17-yr old thread, 12yr old bike story from early this past June, seems to fit.
My never-ridden, will never ride, wife recently told me she was tired of staring at the back of my head and was considering her own bike. So I started looking at sub-500cc bikes for her to start out on. "No I want the windshield and stuff like yours to protect you from the elements." Um, ok. Keep looking, showed her a few then found the Honda NT700V/Deauville. She fell in love, and I was glad it was shaft drive, I hate chains on everything i was finding. Then noticed it had a 31.2" seat height, same as FJR, but only 550lbs wet and not top heavy like the FJR. I knew she could handle the weight being former Army and a runner, but was worried about the height. Had her sit on the FJR and she could barley tippy-toe one side up. But I knew the NT would be narrower with a v-twin and it was really light on power, so the 700cc wasn't an issue either. So we started looking nearby for her to check one out. Found one, it was a good fit and being narrower than a FJR she could get both feet down on the balls of her feet or flat foot the left without leaning over much.
Everything near us had 30K plus miles, been sitting out in the sun (UV fading), needed work, wouldn't budge on the 5-6K price, etc, always something. I don't know how she found it, not on cycletrader, but she found a 2010 NT with 176-original miles on it for 5k. Off the bat I'm calling the dealer with a bike sitting around for 12-years, what kind of condition are the tires, fluids, etc. Before I could get into it he emailed me an invoice for over $1800 of work they've done on the bike since they got it. All fluids changed and lines flushed, new tires, brake pads, air filter, spark plugs, fuel pump, on and on. Spotless. Brand spanking new bike at a 1/3rd (after all maintenance) of the price from 2010. But 1,200-miles away. Bought it on the spot over the phone, 2-weeks later I drove the 2400-mile round trip to pick it up and yep, it was essentially a brand new 12-year old motorcycle. Quite a different ride going from the 140+hp to a 50hp bike for the test ride, was a definite change and the NT likes to be above 3500-rpm before it really does anything, But has worked out great after she completed the MSF basic course.
We are connected by intercoms on our helmets and I ride at her pace behind her. Letting her concentrate on her skills while I watch for hazards and coach her along. She's now learning the joys of back roads and leaning over in corners. lol I've since added a gear indicator, cruise control, bar risers and a TPMS. Great first bike, albeit a bit on the larger size than I wanted for her, but she's taking to it great.
Anyone in the Green Bay area, I highly recommend Team Motorsports in De Pere, WI.