Hi guys.
My friend asked me to get some recomendation about smallest bike for 2 riders. He also asked me about Kawi eliminator - is it accepatbe for 2 riders? I said: "No". I recommended at least Kawi V500 (I am not familiar with the sport bikes and other brands instead of Kawi and Suzi ...) Do you have any other suggestions?

It depends on several things, the type of bike desired, the type of riding, personal preferences, among other things.

If you want a cruiser style, and want to do some Freeway travel, you'd want a little more power than if it was only intended for short hops around town, and that comes with a bigger engine, which also means a bigger bike with more space for people.

As far as Sportbikes, they have plenty of power even with a smaller engine, but the riding position might be uncomfortable with two up for long distances.

I'm sure a 500 in a sportbike would have the power, but not too comfortable for trips of any length. For that matter, ANY sportbike is gonna have severe limitations for long trips, especially two up.

Once you get to a 750 - 800 cc cruiser style bike, you'll be able to travel with no great trouble, but frankly, if its touring type riding, I believe they'd want something a little bigger, say 900 - 1100 cc.

A LOT of this is individual preference, some folks would be perfectly happy with a Kaw 900 LT, for example, others would want something bigger.

If the people were, say, a 5' 9" man who weighed 160, and a 5' 2" woman who weighed 110, their needs could be met on a much smaller bike than a couple where the guy was 6' 4" and 260, and the woman was 5' 10" and 170.

My best advice would be to have them go to lots of dealers and sit on lots of bikes, try to get some test rides, and make a decision based on how things felt, and the type of riding they intend to do.

Try reading as many road tests as possible, and talk to people who have different kinds of bikes and get their opinions to help with the decision.

Another thing is experience - the larger the machine, the less appropriate it is for a new rider, especially for two up riding.

I would say it depends.

How long, how many miles, how many days, and how big are they.

Two small persons can ride all day on a Sportster, but if there over 200 pounds each, well then a bigger bike is needed.

I've seen people ride scooters two up. Hell, I've even seen pics of more than that on a scooter/bike.
http://www2.seasite.niu.edu/PicDB/Camb/00675.jpg
The question is, how important is power to them? What about comfort? If they're worried about money, what's it going to cost them to buy some piece of underpowered, underweight crap that they'll end up selling and getting something better?

Too many unknown variables to give good advice. Size of rider and passenger, budget, distance of riding planned, and what they consider small. What I may view as a small bike might be huge to these guys.

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~csimmo23/myspace/myspace%20sidebar/little%20people%20big%20world.jpg

Just a little joke. But the size of the riders does play into the equation.

Two small persons can ride all day on a Sportster, but if there over 200 pounds each, well then a bigger bike is needed.

Hell, two people can ride all day on a Honda 90, but they ain't gonna get very far, and they ain't gonna bee overly comfy.:eek

Wow what an open question as every one else has said, need spec's to give advise

Thanks, guys. I really appreciated your help.

Now my friend selected 3 bikes:

Kawi V500
Suzi S40
Honda Shadow VLX

So, what is best from this list? Of course, it depends on many things. Let me ask this question by other way: did you hear something wrong about these models? In addition, could you compare them?

As far as the dependability of any of them, I doubt there would be any problems, all of them have been around awhile, so that's probably a toss up.

The Kaw is the smallest engine, 30.5 inches, a side by side twin, but has dohc and eight valves, the same engiine as the 500 Ninja. Maybe the most power, but also probably the peakiest and geared lower so its gonna turn more RPM at any speed.

The Suzi is a single cylinder, but the largest engine, 653CC. I don't know if it is counterbalanced or not, but probably has the best torque for cruising, especially 2-up.

The Honda is a v-twin cruiser style, staggered shorty duals, and can be had in 2 versions, VLX and Deluxe with more chrome. The middle size engine, 583 CC, three valve head.

In my opinion, the Honda is the best looking, but the Suzi has belt drive, which is a big plus in my book.

The Suzi lists for 4400.00, the Kaw is 5000.00 list, and the Hondas are 5500.00 and 5800.00 list. Quite a range, and of course, you can get discounts off that, especially if you find a new last years model.

All this is available at the companies' web sites, and a lot more.

I'd do some in person research before I bought, and that's the nest advice I can give.

I will have to say, however, since you asked for opinions, if your friends are anything more than avergage or maybe even less than average size, and they want to do anything more than just "knock around town", I truly have to recommend something a little bigger, cause if thay want to tour, that may very well mean some bags and a w'shield, and then these bikes are not the best for that duty.

They will run fine on the interstate without any mechanical problems, but might not be too much fun for your friends. That having been said, if your friends are young, these may be just the ticket for them, but older folks generally have a different opinion of what's acceptable from a comfort perspective, than do young folks.

If its money, find something slightly used for the same money. Five grand can buy a really nice, very low mileage metric used cruiser bike in a bigger size, say an 800 to 900 CC range.

ALSO, don't forget the experience of the rider - newer rider needs to be careful of bigger bikes.

Good luck, and fill us in on some details as this progresses. :tour

Maybe with the right seat? :rofl

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/y2keglide/minibike.jpg

some riding friends of ours have one of these. it isnt a new one (couldn't tell ya how old) but it looks like this one.

http://www.starmotorcycles.com/star/products/modelhome/22/1/home.aspx

he would weigh 220lbs and she is no lightweight but the lil bastard keeps up surprisingly well with our mostly evo / twincam riding groups....

it's a bit revvy but doesnt seem to complain and hasn't to my knowledge given any mechanical grief in over 5 years...

not my cup of tea but a stout little scooter none the less.

Thanks a lot, Alanomad! Your replies were very helpful and I transferred them "as is" to my friend. I am not such expirienced as you. I will post any his opinion about that.

not my cup of tea but a stout little scooter none the less.

That's a good point, and I've never run into anyone who has one of these who felt it was anything other than a fine scooter.

That's a good point, and I've never run into anyone who has one of these who felt it was anything other than a fine scooter.

And they have a great aftermarket accessory selection to personalize the Star with...

i would say go with the v star 1100 if your going to ride 2 up. i felt the stock 1100 has just enough power for 2 people. i wouldnt go any lower then that. oh and i wouldnt get the custom the passenger seat is too small for any distance rides. my wife was bitchin about the seat after 60 miles. so the silverodo would be the way to go. oh and ther is lots of power upgrades for the 1100. www.pacificcoaststar.com

personally I would not go under a 550 or so..

we used to go 2 up on our sporty, but it was a 1200 custom, not a "small" bike compared to some of the metric bikes.