Hi all.
A little about myself. My names Jeremy and I've been snooping around this forum for a while now.

Late last year I finally convinced my wife to give riding a try. She took the MSF course here locally (and did quite well; yes, I'm proud of her ) and is till getting used to the whole "2 wheels" thing. I've been riding for probably 15-20yrs if you count the time I spent tearing around my parents yard on dirt bikes. I currently ride a 92 GSXR 750 that I've stripped down into a "streetfighter" w/ a bunch of custom touches. I'm a tinker-er/ fabricator by nature so I just couldn' leave it alone.

We looked at dozens (literally) of bikes when my wife finally decided she wanted to try riding and after a lot of "test fitting" we found the S40 to be a perfect fit for her. She's only 5'1" and kinda small so it was tough finding something that was small and light enough that she could handle it easily and stand flat footed but still had enough power to handle highway speeds and not be "grown out of" in a short time. The Savage was just the ticket. After test riding one for her (she was too scared to as she hadn't taken the course yet) I knew the Savage was a winner. It was lightweight, nimble, easy to handle, and it had the uncanny ability to bring a big smile to you're face when you rode it. These are great little bikes. It is truely a shame that they are often looked upon as "beginner bikes".

Anyway, I'm getting a bit long winded. Hopefull I can contribute something to what seems to be a very good board w/ some good poeple on here.

Welcome to you and the wife!  I love my bike more and more, every time I ride it.  This is only my second season of riding (I'm 44), but my husband had ridden for years too.  Just be patient with her, and encourage her!

And if you are a tinker-er, you'll feel right at home here.  We have some amazing folks who can do about anything and know about every inch of this bike.  

Have the wife to get a logon too!  The more women, the better!  Of course, I think that because I am one...  

Yeah. We've been married for almost 10 yrs. and she just now decided to try it. This was WAY outside of her comfort zone but she's done well so far. It's tough to be patient and keep your cool. She's dropped the bike a few times already (always in the drive or the garage thankfully) and it's been tough to just say "it's no big deal" and continue to encourage her. Fortunately, she hasn't been hurt and the bike has only suffered a few minor scratches.

I've always told her: never be afraid to try something new. If you end up not likeing it at least you've tried but you may find something that you love doing. So far she really enjoys riding but it still scares her at times. She just rode in town for the first time a few days back! I keep telling her, as you get more comfortable the fear will fade away and the enjoyment will take over.

WELCOME to the Savage Zone
Don't give up on your wife riding yet. I got my S40 in November of 09, I think) and din't actually ride it until February or so of this year. Then, when no one was home, I would take her out and wash her, and play with her  (lol) and finally one day, I said to heck with this, I started her up, walked her to the road, took a deep breath, and away I went. I only went around my neighborhood at first, then started riding her to "bike nites" and now I ride her to the store, to get nails done, haircut, etc. even sometimes "just to ride". I still ride with hubby on longer trips, but am building confidence daily. BTW, this is the BEST place for any questions.  Everyone on here will give you an honest answer, even if it seem like a silly question.
So, WELCOME!     and     Thank you  all !      

Chrissie

welcome!

welcome to you and mrs LS650  

Welcome and smooth safe riding to you both!! hopefully one day I'll get my wife over her fear of bikes and get her on one....