Lowering a bike so that your feet touch

[MadDuck]

get your legs surgically lengthend

OK but that would make our bodies disproportionate...is that ok with you blokes?

What am I saying ...of cos it will

[granma2]

I too am only 5' and have a CBR600 sportsbike.

I considered all other bikes before buying this one. I test rode several bikes and the bike I really liked was unable to be successfully lowered enough for me. That was a R6. LOTS AND LOTS of us shorties have professionally lowered bikes that are just fine.
The ER6N is a good choice.
If I had had enough $ I would have bought one.
I sat on one that had been raced for a while and the rear suspension was a bit softer than the brand new bike. This made touching the ground even easier.

I havent lowered my 600 and have learnt to compensate for the fact that I cant touch both feet on the ground.
Dont listen to all the negative rubbish about lowering bikes as times have changed and so has the technology of the bikes.
Take a look at the new CBR600....the technology of this bike is far superior to most others. You can buy a lowering kit. Seek professional advice from the dealer you are looking at buying the bike from. I found them to be very honest about the ability to lower any bike in question.
Increase your sole height on your shoes and changing the seat all helps.
There is some good positive advice on this thread, use it.
Good luck.

[90s]

I'll throw in a slightly different viewpoint for arguments sake:

As a mountainbiker as well as a biker I am fanatical about setting up a bicycle correctly. For on-road or even XC competition on a bike this means raising the seat so your leg is very slightly bend at the bottom of the crank-stroke. This may mean that when you stop you have anything up to 20cm to the group for your foot at the very least - basically the bike is set up so you cannot reach the ground. You learn to trackstand ('hover'), come forward off the bike or lean way over to stop. Set up this way you get much more power and better back alignment etc.
Many neewbies are scared by this, and most purely diary-and-back riders set their bikes up for being able to touch the ground - bad riding.

The point is that once you become more competent the problems dissappear. The benefits outweigh the negatives.

Now bearing in mind that my MTB weighs 10kg and my bike comes in at 225kg and there is no frame top tube lower than the seat, the issues have some similarity.

When you are confident on a bike you won't nesc. be looking to have to put both feet down. You may find a lowered bike actually cramped, liable to peg-sparks etc. What I am saying is don't fixate on changing a bike to cover lack of experience. Get practiced, get comfortable and then when you find your ideal bike, modify that to suit your mature riding style, rather than rush to fix bikes to a poorer riding style.

Hey, this is really flawed but thought I'd through it in.

(can't reach the ground on both sides and couldn't care less)

[SDU]

Heaps of good advice here. Start with the simple stuff first like the seat alteration & if you can, have a good suspension person lower & set up the bike for better handling.
Hobbits have been modifying bikes & adjusting their riding to compensate for lack of legs for years there may be someone who has lowered the bike model you wish to buy, that can advise you the best way or allow you to sit on it.
I have had to have all my bikes lowered (-except for a tl50) & can only get toes of 1 foot down, making hills, rally sites & crappy uneven roads all part of the challenge.

[Hitcher]

Hey, this is really flawed but thought I'd through it in.

Throw.

And yes, your thoughts are flawed. You should have spotted that when you noted the not inconsiderable weight difference between a motorbike and a treadly. This manifests itself in several ways:

-- You can't pick up your motorbike to turn it around.
-- If it falls on you, your motorbike will hurt you.
-- If it falls over, you may not be able to easily/quickly pick your motorbike up.
-- Leaning your motorbike over to get a leg down puts it off balance. And it may be three-times heavier than you, making it hard to balance.

Yes, confidence can make it easier for shorter riders to manage tall bikes, but there are still some physical issues to contend with that treadly riders don't have.

[90s]

Throw.

And yes, your thoughts are flawed. .

Thanks for the typo catch hitcher.

Sure, just making a general point as many newbs seem obsessed with getting both feet flat on the floor. It is not very important in the end. As someone else said in a previous post, with experience you are aware of places where you might have to pick a bike up, not be able to get a foot to the ground because of camber, etc. That awareness comes with experience.
And I'll stick with my general point - you can focus too much on adjusting the bike to compensate for short-term lack of skill and regret it once you improve.

Just a thought as Devil's advocate.

[magicfairy]

Thanks for the typo catch hitcher.

Sure, just making a general point as many newbs seem obsessed with getting both feet flat on the floor. It is not very important in the end.

Oh really....
I bought a bike I couldn't get my feet down on the ground properly, got caught out quite a few times, dropped it 5 times in as many weeks, all low speed, caught out over high ground, by the time I had leaned it over enough to reach the ground it was past point of no return. Very confidence shattering.
Replaced it with one that I could at least get both feet balls of foot down as same time, did not drop it once in 18 months.

[Chrislost]

bah just ride side sadle coming up to the lights?
or evolve, come on they taught us that it was possable to adapt at uni...

[moT]

se if you got your legs lengthend this would solve a lot of problems but dont get them lengthend too long or it may create some

[moko]

There's a company in Britain that specialise in lowering bikes,originally started because someone had exactly your problem.Might even be worth looking at some kind of N.Z. franchise from what I've read here.Seat chop is a good start though,my bikes got nearly 3 inches taken out and unless it's parked next to a standard one most wouldn't notice.I bought the bike like it but much prefer the "both feet flat on the floor" bit so left it alone.
Here's a link to the lowering people:
http://www.drshull.co.uk/index.php?a...c&staticpage=1

[Sis]

I have a lowered bike.



I have included a picture to show you what I did to the rear suspension. The front forks have been lowered a corresponding amount.

My husband had the bike before me and he has ridden it since. His comment - still the same bike, still handles the same. And it doesn't drag the pegs. I hit my feet first.

And the amount of confidence that comes with lowering it is in logerithmic form.
I don't have to worry about where I am stopping and can concentrate on enjoying the ride.
I used to ride trail bikes and would have to almost dismount if I stopped. I am getting too old for that game. I am much happier with the bike I have now.

[<G>]

Thank you again for all the helpful comments.There's a website that lists the specifications for bikes and that will be my starting point. www.bikez.com
Armed with this knowledge - hopefully not a dangerous thing - I will discuss the options with the motorcycle dealer.
Thank you for the Drshull site, Moko, I'll tell Mt Eden about it - who knows what may come of it.

I have 5 months to go on my restricted so maybe I'll have a new bike for Xmas

[FROSTY:Me]

reccomended order of events--1 lower /narrow the seat 2 build up boot soles a bit 3 CAREFULLY lower the suspension.
madducks SV afterbeing "professionally" lowered was downright dangerous so be carefull
One comment --in your earlier stages of riding--ie the first couple of months I would reverse that order--I feel that handling is less important to a novice than the confidence that being flatfoooted gives

[surfchick]

you could get a ducati 996 - it's not very tall!!


actually - I'd recommend going for something that doesn't need too much lowering and that has a narrower seat as I'd be of the camp that wouldn't want to alter the bikes too much from their original spec. Daily handling is an issue , I wouldn't mind tip-toe on both sides as a limit. The ducati 996 is not that tall because its a beautifully narrow bike, but if I'm wearing sneakers and not boots its very hard to roll it up slight hills cause I can't get enough traction-which would be a mighty pain in the asse for manouvering and parking and getting out of the garage etc... It might come down to how badly you want a certain bike and how much you are prepared to risk not touching the ground. I've got a few small indonesian mates who all ride bikes they can't reach the ground on that well, but they don't care and away they go...! Allegedly Pedrosa has basically a shrunk bike to race on cause he's sooooo small they builted him a wee special one eventually...imagine what they are saving on carbon parts cause he's so light...coool

[janno]

I sold a gorgeous, new SV650 because it was too top heavy for me. I'm 5'6, but not the strongest, and after dropping the friggin thing three times in as many weeks when I first got it, I was always a bit nervy of it around town (Brisbane with mega traffic and truly awful road surfaces.)

After eight months of struggle and determination, I sold the damn thing after realising I wasn't enjoying it, and got a tiny wee Honda NT650. Within a month my speeds through the twisties came up about 30km, I was using all of my tyres, and realised I wasn't scared of my bike. I was able to start riding the way I'd always wanted to.

All because I knew wherever I stopped, both feet would touch the ground with a nicely bent knee (strongest leg postition). The wrong bike for me really held my riding back, not a good thing when you are trying to improve your skills.

These days, I've ridden friend's VFR800 and Kwaka Z1000 bikes, and if I bought these bikes the only thing I would do is get the seat shaved a little.

So if you have to get a tiny in stature bike in the mean time, don't forget, when your skill level gets up, you'll be able to look at a much wider choice of bikes. So what I'm trying to say is, get a tiny bike now if you need to - it won't be permanent if you decide to look at something with a bigger frame later. Yes, skill has a lot to do with the type of bike you can ride, but IMHO you need to have the confidence in your bike first, to get that skill going in the first place.

And a lot of blokes have great difficulty comprehending the difference between upper body strength and leg strength between men and women. Makes a huge difference when you are trying to hold the bike up after it gets past suicide point.

Jan.