The wife is even newer to riding than I am. We took our first "ride" together last weekend...two miles to a nearby park, around he park, and back home. One of my friends asked me if we packed a lunch
She loves the Blast. I wish I had started out on it rather than the VLX. The VLX is raked out pretty far and is a little hard to handle in slow speed turns...which is what you do allot of when you are learning. I put 50 miles on the VLX in our cul-de-sac'ed neighborhod but didn't get confident enough to leave the neighborhood until after I rode the Blast.
The Blast is a fun little bike...I'm 5'10" and 220 and it hauled me around pretty well in the mountains around here. I found the upright seating position with my feet under me more comfortable than the laid back / forward controls setup on allot of cruisers. I found myself enjoying it more than the Honda. That's why I got the Buell Lightning when I was ready to move up to a bigger bike... you sit pretty much upright on it. It has essentially a "souped up" Sportser engine in it, but it weighs about 100 pounds less. It vibrates a bit, has a clunky transmission, and produces allot of torque...they have been described as "tractors on crack."
I think that was meant as an insult, but I liked the description.
I'm thinking about a Dyna Superglide Sport for longer trips and those times when I want to push the curves a bit, but not ride as aggressively as I do on the Buell. The seating position on the sport is similar to the Blast, which I like so much.
I don't know if the wife will ride enough or advance enough to move up to a bigger bike. I'm not pushing her. I made her take the MSF course, got her a suitable beginner bike, and got her some good protective gear. How far she goes with motorcycling is up to her. She is HEAVILY into horses and that will probably stay her main obsession. If she goes on a couple of short rides with me a season...that will be great. If more, that will be even better!
from a photography website. The title of the photo is "Indomitable Spirit." In the full size version, you can see that the dog is fairly old and has a rather dignified face, in spite of his obvious problem. I use it for shock value, but it is also inspiring in a weird way.... 
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