. It's best to feel comfortable on whatever bike you choose, that makes it easier to focus on the ride!

I'm a 5'4"(on a good day) female rider with a 30" inseam. The rebel is super comfy at stop lights. I could one foot an R3, and was able to test ride a Live Wire just barely. I think kawasaki z650 is doable. Not a huge number of choices for the smaller rider. Makes me think maybe an 1100 is a solid choice for next bike, just due to comfort. Also: the LiveWire was a freaking blast. $$$ and impractical, but I have the rebel 500 for cheap and useful

@@bessienesseler7327 I'm 5'4" man and my first bike was a Ninja 400 and was tiptoeing but i was pretty confident on it (if that helps any). That's a 370 pound bike. If the bike is quite heavy, I would only buy it if I could flat foot or near flat foot it. I sat on a Road Glide Special at Harley and I could only tiptoe. It couldn't even back off with the bike! Imagine... Personally, I would go as high as 32" on a lighter bike (Ninja 400 is 30.9")

Scho. ‘

Next should be about the RE,s

I agreee

This is the best YN series. Best motorcycle content on KZfaq.

Has YN done one with the Honda Shadow series?

@@djhudgins8412 Sadly, no

Better late then never.. ride on brother

I am 70 years old and coincidently following the same exact steps as you described. It's never late.

Good advice, i just started riding 4 months ago at age 30. I got the Kawasaki 650 RS and I already regret not getting a bigger engine

You dont need to be a senior to take a safety course, any rider should take one prior to riding no matter how cool you think you are

@@msk3905 absolutely and agreed 100%. All new riders of ANY age should take a safety course before getting their licence and bike. I can't tell you how many times it has saved me from drivers in cars who often don't see bikes. Perhaps THE most important lesson in a safety course is how to drive defensively and stay aware of surrounding car traffic.

How are power levels adjusted? Like sport mode/daily mode? I really want a rebel but never rode before. I don’t wanna get a 500 and then just end up wanting a 1100 later

@@alexofanderx7273 on the modes, there is a User mode. In this one, you adjust the Torque, Power, and Enginge Break Levels however you want. I first put all of them on the lowest setting, then worked my way up. It's a neat feature that most people miss.

@@azel8rrp169 Just helped me make my decision. Thanks.

@@alexofanderx7273 get the 500 it's a fun bike at least for me it's fun to ride has enough power to take off,i love it. I don't plan on selling it.

Do you have problem with the control? I feel my arms are too short for her 😢😢

Man, I'm 37 this year, and I really consider buying rebel 500 this summer as my first bike .

@@velvirek it’s a great city but only good for short highway travel. If I had to do it all over again I’d get the Rebel 1100. The 500 will be the best to learn on though but you’d outgrow it quick

Username does not check out

Hey if you don’t mind me asking, where did you get your seat and if so what brand?

@@Jojoshiyo it’s an eBay knock off - something named like “saddle Diamond stitch two up seat”

@@Jojoshiyo 7 months later I’m still in love btw I’ve since added a Vance and Hines pipe and a Puig touring windshield

@@Contact0420 Hey, I´m 6´1¨ so this are the comments I was looking for before purchase. I plan to keep it for a long time so it´s nice that you´re still having fun.

@@DNSchank hell ya! I mean don’t get me wrong, a little extra power is ALWAYS gonna be fun, but I’m absolutely loving the rebel and I plan to keep it for a few years and pay it off before I even consider selling. Easy smooth ride, great gas milage, looks awesome 0 complaints here

Lol ya I kept getting yelled at for that.

disappointed to hear about being cramped, i was looking at the rebel as a 6'2" rider due to the low price

@@dadballs694 im 5’11 and i feel cramped. They should’ve came with forward controls

​m 6' and I don't feel cramped at all bro

A year later. . . a fellow noob (getting my first bike this month) would ask, would you encourage me to think 1100 or would you figure the 500 would have been also great? I'm kinda thinking if I go 500, after a year, I'll want the 1100, but I am not experienced enough to really have an opinion.

@@m00sing I learned on the 500 for a couple of weeks before pulling the trigger on the 1100. Both are great choices. I got a steal on the 1100. I bought used with only 400 miles on it for the price of a new 500. The 1100 in rain mode is definitely more powerful than the 500, but I believe completely manageable for a new rider.

@@scottellis7024 Thanks for update! I ended up getting a Kawa Eliminator 500 as #1. I can tell that I will be bored of it when I get the full hang of riding, but I am all about the experience, so I think this will work out well for me! Still can't get my ass on the road because I have ADHD-overthinking to the point I will overthink all the variables, but every day I train and learn more, so soon! And eventually I'll probably want that 1100, and it'll be fine. What 1100 did you get? I'm thinking after 500, I'll skip 650 and look for something more long cruise-worthy.

I think the second motorbike to have with a Honda Rebel 500 would be a Honda CB650R for that sweet 4 cylinder engine.

As a RE owner I would say the single biggest difference is maintenance.... REs will require you to touch the bike way more often. I really enjoy mine, but be ready to make adjustments, tweaks, etc..... they are not 'plug and play'. If you want to buy a bike and not touch any tools for a while, get the Honda.

I rode a rebel 500 for the first time not long ago and it's a super boring bike to ride. A drz400sm is a much better choice, you can't have fun on a rebel.

Did you end up getting the Rebel ?

​@@niceshot4563 that's not true at all lol, rebel 500 is a great bike

Literally the same spot, I want a int650 but having some availability issues and thinking a rebel might be my safe bet

😂

HD fanboys are gonna fanboy.

At 6’4” I would try it. I have yet to set on a cruiser that my knees aren’t way above the tank

Indian Scout: Am I a joke to you?

IMO a Harley will always sound and look better with its V-Twin. That’s an easy reason why people go with HD instead of the other options. But I understand your point. Personally, I’m leaning towards the Yamaha Bolt.

Horses for courses! Harley’s are perfectly fine if you live in the USA and you can afford to pay the dealership loads of dollars, but where I live in Germany (with lots of beautiful up and down twisty roads thru hills and forests - the fun stuff, avoiding highway autobahns) something more nimbler is needed and the Rebel 1100 is a great choice, as Harley’s really struggle on that type of European road. However, the Rebel 1100 is not best suited for taller riders (anyone over 6’2”).

The 500 is very forgiving and it’ll keep you entertained longer than the 300

Common mistake with those bikes. I always tell people to start on a 2 cylinders 650 at least. Of course that doesn’t mean go out and 1000cc 4 cylinder sports bike.

@@dsiz9421 Yup, and I definitely wouldn’t buy new for a first bike either. Get something used that won’t brake your heart if you drop it.

No matter which bike you get, you'll do that. Why do you think there are turbo 'Busas?

This is why i bought one used and pre dropped. Going from the grom I learned on in msf this feels like an actual motorcycle. Kinda wish there was an scl300 though but ill probably move to the scl500 in 5 years of so. Kinda upset I missed out on the bodykits for 500 scramblers pre scl

An absolute stroke of genius on Honda's part :)

Dude I was the same and got the 1100, but I got it last year when the prices were still normal. Kept it in rain mode for months and it neuters it enough for new riders to not yeet themselves. Then you got standard and sport modes that take it up by levels. Its got power to spare and is a blast if you ever get your hands on one. Every time someone tells me something new about California I cringe a bit more.

Maybe try talking to someone about financing a bike and then haggling a good deal in your favor, but first making sure you have the cash in full so you can get the dealer financing perks without the catch of having to actually pay all the additional interest on your loan. Don't let your dealer know up front that you've got cash on hand. Operating under the assumption that you will be financing your bike, they'll be willing to work out a good deal because they think they'll be making all that back plus interest. This can sometimes include additional options or packages that may be offered. They only really look at it at face value. They move a bike with some accessories today, make the quick buck, and with the expectation to get paid way more over time, and then once that agreement is signed and set in stone you can turn around and pay off the entire initial balance and there's nothing they can do to stop you. As far as I know, the dealer still gets their commission for the sale and you pulled one over on whatever bank finances the dealership you worked with. It was a piece of advice given to me by a career car salesman, so if it's financially feasible for you to pay the lump sum there are ways to bring some of those dealership costs and prices down on any new or used vehicle where financing is an option. Sometimes you can sweet talk some additional free maintenance services into the deal, too, depending on who you're dealing with or where you're at. Don't get me started on California, lol. Your state is a regulatory nightmare. I'll go ahead and cite CA proposition 65, btw, because this comment may be a carcinogen.

@@MGooGM thanks for your feedback. As for for financing, in cars I consider myself really good at negotiating and getting deals (I've always gotten vehicles below invoice and always get approved by my credit unions) now with bike, I look likes like it might be the same, minus the motorcycle knowledge I still don't have compare to cars. To be honest, I haven't even try negotiating, I just saw their ads. I only called one dealer where they advertised No added mark ups or hidden fees such us set ups and the due was straight forward with an OTD that's matched my numbers, but they did not have none in stock.

give it a few months and YES you will crave to SQUID.

@@davidzavala337 Not a problem. With my limited experience, negotiations regarding cars and motorcycles are pretty much the same. You just have to remember that with motorcycles they retain their value really well whereas cars lose a lot of theirs as soon as it's driven off the lot. That causes a little less wiggle room for negotiating on bikes, but aside from that it's pretty much the same principle. When everything for the bike comes together and you've got a seller ready and you know you found the right bike, you'll be happy that you were patient and that you were prepared for it. Just give it a little more time. And as someone who is in the position of starting on a typical beginner bike four years ago - and has most definitely been ready for a bigger bike for a while now - I would say there's no reason to rush into the potential for power before you're really familiar and comfortable with what you're doing. The more power that you have available the smaller your margin of error is. It will most likely be more difficult to learn and fine-tune your skills on a more powerful bike, but not impossible. I started on an R3, and I still have it. I would say I was capable of moving up in size after about six good months of riding. I put about 10k miles on it the first year and a half of having it, so I had a nice amount experience in a pretty short amount time, but I feel like after that that 6 month mark hit, and then really again after that first year mark came around, my confidence had boosted a lot and my riding ability really felt improved. I think if I started on something bigger it would have taken me longer to build those finer skills and some of my genuine confidence that I have would have probably stayed as hubris and I would likely be a worse rider for it now. Wrecking really humbles you, too, and had I been on a bigger bike there may have been more (expensive) mistakes or a worse outcome. If I had to start over, I wouldn't mind taking a similar approach. I would argue that the first six months to a year is the most important to nail down your fundamentals. But once you know what you're doing and how to ride confidently, then you can broaden your options to just about anything you want and you'll have a much better idea as to what motorcycle you'll want to stay invested in. I think your best route would be to take some classes, learn how to ride if you don't already know, and then go sit on and test drive the 500 and then the 1100 back to back. You'll have a perfect side-by-side comparison to test the power thresholds and the comfort/feel of the two bikes, and hopefully make an easier decision as to what you want.

I like mine a lot. Just be aware that they are in VERY short supply right now and Honda has suspended production on them temporarily due to supply chain issues. It sucks, because they are a GREAT bike, fun to ride and should be very reliable.

Dude, totally worth it. The price mark ups with inflation are a monster now though, but if you can get one, they are fun.

😁

@@stevereubart8255 I heard about that too bummer.

How tall are you? I was thinking about the Vulcan 900. Not a huge fan of the hp it has. But it’s a cruiser anyway. I’m 6’4” and I can’t find a cruiser that doesn’t have me knees above the tank.

@@dsiz9421 I'm 6'1" /185 cm and fit perfectly. For a cruiser i think it has enough power (but suspect mine is tuned). One advantage of less horsepower is cheaper insurance (at least in my country). I pay $100 a year for comprehensive insurance

Try being 6’4” lol

30% more? Crazy. Here in Denmark, the Sportster S costs $38,428, and the rebel 1100 costs $22,573 (Those are the base models).

Really, a Sportster S costs 12k where your from? I HIGHLY doubt that. Maybe add 10k to that and I'd believe it.

@@Foodgeek Yeah, that is a Trump tariff thing. The EU specifically targeted Harley when Trump put a tariff on steel. Pretty sure it is about 3,000 Euro. The bike should be $35,500 compared to $22,500 there I guess. In Australia it is 20k on the Rebel and 27K on the Sportster S.

In the US, the Sporter S is listed as $15,500 MSRP, but the 2 nearest dealers to me tack on an extra 2 or 3... cheapest new one I can get would be 17,500 plus tax title and license.. I'd be lucky to get out the door bare minimum at $20,000. Out the door on a Rebel 1100 is bare minimum around $11,500... that's over 50% difference.

​@@MrEiniweini The Harley's have always been the most expensive bikes here. Even before Trump, so it's a brand thing, I think :) Before deciding on the rebel, I did a test drive a street bob (and many other motorcycles). The Nightster hadn't come out yet, which, I guess, is the closest MC in Harley's lineup to the rebel.