Those of us who are vertically challenged (or rather – those of us that have not been blessed with the legs of swans and are therefore blighted with ‘ducks disease’) will appreciate that finding a bike that fits can be a challenge quite unlike any other.
In a car we can pull the seat forward until our chins or breasts (whichever comes first) rest uncomfortably on the steering wheel in an attempt to reach the accelerator/clutch and brake pedals. If we still cannot quite reach we use a pillow in the small of our backs to give us that 'little bit extra'.
It isn't that simple with bikes. We find a bike that we love and we approach it with care and caution, ensuring the bike is on the stand and we have a ‘catcher’ person ready in case we make undignified dismount.Trying to gauge the reality of the height and width of the seat (in regards to possible success factors) we throw a leg over the bike in the pathetic attempt to touch the ground.
Those of us that are confident or experienced will feel a thrill when we get a couple of toes down on just one side (!) leaving the other foot waving in the air and trying vainly to touch down on the foot peg on the other side… More often than not however, the actuality is that both feet wave around whilst we strain to get a whisper of a touchdown with the toe of a boot – and with increasing sadness I note that those of us who are experienced and confident are in the minority and can therefore only dream wistfully of having enough confidence to ride a bike in the knowledge that we can only stop on flat ground (how many places actually HAVE flat ground when you need to stop? - NOT many says the voice of experience here)
Lets face it – we can all ride ok – it is the stopping every time that gets us. I have ridden a number of bikes that I couldn’t touch the ground on – but it was always at the track and the bike was held up for me until I took off and I was ‘caught’ at the other end – it certainly made entering a race very entertaining – for EVERY body as I cruised up the back of the line up and PRAYED for them to drop the flag before I dropped the bike …
The apparent reality for me was that getting a foot down ANYwhere other than on a very low sports or cruiser style bike would be near impossible without surgical intervention.
I was told by one bike shop after trying for about half an hour to get the attention of a sales person, that the only bike I was ever going to ride was a lowered SV or a cruiser – there were no other bikes on the market that would ‘fit’ or could be made to fit…. I was not a happy chick that day, those bikes were not what I wanted to ride.
Additionally, the size of my foot (I am a 51/2 – 6) was potentially another ‘shortfall’ in that I found that my first bike boots would not reach the gear lever, and a lesser determined mortal would have loooong given up. There are plenty of jokes around these parts about ‘Chrissie parks’ when I had Patrick. Patrick was lowered as far as he was able to (dropped through the front forks, suspension softened, milled out the tie rod) but still I couldn’t get a foot pad on the ground properly and as many here will attest, there were a number of ooops moments when I stopped at the wrong place and didn’t take account of the camber of the road, the drop in the gutter, or the dip in the odd driveway or two.
The Honda was easier as it had a lowering kit, but meant that it was teetering on the stand as it was pretty much vertical and mounting it was a challenge as the slightest push would potentially send it over on its opposite side.
I attacked it from another angle and bought myself a new pair of bike boots that were a size 8!! I took the boots to a shoe repair man and had him attach a couple more soles to the bottom – Problem solved.. I can reach the gear lever ok AND I could get the toes down simultaneously on both sides… so what that I used three pairs of socks inside and there was still room to move!
Well now I have gone and bought myself an absolute BEAUTY of a bike – and have not been able to ride it yet. The ride height is 30mm higher than my last bike and I so do not want to drop this baby. The suspension has been softened, the front forks have been dropped and the ride height adjuster has been adjusted as far as it wants to go without getting a new one made (or milling it out a tad). I was able to get one foot down (almost to the heel) or the absolute tips of my toes on each side.
YES there is an end to this saga….
I took the bike boots to a boot maker up Kapiti and he has just resoled them for me adding a whole platform (with the right makeup I might be mistaken for a member of the ‘KISS’ band or similar) but I don’t care! He has done a fantastic job – much better than I expected, and has shaped it properly so that I can walk in them as well. FAN –TAS-TIC I now have healthy purchase on the ground and once I buy a new helmet (haven’t ridden since I crashed the last bike!) today and get the gear lever adjusted to allow for the extra platform I am aaaaaawwwwwwwaaaayyyyyyyy …. (oh yes and also need my armoured pants back from Celtic leathers )..
And THEN – I am aaaaaawwwwwwwaaaayyyyyyyy
I highly recommend http://www.ringstyle.co.nz/ if you need anything similar done.
Oh and PS… If I decide I need another mm off my next option is get the seat redesigned – just waiting for a response from Rider Custom Motorcycle Seats to see what gains there are (if any) for my new bike….
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Originally Posted by delusionz
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good point - I had already likened myself to a duck.... the 'ass' reference must have been damned confusing to everyone ......
Really??? Glad you didn't mention that you also rode around her a thousand times in her 'couple of laps'.... 
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