Lowering a bike so that your feet touch

[naughty]

I feel your pain and frustration. My mum always told me that good things come in small packages, and as much as she was right, it's a pain in the arse when you want to ride a bike!
Check out this recent thread, and some advice I gave a fellow shortarse!
Good luck, hope it helps, feel free to ask more questions if you like and others may have some different ideas for you also. Different bikes have different ways of lowering the suspension etc also.

The said shortarse! Great advice on a seemingly common problem! Check it out

[magicfairy]

I disagree with that somewhat. It's fine and dandy using one foot to hold yourself up on flat ground in nice weather. It's a bitch maneuvering the bike on uneven ground or holding it up when the wind is blasting you from both directions.

Agreed, you can get caught out having to stop unexpectedly over ground that drops away (service station exits are my personal favourite) go to put your foot down to find nothing there and over she goes. Likewise there are intersections in Wellington, that when the wind is blowing hard, you have to feet planted just to keep the bike upright. Some people seem to be nimble enough to hop on and off a high bike, but moving up from a learner is challenging enough without having to worry about keeping it upright.

I made the mistake of thinking tip-toe was enough, dropped my bike when caught out too many times, and went for something lower (I am also 5ft with short legs)

Ditto McDonalds motor trimmers, they do a great job!

[NotaGoth]

Its not only the height of the seat from the ground.... it is also the width of the seat.

If the seat is too wide and you have short legs then your feet still wont reach the ground.

Agreed.. Width steals the height that you need.. Yet I've tried explaining it and people still stare at me like I'm really stupid and have no idea what I'm talking about...


I also agree with Motogirl... On my RG I have feet on the ground on both sides.. But also realize now that I don't have enough "give" in my legs... I've hit uneven ground, tried to put my foot down and fallen over before.. There was just nothing there when I tried to find it!!

Alls well if you think you can handle saving your bike before it ends up on the ground while all the while frantically searching for where to put your feet...
Mum was the same when she learnt to ride... Shes about 5 foot tall and found pulling up in certain places had to be avoided..

I guess you can only lower a bike so much.. Really the choice is yours as to wether you want both feet firm or if you think you'll manage not being able to touch the ground properly if the bike in question can't be lowered "enough"

[yungatart]

I also ride an Eliminator, I'm not tall at 5'4', but have just bought a Ninja 500 EX, and yes I can touch the ground easily on that one too.
On the EL my legs are bent, much straighter on the EX, but they do touch comfortably.

[MadDuck]

1. Bike salespeople always say that a bike can be lowered. This task becomes inordinately more complex once you have purchased the bike. Don't trust them. They just want to sell you a bike.

Geometry of a bike didn't happen by accident. Mess with it at your peril!

I can so agree with this comment. Thankfully a friend who kinda knows a bit about SVs helped me sort the bike to a safe and comfortable ride.

There is a thread about all the crap I faced when lowering the bike. Will try and find the link for you.

Must say though that perserverance now means I love my bike

[MadDuck]

I don't usually mind being short but I can see that taking a bike out for a test ride is going to be a mission, I'm going to need somebody behind me to put their feet down when we come to a stop

Guy at the bike shop pissed himself when I took an SV for a test ride.

I had to roll it over to the curb to be able to get on the damn thing. All the way I was thinking....I hope those damn lights dont go red!!!

[Pwalo]

I'm not too sure that the ER6 is a suitable candidate for lowering. In most cases people seem to fit longer dog bones and slide the front forks up through the triple clamps.

This works (to a certain extent) with bikes with a rising rate rear suspension (honest - have a look at any sports bike), but the ER6 has a fixed rear shock which complicates things a bit more. The only way that you can easily alter your rear ride height would be to fit a shorter or softer spring, and I have a snaky feeling that this will raise some issues with frame and steering geometry.

I'd be intrigued as to how your dealer approaches this one.

5'0" is probably going to limit your choice of bike a bit. It's bad enough being 5'6".

The only thing I can suggest is the good old trawl around all the bike shops that are handy, and sit on everything. Pity that there aren't so many of the old 400 grey imports around.

Good luck.

[Joni]

Pity that there aren't so many of the old 400 grey imports around.

yeah, I had a CBR400RR lowered slightly in South Africa... loved that bike... It was considered a grey import.

I reckon if the lowering is done properly, its a great solution for us shorties!

[<G>]

Great advice, I still think the "make yourself taller using ancient medieval torture techniques" used not be dismissed...

You volunteering your legs for this procedure?

[<G>]

Thank you all for your input...I had considered what lowering the bike would do to the handling of it, not to mention the cost factor.

I have already experienced what happens when you put your leg down and the camber of the road was steeper than expected, fortunately I was able to keep her from falling over! So don't want to be on tippy toes - recipe for disaster for me. I know there are heaps of short guys who ride big bikes - good on them. I have to do what feels right for me.

I love the Eliminator - we have done around 3000kms now and she cruises well at 120, only drawback is the lack of power - need a long run to overtake. We do long distance rides and I've been advised that a bigger bike will be more comfortable. Plus the Eliminator is 18 years old and is showing her age.

[magicfairy]

I love the Eliminator - we have done around 3000kms now and she cruises well at 120, only drawback is the lack of power - need a long run to overtake. We do long distance rides and I've been advised that a bigger bike will be more comfortable. Plus the Eliminator is 18 years old and is showing her age.

I went for the S50 (800cc cruiser) cos it was very low and and I could put my feet down - which I couldn't do even on a Harley cruiser.
The 800cc gives it loads of power - more than Ill ever need and I have ridden over 400ks in a day and been perfectly comfortable the whole time. For me the proportions are perfect and the foot pegs are not forward controls so leg position is comfy. If you love the Eliminator you may want to look at one of these - or the 650cc S40.

[Pwalo]

yeah, I had a CBR400RR lowered slightly in South Africa... loved that bike... It was considered a grey import.

I reckon if the lowering is done properly, its a great solution for us shorties!

Yep, I considered a CBR400 a few years back. The only trouble is that they were getting a bit long in the tooth, and parts etc weren't always the easiest to get hold of.

Very nice little bike though.

[MadDuck]

I love the Eliminator - we have done around 3000kms now and she cruises well at 120, only drawback is the lack of power - need a long run to overtake. We do long distance rides and I've been advised that a bigger bike will be more comfortable.

The main reason I went up from the VTR250 was the lack of overtaking power but when Keystone flew past me while I was on the SV I wanted to put my toys back and head home.

I have spent the night trying to find the old link and I have to say thanx cos I ran over some really old threads with names of people and great advice from the past. Alas I couldnt find the thread I wanted to send you.

I did at the time contact Suzuki NZ (anonymously) asking about the mods on the bike and suddenly the shop came to the party given we were a smaller community back then they were as helpful as they could be.

The best thing that came out of the process (ive had the bike for 3 years now) for me was I decided to learn more about bikes and not be taken for a girl. At the time a whole heap of KB blokes offered to come be my spokes person. Now I dont need them because I decided to learn for myself.

My advice is to ask all the questions. Try lots of bikes but avoid lowering if at all possible ...dammit I took an FZR150 out for a blast not so long ago and loved it.

[Mom]

dammit I took an FZR150 out for a blast not so long ago and loved it.

You made that little baby fly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! who would have thought something so cute and little and...........small.........and.......well FZR150ish could go so well...

[moT]

get your legs surgically lengthend