Very low seat please !

[Buckingham]

Hi,
A friend of mine is only 5ft & wants to learn to ride. We're having trouble finding a bike that's low enough for her ( not a cruiser if poss).
Anyone got any ideas please ?
Did think of a VFR400 or similar, which is low but don't really want a faired bike as will probably be dropped

 

[ianboydsnr]

Honda CB1 400
Kawasaki ER5
Honda CB500

 

[Buckingham]

Low seat

Hi Ian, we've tried the CB500 & ER but both are too high !
Local training school has these but they agreed the seat height was likely to lead to her dropping it.
CB1- 400 I'd not thought about -will try to find one.

Anyone here know how low an F650 CS goes with the BMW lowering kit ?

John

 

[Buckingham]

Light with seat no higher than 750mm

All,
We're looking for a lightweight bike with a max seat height of 750mm !

Any more suggestions please ?

John

 

[Yonkyo]

How about a Kawasaki ZZR600.

Great little bike, very reliable and with a seat height of only about 760mm

 

[D6]

u can lower a gs 500 easily,made longer tie bars, about 6 to 10 mm longer,and drop forks too ,easy peasy...if u needed some ,ill make u some

 

[Janie]

my friend is just 5ft and she has a cbr400 with crash bungs fitted......maybe a 400 bros is the way to go.........or a 400 bandit.....hassle they will have with most 600's is the reach as well as the seat height.........bein 5ft u ave short arms as well.......i know all the hassle bein a short person......i'm only 5.4...good luck with the hunt for a low enuff bike.................

 

[Gipsy]

How about a Kawasaki ZZR600.

Great little bike, very reliable and with a seat height of only about 760mm

From memory I think the seat height is 780 mm, but of more importance is the weight. It's close to 200 Kg. From our experience even getting it off the side stand for a shorter person, can be a struggle. Agree it's a great bike though.

We finally settled on the factory lowered 650 gs. Can't remember the exact seat height off hand, but as the suspension sags it gets lower. Perhaps a post in the 650 section will bet you an answer. One thing we have found is that increased experience and practice makes you taller.

 

[ianboydsnr]

my friend is just 5ft and she has a cbr400 with crash bungs fitted......maybe a 400 bros is the way to go.........or a 400 bandit.....hassle they will have with most 600's is the reach as well as the seat height.........bein 5ft u ave short arms as well.......i know all the hassle bein a short person......i'm only 5.4...good luck with the hunt for a low enuff bike.................

Really, going on your avatar, I imagined you being about 7 foot

 

[Janie]

Really, going on your avatar, I imagined you being about 7 foot

I wish

 

[LiquidLAN]

its not how tall she is that counts, it inside leg get a tap measure out and see if she will let you check

I thought I was going to have a similar problem with a friend of mine, but a wonder around the NEC Bike show proved that there is a lot more out there on the market for the more pettite.

we've started her off on a CBR125 but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that there is or they are bringing out a 250 of similar dimensions

The advantage your friend will have is that she is probably wider in the hips, so she will feel better on a wider saddle than a similar height bloke

lol... think I worked out that the 1200 Buell was a pretty good fit for my friend, but she'l take a lot of convincing that its the right 1st bike

 

[Emmsy Poo]

Hiya

Just picked up on this post, but I have a F650, Im 5 feet, 5 inches but I have very, very short legs. To get me started (and feeling confident having just passed my test) I was given a sculpted seat (which if you go down the 650 route Im sure we can pass onto you), and I had an inch Kubalink fitted, dropped the suspension as low as it would go, and the forks.

Since I have grown in confidence and have put the standard seat back on and upped the suspension a couple of clicks.

Hope this helps.

If you are looking for a new bike, I tried the new f800s which was manufacturer lowered and fitted a treat (now I want one but dont have the sheckles).

 

[Bill-H]

There are one or two websites hosted by the shorter lady, this one lists mainly cruisers, but there are one or two others in there
http://www.vtwinmama.com/motorcycles_for_short_riders.htm

and this one has some advice

http://www.bikegirl.co.uk/resources/newbies/vertically_challenged.html

Had two inches removed from a seat for my niece to ride her scooter - she's 5'
Side stand much easier for the shorter rider, don't have the hassle of trying to lift a bike upwards and back onto a centre stand.

 

[JemandSi]

John,

my wife has the same trouble at being 5foot. This past week she successfully passed her DAS on a ER-5. The training school wound the suspension down. Although she could not get both feet flat it did not stop her completing U-turns, or paddling the bike around with a little assistance with the kerb!
c
before the DAS she has been riding CBR 125 (I know not ideal learner bike!) which allowed her to gain confidence on a light and lowish bike (seat scooped out). For the future we are looking at F650GS that has been factory lowered, she fits perfectlyish on that!

might be worth chatting to JAQ for advice as well.

regards

Simon

 

[VAL. H.]

John,

my wife has the same trouble at being 5foot. This past week she successfully passed her DAS on a ER-5. The training school wound the suspension down. Although she could not get both feet flat it did not stop her completing U-turns, or paddling the bike around with a little assistance with the kerb!
c
before the DAS she has been riding CBR 125 (I know not ideal learner bike!) which allowed her to gain confidence on a light and lowish bike (seat scooped out). For the future we are looking at F650GS that has been factory lowered, she fits perfectlyish on that!

might be worth chatting to JAQ for advice as well.

regards

Simon

Well done that lady


Yep PM Jaq. She's quite possibly under 5' and rides her 650 off road too


A couple of years ago I went looking at bikes with a friend who is 4'10" These are the bikes she could reach the ground on and lift off their side stands.

Jaq's BMW F650gs (factory lowered)
VFR/CBR 400 Hondas
Suzuki Bandit 400
Ducati 400 (looks like the 916)
Harley Davidson 883 (bloody heavy though)
Honda 1800cc V twin cruiser (can't remember what it's called)
Yamaha 1900 ***star
Yamaha wildestar (but she couldn't pull the cable operated clutch in)
Yamaha Virago 535, 750 and 1100
A big surprise was that she couldn't lift the Yamaha 650 Dragstar off the side stand.
I also lowered a Suzuki SV650 for a lady who's 5'1".

In my opinion the best bike is the F650gs. Not only can it easily be converted for smaller and taller riders, it is such an easy and confidence inspiring bike to ride.
You can find them in good working condition from as little as £1800.00 They are incredibly durable, easy to work on and fix. They are also quite hard to break and even crash well. Parts are easy to get both new and secondhand.
To top this they're very economical and cheep to insure and service service. Just look on this forum. You won't find many that don't rate the little 650's.

Don't let your lady get disheartened by her hight. There really is quite a good range of bikes for her to choose from.


Val.

 

[Summer]

My short friend rides a honda hornet 600 unfaired version and she has a very low seat on that, its tiny and ideal for what you are after

 

[ellesig2]

We finally settled on the factory lowered 650 gs. Can't remember the exact seat height off hand, but as the suspension sags it gets lower. Perhaps a post in the 650 section will bet you an answer. One thing we have found is that increased experience and practice makes you taller.

I have a factory lowered 650GS twin and I am 5ft 2in. This is my first bike and it is fine. However, it can be a bit high still even at 765mm if there is a large camber in the road but not impossible. As my confidence is growing with miles ridden it is getting easier.

 

[Dave Atherton]

John,
Do not know if you managed to get sorted, I have just been down this route for my partner, ( have posted in the 650 section to) . My partner is 5ft and only has 24" inside leg (croch to floor). I have managed to get her flat footed on a factory lowered 650 by adding longer links and wunderluct seat, although she did manage on tip toes with out the lower links, these will be replaced by factory links once she has a bit more confidence.
Lowering it this mush severly compramises the "off road" abillity and does limit suspension travel.

We tried the Harley route but as quoted very heavy and with short legs even on the L version the side stand is not reachable without modifacation.

BR.
Dave.

 

[Buckingham]

Thanks for all the helpful replies, especially Digger06' offer !

We tried a lowered CB500 (low shocks & seat) but she couldn't manage it, so decided to do a restricted test, we got her a YBR125.
Failed first test (foot down on U turn), retakes it later this month.

Now the new bike test has been deferred to March '09, she won't feel so much pressure.

 

[VAL. H.]

Thanks for all the helpful replies, especially Digger06' offer !

We tried a lowered CB500 (low shocks & seat) but she couldn't manage it, so decided to do a restricted test, we got her a YBR125.
Failed first test (foot down on U turn), retakes it later this month.

Now the new bike test has been deferred to March '09, she won't feel so much pressure.

Well done her. Foot down is the most common fault, so no shame there. Good luck for the next one, and remember! chin up and look for the end of the street


Val.