Was my joy killed by a difficult, too tall bike?
I am 35, used to ride when i was 15 to when i was in college 24-25 ish years old. My family loves motorcycles, and I grew up going to bike rallys every holiday, sidecar passenger. I was kind of "forced" or heavily persuaded to get a license immidiately when i was old enough (all of the licenses, even up to heavy bike), and I got a bit fed up after a while.
I am just 5 feet/152 cm tall, inseam 27,5 inches/70 cm, and I am skinny and not very strong. My dad chose and bought the bike we used (my mom, my sister and I).
I could barely reach my tippy toes to the ground, I always felt a bit umfortable maneuvring the bike (a Suzuki SV650 from early 2000's), and my dad always had to maneuver it into and out of the garage for me. So i never felt independent, needed his help always.
I once fell over on a tight turn in a parking lot, broke the clutch. I felt a bit helpless sometimes.
And I had to lean forward so much on this bike! After a while, the vibrations made my crotch numb and sore, since I was leaning so much forward. I am also hypermobile, so i don't think this was a good bike for me, or..?
The only time i felt good, was once on a learning bike in a drivers school ed lesson, a cruiser type bike with a very low seat and more upright position. That was just one trip, sadly. This is also what i like on a bicycle, an upright position, cycling along calmly, no stress.
So my question is - do you think I could find joy in riding now if it is a choice, not forced on me, and I find a bike that actually fits me? I don't think my dad really took into account, what would be the most comfortable for me, as he is taller and stronger.
I wanna commute to work, which is 30 minutes each way, and theres a highway with 70 mph, and a lot of city driving and traffic jams. There are slower back roads as alternatives to the highway.
So because of the motorway, I think I would need a slightly more powerful bike.
If I got say the Honda Rebel 500 - do you think that would be more joyful and comfortable and feeling more safe and confident and able to handle things on my own? Or maybe some other bike? How much do you think ergonomics and comfort influence driving joy?
I am not into speed, i just want to be comfortable. And I like retro looking bikes like the honda rebel, that look a bit anonymous and "normal".