Sounds like she needs an 883 sportster. I wouldn't normally recommend a Harley as a first bike but those 883 run forever and aside from an oil change here and there really have no maintenance. (Or none that anyone worries about.)
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No offense, but a sportster is unnecessarily heavy.
A better learner bike would be a FZ-07 or Rebel 500.
I agree. The 883 low from the early 2000's has a low seat height and low center of gravity though and like you said below, can be had for pretty cheap.
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Get her the Sportster, it doesn't weigh any more than a CX500 and while it's no powerhouse either, it's got way more torque, and for under $1000 she can later convert it to a 1200, and it'll probably be the last bike she'll ever need.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-CX500, I owned a CX500 Custom (the less ugly model) myself, and after spending too much money on it (free flowing exhaust, new Mikuni carb conversion, new ignition, 18 inch rear wheel to replace the stupid 16 inch rear hoop to raise the gearing at highway speeds to something acceptable, Pirelli tyres etc) I sold it for a good price, God knows why, but they're popular here.
In stock form, they are heavy and gutless, but well engineered, handle reasonably well, and economical. An 883 is way better. Cheers, Terry.