GS for short rider?

[(RIP) Ewan]

My Fiancee and I are planning a five month trip Patagonia - North America for our honeymoon, leaving end of this year.

Our hope was that we would be able to take the same bikes, in order to have the same spares, tyres etc, and only have to get to know one machine.

However, I am 6'5", with 35" inseam and 108kg, where my fiancee is 5'6", with 30" inseam and about 65kg. Not exactly a physical match!

In choosing a bike, I sat on the F650GS, but even at normal height it felt low and cramped for my gangly frame! I tested rode an R1200GSA and F800GS, and decided that while I loved the 1200, for the purposes of our trip the lighter, nimbler 800 would be better for me, and I have just bought an '08 plate F800GS.

I am hoping that an F800GS with a low seat and (possibly) custom lowered suspension (Hyperpro??) might yet be possible for my fiancee, and would love to hear from any shorter riders who have tried the 800 either standard or lowered and how they got on with it.

Also, would love to hear opinions from those with more experience than I of how much priority we should place on having the same bike, and on the suitability of F650 vs F800. We're planning on exploring South America and want to get off the beaten track a bit which will inevitably involve fairly regular riding on trails or unmade roads, and possibly a bit of off road from time to time, but we're not planning hardcore offroad riding - maybe a factory lowered F650 would be best for her ?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[brassmonkey001]

A standard F650GS (single cyl.) should be fine for her with a 30" inside leg. I can't speak for the 650 twin though.

 

[divelandy]

My Fiancee and I are planning a five month trip Patagonia - North America for our honeymoon, leaving end of this year.

Congratulations. Sounds like a fantastic honeymoon.

However, I am 6'5", with 35" inseam and 108kg, where my fiancee is 5'6", with 30" inseam and about 65kg. Not exactly a physical match!

Being 5'7" and having a 30" leg, but alas, marginally more than 65kg, i find the F8 ok, but i do have to plan ahead to stop to make sure the foot that goes down is either on the flat or uphill.

Has the future Mrs Ewan tried the F650 & F800 to see her preference/if she needs the lowed version?

I have just bought an '08 plate F800GS.

Great choice - hopefully not one of the slow grey ones

I am hoping that an F800GS with a low seat and (possibly) custom lowered suspension (Hyperpro??) might yet be possible for my fiancee, and would love to hear from any shorter riders who have tried the 800 either standard or lowered and how they got on with it.

I kept the standard seet, but did change the filling with some memory foam which is a little more forgiving. In retrospect, i'm not sure i would do this again. The OE standard seat is firm, but ok.

We're planning on exploring South America and want to get off the beaten track a bit which will inevitably involve fairly regular riding on trails or unmade roads, and possibly a bit of off road from time to time, but we're not planning hardcore offroad riding - maybe a factory lowered F650 would be best for her ?

As Tim Cullis will testify, there are no problems taking the F650 on unmade roads... Both bikes can take TKC80's

Get the missus to try either bike and see her preference. You don't need to tell a dealer your going to buy 2nd hand!

 

[zippygser]

My Fiancee and I are planning a five month trip Patagonia - North America for our honeymoon, leaving end of this year.

Our hope was that we would be able to take the same bikes, in order to have the same spares, tyres etc, and only have to get to know one machine.

However, I am 6'5", with 35" inseam and 108kg, where my fiancee is 5'6", with 30" inseam and about 65kg. Not exactly a physical match!

In choosing a bike, I sat on the F650GS, but even at normal height it felt low and cramped for my gangly frame! I tested rode an R1200GSA and F800GS, and decided that while I loved the 1200, for the purposes of our trip the lighter, nimbler 800 would be better for me, and I have just bought an '08 plate F800GS.

I am hoping that an F800GS with a low seat and (possibly) custom lowered suspension (Hyperpro??) might yet be possible for my fiancee, and would love to hear from any shorter riders who have tried the 800 either standard or lowered and how they got on with it.

Also, would love to hear opinions from those with more experience than I of how much priority we should place on having the same bike, and on the suitability of F650 vs F800. We're planning on exploring South America and want to get off the beaten track a bit which will inevitably involve fairly regular riding on trails or unmade roads, and possibly a bit of off road from time to time, but we're not planning hardcore offroad riding - maybe a factory lowered F650 would be best for her ?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Hi there Ewan, and welcome to the forum, Magwych from this forum has a 1200 GSA but more importantly his wife who is not as tall has a lowered f800gs. I believe they went the Hyperpro route with the Touratech lowered seat and his wife loves it.
I think best to PM him with your initial post and see what he has to say. Best of luck

 

[Magnet]

Hi Ewan,

I am 5'7", with 29" inside leg and weigh 65kg. I have an F800GS with a low seat and standard suspension. I wear Daytona Ladystar boots, which give about an extra inch of height.

No problems riding or stopping once I got my head round the idea I wasn't going to drop it every time I stopped

Fantastic bike

 

[Slowdown]

I wear Daytona Ladystar boots, which give about an extra inch of height.

Damn Magnet and her fast fingers! Not that I wear ladystar boots, it's just I know a few people that recommend them!

 

[maddaddy]

If you get an 800 and she gets a 650, you still pretty much have the same bike as far as parts go.

Not sure what parts you are thinking of that you would need to cross level.

My friends Simon and Lisa Thomas have been riding around the world for the last 7 years (see their link below). He's on an 1100 and she's a 650 (Single). Parts have never been an issue for the two very different bikes and they don't really carry many spare parts aside from cables, bulbs, and patch kits.
http://www.2ridetheworld.com/index.html

On the flip side my friends Holger and Anja have been riding around the world for 5 years, both on 650 singles. They have near identical bikes, so maintenance is easy in the long run.

http://www.2aufreisen.de/

So consider that vs your vacation.

 

[LiquidLAN]

Hi Ewan,

I am 5'7", with 29" inside leg and weigh 65kg. I have an F800GS with a low seat and standard suspension. I wear Daytona Ladystar boots, which give about an extra inch of height.

No problems riding or stopping once I got my head round the idea I wasn't going to drop it every time I stopped

Fantastic bike

Daytona do some great boot, but they are not exactly what you would call off-road oriented. I'm not suggesting that you should take two pairs with you, but I've got a pair of Daytona Travel Stars I use for road riding and a pair of Sidi's for off-road. The Sidi's are far superior off-road and provide a lot more protection in an off.

If you're looking at doing a significant amount of off-road, I can't help but wonder if you'd be better off getting the right gear and then finding a bike to match even if that means not getting a second BM?

I've seen a lower CS and that seems pretty easy to do, just slip the front forks up and replace the dogbones on the rear suspension with longer ones. Dont forget though you'll loose ground clearance with that.

The other approach is that any of the major manufacturers will do main to measure. Maybe you can get a pair of custom Sidi's something like the Lady Stars?

 

[santrix]

I'm the shortest bmw fella rider i know at just over 5'6", i have an 800 with a low seat, everything else is standard, ive got about a 28 -29" inseam and i find the bike fine, cant flat foot but who needs to... Look at Patsy Quick and her 20 storey tall dakar bike haha.

There are as have been mentioned lowering options.... ye'll be fine.

(i did pop into Ocean BMW last week and the sales fella there was even smaller than me, he asked me how i got on the 800, and i said dead pan faced... with a box i carry on my rear rack....my missus actually thought he believed me... a 'had to be there' moment)

 

[LiquidLAN]

I'm the shortest bmw fella rider i know at just over 5'6", i have an 800 with a low seat, everything else is standard, ive got about a 28 -29" inseam and i find the bike fine, cant flat foot but who needs to... Look at Patsy Quick and her 20 storey tall dakar bike haha.

There are as have been mentioned lowering options.... ye'll be fine.

(i did pop into Ocean BMW last week and the sales fella there was even smaller than me, he asked me how i got on the 800, and i said dead pan faced... with a box i carry on my rear rack....my missus actually thought he believed me... a 'had to be there' moment)

A big chunk of that is confidence though and the need not to stop I talked to Patsy a fair bit before going on a 690 try out day and it turns out her 690 is lowered as low as it'll go and the suspension slackened off to help with seat height. Though as you say, she'd happily handle a much taller bike - watching the Dakar a lot of the riders are off before the bike stops...

but for us mear mortals its nice to be able to get both feet down sometimes

 

[Tim Cullis]

Unfortunately you made the decision before asking for advice... It would have been better to be both on the same bike and the F650GS has the advantage of tubeless tyres for quick puncture repairs.

With a 30-in inside leg your finance should be able to handle the F650GS with standard suspension and standard seating. If you had to choose one of these to be lower I would go for the lower seat then add an Airhawk seat on top for riding the easier roads, or pay to have memory foam in the seat as both seats on both bikes are truly awful on long distances.

The F650GS might have felt low for you, but it shouldn't have felt cramped as the seat/bars/pegs measurements are the same as the F800GS.

What you could have done is to have pimped the F650GS with a higher seat to reduce the low feeling, which would also have made it extremely spacious for your longer legs. And again, stick an Airhawk on top.

 

[JackieG]

Hi there Ewan, and welcome to the forum, Magwych from this forum has a 1200 GSA but more importantly his wife who is not as tall has a lowered f800gs. I believe they went the Hyperpro route with the Touratech lowered seat and his wife loves it.
I think best to PM him with your initial post and see what he has to say. Best of luck

Hi Ewan

I'm the above mentioned short wife!! I am same height and weight as your partner, so hopefully my experience will help.

When I first had the 800 I started off with it on standard springs, but with the low seat, forks dropped a little in the yokes and the suspension as low as possible. It was OK, but very much had to pick a side and go with it. After a couple of close calls (particularly in motocross boots which don't give the same height advantage as Daytona Ladystars which I wear when road riding) I figured I'd be more comfortable with the Hyperpro spring - and it is a lot better.

I am sure that a very experienced, and more confident rider would have been OK with it standard, and I was most of the time, but just found it much easier with it lowered, and so one less thing to worry about!

Loaded up it is a tall (when you're 5'6" anyway), heavy beastie, but with the Hyperpro spring it is much easier - and I have to say that in my opinion (not that I am an expert) it feels smoother and handles better than it did standard (but then the forks are back to normal, which probably helps).

If you want to get in touch feel free to PM me.

Jackie

 

[(RIP) Ewan]

Thanks for the advice.....

......all much appreciated.

We now have a pair of 800s, found one already lowered with modified rear spring and forks dropped slightly, about 30mm reduction all in. Less than I'd thought she would need.

However, we went out for our first ride together on the bikes this weekend, and she is very happy. One foot down almost flat, or both feet down on tiptoes. Despite the size, weight and power of the bike compared to her last (a Kwak ER-6F restricted to 33bhp) she's riding more confidently on the 800 after only a few hours. She's loving the bike!

Very happy that we've made the right decision, now can't wait for the real adventures to begin later in the year.

For the record, she is 5'6" with pretty short legs, and not much muscle on her, hopefully that might help any other short riders thinking about the 800 decide. It's an awesome bike!

Cheers all.

 

[GunZenBomZ]

Brilliant, hope to see you @Ace cafe one weekend!

 

[everywherevirtually]

Had the pleasure of meeting Ewan and his lady last weekend. Nice couple and I hope they have a fantastic trip. It sounds fantastic.

Incidentally Ewan those little cards come from www.moo.com



Jon

 

[Jonno]

Another F800GS shorty - seat advice?

Hi,

I'm fairly new to this forum, having bought a F800GS a couple of months back, which I'm loving!

I have the 'vertically challeged' issue (5'5) also, and am currently riding the F800GS with the standard seat height - I've dropped the bike once once - but now am getting used to it. Of all the postings I've read about short people on F800GS's, I think I win the 'Shortest man to have bought one with a standard seat and put up with it for so long' prize. The other problem, of course, is that the seat's massively uncomfortable and my wife is getting reluctant to take long trips on it - and I can't blame her.

SO - I need the best solution to both lower the seat and make it more comfortable. Would prefer messing around with Airhawks, etc, as a last resort.

So, although i appreciate there are lots of postings already on this topic, I was wondering if anyone had any advice including anyone who's tried the touratech low seat (EUR250 plus shipping if you trade your old seat)
http://shop.kahedo.de/Seats-Driver/BMW/BMW-F-650-GSAdv:::1_7_14.html
and if so, is it definately 1. more comfortable for rider and pillion, and 2. Noticably lower than the BMW standard seat?
Additionally, was wondering what other lower-but-more-comfortable seats people have tried (have done lots of searching but many after market seats are either the same height or taller...) eg sargent, renazco (?? USA only).
Cheers, thanks for such a great forum!
Jonno.

 

[Dean]

Hi,

I'm fairly new to this forum, having bought a F800GS a couple of months back, which I'm loving!

I have the 'vertically challeged' issue (5'5) also, and am currently riding the F800GS with the standard seat height - I've dropped the bike once once - but now am getting used to it. Of all the postings I've read about short people on F800GS's, I think I win the 'Shortest man to have bought one with a standard seat and put up with it for so long' prize. The other problem, of course, is that the seat's massively uncomfortable and my wife is getting reluctant to take long trips on it - and I can't blame her.

SO - I need the best solution to both lower the seat and make it more comfortable. Would prefer messing around with Airhawks, etc, as a last resort.

So, although i appreciate there are lots of postings already on this topic, I was wondering if anyone had any advice including anyone who's tried the touratech low seat (EUR250 plus shipping if you trade your old seat)
http://shop.kahedo.de/Seats-Driver/BMW/BMW-F-650-GSAdv:::1_7_14.html
and if so, is it definately 1. more comfortable for rider and pillion, and 2. Noticably lower than the BMW standard seat?
Additionally, was wondering what other lower-but-more-comfortable seats people have tried (have done lots of searching but many after market seats are either the same height or taller...) eg sargent, renazco (?? USA only).
Cheers, thanks for such a great forum!
Jonno.

Hi Jonno, and welcome to the forum

Ok firstly I do not think you would win the shortest Man a lot of short men ride the F800 GS I think BMW fitted some kind of short bloke magnet or perhaps its wanting the bigger thing thing like taller woman but they only want same size or taller (on the large).

Any how if it helps I have a F650GS twin (same seat) although I went for the TT touring (having it large) which is made by Kahedo I tried to buy direct from Kahedo but the computer said no only from TT, anyhow the seat was firm and not so good to start but now it has given in to my 15 stones but I find for a ride upto 1.5 hours its OK but after that I mount the airhawk 2 and dead sheep which is good for a full day it realy is unbelievably comfortable the air hawk has got to be one of my best purchases. unfortunately this increases the height for you but remember it works best on little air.

I hope you get a comfy outcome and keep swmbo happy

 

[(RIP) Ewan]

Low Seat

My Fiancee (see first post in thread!) now has a lower F800GS, with a BMW comfort seat. This is noticably lower than the standard seat, though possibly slightly higher than the normal low seat, but is much more comfortable than standard for her. I found that it pushed me too far forward to be comfortable (it is very sculptured) but then at 6'5" I have very long legs so find myself always moving backwards. Could be worth a try?

 

[DING-DONG]

Hi im a short ar5e with 29'' inside leg, i cant touch the floor on any bike but i like to be able to touch at least my toes, so i brought a used as new low seat of evilbay for £90 (there £180 new from the dealer) than i found due to having less foam it gave me num bum so i gave the man a coventry custom seats a call mel hunter and asked him to fit a gelastic pad cost £95 he pulled the sides of the seat in as well and now its 100% better ..



Dave