Feet Can't Touch The Ground?

[Beemer]

It's really good to hear about all these vertically challenged women riding bikes, makes me feel almost normal! It pisses me off that I got long arms but short legs - much rather have it the other way 'round!

At least now I have a bike that is a perfect size for me without any modifications needed - although raising the bars to a slightly more upright position is becoming more and more attractive!

At least we're not REALLY short - I have seen several women who would be lucky to claim they are 4'6" lately and I would so hate to be that short. One works in Burger King on Lambton Quay and I couldn't stop staring when I saw her - it's not often I find people shorter than me!

[unhingedlizard]

im 6' and 115kgs.
400 sportsbikes are not comfortable over long distance. Found that one out. TDR250n is nice due to upright riding. And being a two stroke.
Have tried GSXR600's etc but are all a bit too small. R6 is OK. Should take up yoga i guess.

[mstriumph]

... my childhood was easy in comparison .... on salisbury plain they let us run wild until they run us down at 15 to put shoes on us.
I've been riding since i was 7 - still not as good as some who have been riding a much shorter time 'though.. [and still not brave enough to get a tattoo lol] - it's only as i've grown that i've had a problem with riding positions

A woman after my own heart. I, too, wasn't allowed bikes, or tattoos. Now at 42 I have a tattoo, a bike and three cats (currently on a short life expectancy LOL - the cats that is).

My bike is currently in the shop being lowered - just to give me more control.

[Magua]

At 6 foot I looked a little odd on my old Gn125 but it was comfortable as hell. I find myself sliding foward in the seat of the fzr but my feet touch the ground easily. Crappy seat methinks.

[vifferman]

I have no problems, never really thought about bike height. When I started riding, one of my mates was VERY short, and used to compensate for it by doing things like flicking the stand down as he came to a stop, then climbing off. Taking off - start the bike, let the clutch out whilst leaning to the right.

My wifey is only 155 cm or summat, but she has longish legs and a short body and neck (sort of a troll-like physique?). Anyhoo, she found a bike that she said, "Hey! This is a good bike for me. It fits!!" It was the Raptor 650 at Colemans.
One thing that did make me think of leg lenght was checking out pillion perches for comfort, as today's bikes have the pillion pegs mounted to the subframe, rather than to yesteryear's exhaust brackets (or swingarms on trailies). The result is they're rather close to the seat. OK for midgets (or troll-wives), but cramped for normal-sized humans.

[Beemer]

My wifey is only 155 cm or summat, but she has longish legs and a short body and neck (sort of a troll-like physique?). Anyhoo, she found a bike that she said, "Hey! This is a good bike for me. It fits!!" It was the Raptor 650 at Colemans.
One thing that did make me think of leg lenght was checking out pillion perches for comfort, as today's bikes have the pillion pegs mounted to the subframe, rather than to yesteryear's exhaust brackets (or swingarms on trailies). The result is they're rather close to the seat. OK for midgets (or troll-wives), but cramped for normal-sized humans.

I'm sure your wifey would LOVE to be described in that fashion! I've got short legs (most 10 year-olds are taller than me...) and a short body - but long arms, so most bikes are too wide/tall for me. The Cagiva 1000cc I could reach the ground on - but not the 650 for some reason!

As for pillion pegs, even with my short legs, some bikes are just so uncomfortable to pillion on that I would rather walk - like the ZX6R - talk about cramped, felt like my knees were on fire!

[crashe]

it's not often I find people shorter than me!

Im shorter than you.

[froggyfrenchman]

havin this issue with my missis. shes quite small and fears riding anything taller in the seat than her gn250. Want a gb400 to be her next bike, any ideas people?

[froggyfrenchman]

6'2" not an issue. the missis is stumpy though and is scared to ride anything that isnt a crusier

[froggyfrenchman]

sorry gn1nitestand!!!! ur nt stumpy, ur, ah ah ah um, vertically chalenged

[Candyman]

well I'm 6"3 and I do find that I am a bit restricted in what I choose, having said that I ride a ZZR250 and my knees are around my ears. But I did take a couple of bike out today GSXR600 was a bit of a tight fit but it could be adjusted to feel a bit better for me but not by much

[Wolf]

Well, I'm 5'8", but short in the leg. Legs actually belong on someone about 5'3" or so . Bloody Igor, never gets it quite right. WHY weren't the proper legs in stock, that's what I want to know.

Thorry, Marthter.

Actually, there were proper legs in stock but the corpse was a bit "ripe"

Incidentally it's not just seta heght, width of the seat is as important.

I find that - the actual seat height of my CB550 was not as much of a problem (I've ridden bikes that tall before with no problem) it was also the fact it was so wide across the seat that by the time my bowed legs touched the ground I was on the front pads of my feet and had about three inches of rearward push before my foot left the ground (not fun backing it on the flat, let alone if the front wheel was in the gutter) - could not put both feet flat on the ground.

Compare that with the Beemer I rode, which apparently is about the same seat height but narrower - I was able to firmly plant both feet on the ground, with a bend in my knees, and could roll it backwards and forwards at ease.

If I had to, I'd get a bike lowered to suit but I'd get it done by someone I'd trust to set up the suspension - like hondacmx450 who has done it before. Most of the bikes I'd like to own are fortunately low or narrow enough to suit me. A friend's CB750 is not only too wide, it is way to tall for me to touch the ground (narrowing the seat with a bit of sculpting would not work as the seat comes to just below my hip when unloaded and the frame is bloody wide.

[Wolf]

The Cagiva 1000cc I could reach the ground on - but not the 650 for some reason!

Some companies do weird shit like that - the BMW R100CS is quite comfortable for me to reach the ground yet the R75/5 is so tall I'd need a ladder to get onto it.

[speights_bud]

Well i suppose i can say i'll ride just about anything as height hasn't caused me ant problems yet

[Wolf]

Older threads than this one have been brought back from the dead...

The other day I was looking for "lowering" options for a bike I would love to own and found a great feedback site where, amongst the "I lowered my bike this way, fits great now" posts, there were a lot of posts to the effect of "don't lower the bike, learn to ride properly."

The "don't lower" posts pretty much said that seat height and getting "both feet firmly on the ground" were less important than a comfortable riding position (our taller members would no doubt concur wholeheartedly) - after all, how long do you spend stopped at lights compared with time spent riding?

One of the posters recommended an interesting site for "short bikers" (here). I found the FAQ very interesting and useful. While reading the FAQ, I began to call into question a lot of my "beliefs" regarding riding.

Few situations truly require two feet. Most situations are more conveniently handled with two feet, but that doesn't preclude finding one-foot, or better yet, one-brain ways of handling them. You will develop their own methods, and in time, this will all be incorporated into your regular riding habits and you won't even think about it.

Yesterday I took a 2004 BMW F650GS Dakar for a test ride. It had the optional low seat bench which brought the unladen seat height down to 830mm from 870mm but despite this 4-centimetre drop in seat height, I could only touch the ground with the tips of my toes of both feet - at least with the CB550, which I deemed to be "too tall", I could get the balls of both feet on the ground at the same time.

This time, however, instead of deeming the bike to be "too tall", I decided to challenge my prejudices and long-held beliefs. Although only the very tips of my motorbike boots could touch the ground simultaneously, the bike's balance was perfect and I had no problem holding it upright.

As per the suggestions in the SBL FAQ, I put my left foot on the peg and slid my right buttock off the seat so I could ground my right foot solidly. It felt unusual, but I had no problems holding the bike steady.

I then went for the test ride. As I was in town for most of the test ride and I had to take a few side streets to get the bike pointed in the right direction for a short blat in the 100km/h zone, the amount of time I spent stopped at intersections and lights was disproportionately high compared with going for a decent journey on the open road - so I got a lot of opportunities to practise sliding my arse half off the seat and grounding one foot. I practised both sides - left foot on peg, right foot on higher ground (owing to camber) and right foot on brake, left foot on ground.

I took a little while to get used to planning to slide half off the seat as I came to a halt but it was not too difficult. I could tell that if I were doing it every day it would soon become second nature - no more alien to me than engaging gears or flicking a turn signal.

As to the time when I was not stopped at intersections and lights:

The seating position was comfortable (some of our taller riders might find the lowered seat a tad cramped when putting their feet up on the pegs, but the leg position was fine for me) and the bike handled superbly. It was an absolute joy being on an Enduro again, lane changes and corners were a breeze and I found myself wishing I could take it for a ride off-road.

So the upshot was, I had a great ride on a bike that I would certainly buy if I had the finances to afford it - a bike that I would have once deemed beyond consideration because of my previous self-imposed limitations.

The height of the bike and the things I had to do to work around that height when stopped were slightly "outside my comfort zone", but the actual riding of the bike was familiar territory - well and truly inside a comfort zone I have not experienced since I sold my old TS125, many years ago.

For ages I have been limited by preconceived notions and self-imposed restrictions based around a belief that I must have both feet firmly planted on the ground at the same time when stopped. This has seriously limited my scope with regard to the bikes I have chosen to ride.

I deemed the CB550 "too tall" and cursed its height rather than learning to work around its height when stopped and enjoying what was a thoroughly enjoyable bike to ride.

I bought the LS400 as it was the only >250cc bike in my price range that was "low enough" and consequently had a bike that was easy to balance when stopped but agonising to ride for more than an hour - the ride to Palmerston North and back was the stuff of nightmares.

I have eschewed Enduros, which I love to ride, for years because all the ones of a decent engine capacity were "too tall" and all the ones "low enough" were 185cc or smaller.

Not only did I find the Cruiser configuration of the LS uncomfortable, its geometry is all wrong for my riding style. The LS did not "feel right" when cornering and I could not corner like I did on my previous bikes.

Now, while I don't feel I'm quite ready for a BMW R1150GS Adventure with its 900mm unladen seat height, I feel I have more options open to me when it comes to choosing a bike.

The real "kicker" was later that night when I was thinking it over and suddenly realised how frequently I used to stop with both feet on the ground on the bikes that were "low enough" - very seldom. I realised that even when I could put both feet flat on the ground simultaneously, I usually stopped with one foot on a peg and the other on the ground. The only difference was - I didn't have to shift my arse on the seat to put my foot to the ground.

So, while there are options out there for modifying the bikes, there are also other, cheaper, ways of getting around the situation as well, even if it means learning to do things slightly differently.