Best bike for a shorty?

[Rosie]

Depending on the bike, if you can get the balls of your feet on the ground, some seat trimmage (reducing height and width) may be enough to get your feet flat on the ground.

Being able to reach the ground easily will help your confidence a lot when you are learning. None of the road surfaces you encounter later on are going to be nice and clean and level like the floor in the motorbike shop. Tip toeing around 'ballerina style' seems pretty managable, until you want to park on a slope, or on a road with a lot of camber and find that the ground is a looong way away.

[pritch]

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/school-SectionTwoB.htm

[Ixion]

Yank site, so not much in the way of 250s. Virago is about the only one they mention , but, predictably they say it's too small (though they say that about almost everything under 1000cc. Yanks )

Try a few bikes. Height isn't always a totally relaible deterinator. Your leg length is what actually counts. F'instance,, although I am 5'9", if my legs were in proportion I'd be about 6'3". All my height is in the body, so despite my height I am somewhat challenged on taller bikes (I just ignore it, and carry a small portable stepladder , but it makes things a bit harder for a learner)

So, go sit on as many as you can find.

[heyjoe]

Take a GN250 for a ride and see if it suits.

[HTFU]

My GPX is in Hams every weekend parked outside my work (not for sale). Flick me a PM if you want to try it out. Heaps of second hand seats around for them if you want to modify. Bike is one of the lighter ones so that good too.