Weight of bikes...

[madbikeboy]

Went and sat on a Gladius today. I loved it. Will go back when I have my full (hopefully next month) and then take it for a test ride.

madbikeboy - thanks for the advice and the offer, I might take you up on that sometime soon in the future.

The Gladius is a neat looking bike. I have a friend who is going through the process of deciding what next (she's going to have a go on Scoot in a carpark soonish), and she's thinking Triumph 675 - long tangent here, but the 675 has a naked version, which is the Street Triple - and I think the Gladius is Suzuki's answer to the Street Triple...

It's a track bike, so it's going to spend some time in it's future on its side... Might as well have a go on it once it's 100% built.

[AllanB]

which is the Street Triple - and I think the Gladius is Suzuki's answer to the Street Triple....

Ah - NO.

The Gladius is not and does not pretend to be a Street Triple - the Street is the little brother of the hooligan Speed Triple so in effect an adolescent version of the bigger bad boy.

By comparison the Gladius is the study nerd next door.

That's not to say there is anything wrong with the Suzuki, unfortunately I cannot stop thinking of it as a girls SV! Maybe it needs some carbon fiber bits to man it up a bit. It received a good review against the Kawa twin in Cycle World.

[one fast tl1ooo]

Weight is irrelevant, you need a bike you can touch the ground on and because you a petite person, would suggest a smaller bike such as a 500cc or 650cc.

[Thani-B]

This is some very good advice. In reality at your size if the bike is 170 or 220 kg you probably won't pick it up. Stuff it and ignore that as a purchasing consideration and buy what you like and just enjoy it.

Yes that is what I think. Im just going to find the bike that I like and just make sure that I am able to ride it and be able to move it around in tricky situations that I may get into. And just hope I am somewhere where there is people if I drop it.

That's not to say there is anything wrong with the Suzuki, unfortunately I cannot stop thinking of it as a girls SV! Maybe it needs some carbon fiber bits to man it up a bit. It received a good review against the Kawa twin in Cycle World.

A girls SV... well that suits me fine seeing as I am one lol.

Weight is irrelevant, you need a bike you can touch the ground on and because you a petite person, would suggest a smaller bike such as a 500cc or 650cc.

And yes I don't think I would be that comfortable on a bike that I couldn't touch the ground on. I can touch the ground on the gladius, slightly more than toes on both sides but not flat foot which is alright, not the best but not too bad. Mum used to ride a 400 that she could only touch the ground with one foot when on the bike, so toes on both sides is better than that.

[MaxCannon]

The Gladius looks like a good bike. I like the styling on the older SV650 more but everyone likes different things.

Really your main concern for moving the bike around it thinking ahead.
On light bike with a low seat such as the GN you don't have to worry as much.
On a heavier bike where you might be stretching to get your feet down you need to plan you low speed movements so that the bike is always facing up hill.
Not many bikes (Goldwings perhaps ?) have a reverse gear so you can get stuck trying to push them backwards.

A Handy lesson I learnt was never get off the bike without the stand being down.
If you try and jump off the seat to move it and you havn't first put the bike on the stand properly it's quite easy to drop it and potential injure yourself.

[MarkH]

And yes I don't think I would be that comfortable on a bike that I couldn't touch the ground on. I can touch the ground on the gladius, slightly more than toes on both sides but not flat foot which is alright, not the best but not too bad.

Can it be lowered? If you can touch the ground with more than your toes on both feet at once then it sounds like it is pretty close to the right height already - maybe with a little lowering you could comfortably get both feet flat on the ground at once. I would recommend doing this if possible because it would improve your confidence with the bike in tricky situations, which wouldn't be a bad thing.

[Thani-B]

Can it be lowered? If you can touch the ground with more than your toes on both feet at once then it sounds like it is pretty close to the right height already - maybe with a little lowering you could comfortably get both feet flat on the ground at once. I would recommend doing this if possible because it would improve your confidence with the bike in tricky situations, which wouldn't be a bad thing.

I asked about having it lowered but the guy at Colemans doesnt think its a good idea. He thought maybe it could have a seat made that wasnt as high though. I might be better to invest in some boots that have really thick soles or a heel on them.

[Mom]

I asked about having it lowered but the guy at Colemans doesnt think its a good idea. He thought maybe it could have a seat made that wasnt as high though. I might be better to invest in some boots that have really thick soles or a heel on them.

If you are going to alter the seat you probably should look at the width of it as much as the height of it. Even reducing the width of the seat will make a huge difference in your ability to reach the ground. As far as raised boots go, be careful. You need to be able to get your foot under the gear lever to change gears, raise them too much and that wont be possible. High heels?

[madbikeboy]

Ah - NO.

The Gladius is not and does not pretend to be a Street Triple - the Street is the little brother of the hooligan Speed Triple so in effect an adolescent version of the bigger bad boy.

By comparison the Gladius is the study nerd next door.

That's not to say there is anything wrong with the Suzuki, unfortunately I cannot stop thinking of it as a girls SV! Maybe it needs some carbon fiber bits to man it up a bit. It received a good review against the Kawa twin in Cycle World.

Dumb response.

The Street Triple:
Similar riding position
Both naked
2 vs 3
Similar power,
Similar feel to ride
Similar middleweight market segment

The Speed Triple is further apart from the Street than the Suzuki is - looks wise quite similar (family resemblance and styling), but riding the street is actually a different matter.

Ride all three and see. Then comment on my lack of understanding...

[awayatc]

Wrong. My mum is that weight and probably the same height, my sister would be pushing it at 50kg. There are some small woman out there!

Seems to me that it isn't as much the weight of the bike you should worry about .....
More a question of wether it should be equiped with seatbelts or not.....

You will fly like a kite if you ever forget to zip your jacket up on a moderately windy day.....

[James Deuce]

Dumb response.

The Street Triple:
Similar riding position
Both naked
2 vs 3
Similar power,
Similar feel to ride
Similar middleweight market segment

The Speed Triple is further apart from the Street than the Suzuki is - looks wise quite similar (family resemblance and styling), but riding the street is actually a different matter.

Ride all three and see. Then comment on my lack of understanding...

I don't think you can compare a budget 650 V-Twin with a triple based on the best sports bike in the world.

The power and weight figures are wildly different between the Street Triple and the Gladius and the chassis components of the Triumph will ensure the Gladius is embarrassed in the twisties and at track days.

Street Triple: 97HP, 167KG.

Gladius: 67HP, 202KG

The Gladius' natural competitors are the ER6N, and Yamaha XJ6, bikes all made for a different purpose than the Street Triple. Even at 70HP and 167kg the SV650S isn't a direct competitor for the Street Triple.

AllanB wasn't comparing the Gladius to the Speed and Street Triple, merely pointing out the family lineage.

[Beemer]

If you are going to alter the seat you probably should look at the width of it as much as the height of it. Even reducing the width of the seat will make a huge difference in your ability to reach the ground. As far as raised boots go, be careful. You need to be able to get your foot under the gear lever to change gears, raise them too much and that wont be possible. High heels?

Agreed - I had some boots resoled with thicker soles and ended up selling them as I found them too awkward - waste of $100!

People neglect to mention bike/seat width too. My RG150 had a 780mm seat height but was really narrow and I could get both feet flat on the ground. My F650CS had a 750mm seat height but I could only just touch the ground with the balls of my feet as the seat was much wider than the RG.

[Thani-B]

Agreed - I had some boots resoled with thicker soles and ended up selling them as I found them too awkward - waste of $100!

People neglect to mention bike/seat width too. My RG150 had a 780mm seat height but was really narrow and I could get both feet flat on the ground. My F650CS had a 750mm seat height but I could only just touch the ground with the balls of my feet as the seat was much wider than the RG.

Ok so thick soles are a no no...

Where would you go to get the seat done? Is it possible on a bike like the Gladius?

[Winston001]

Where would you go to get the seat done? Is it possible on a bike like the Gladius?

Any auto upholsterer should be able to remove some of the foam and voila - lower and if you want, narrower seat.

[Starky307]

Ok so thick soles are a no no...

Where would you go to get the seat done? Is it possible on a bike like the Gladius?

PM Lula, she had a Gladius for a while as a test bike, very dependable and reliable bike from what she said. Her profile pick even has a picture of her and it, the seat looks very thin already and not much room for trimming, maybe google lowering links for it.

Have you had any help with the picking up your bike technique yet?