The 250cc and under bikes are very light and easy to learn with and are very good recommendations. The one drawback that they may have is that the rider may soon outgrow them, and they aren't too pleasant on a highway, but as has been pointed out, they are usually fairly easy to resell as long as one doesn't try to make a profit on them. If you don't want to go the dirt/ dual-purpose bike route, and your riders can manage it, another very low & narrow, easy to plant feet on bike that many smaller ladies seem to like is the Suzuki Savage (now Boulevard C40). Yes, it is a 650cc thumper, but it is not much heavier and still very low to the ground and very narrow. It definitely has much more grunt than the 185/250cc bikes, so it might be a bike that stays in the family for years to come. It's electric start and less likely to stall on less than perfect stop sign takeoffs. There are many of these around for sale used, just have to keep an eye out.
