I want to get a bigger bike but I am 5 foot nothing and not comfy with only one foot down...?

Question

I really want a gixxer 750 or a Duke monster but I seriously doubt thats possible. My last bike was around 740mm seat height and not to wide. I was happily flat footed on her but because the bigger bikes are usually alot wider i dont think i could go too much higher before im on tip-toes.
How much room does lowering a bike via the suspension or a custom seat actually give you?

Answer 1

I am five foot two, weigh 130 lbs. and have short legs, am a 56 year old granny. Bought my first bike three years ago. I tried all bikes before making my decision and height was one of them. I ride a 1100 v-star that I have lowered. I have found the width of the seat will affect your ability to reach the ground also. good luck. ( I LOVE MY BIKE)

Answer 2

You need to go and sit on some bikes in the store. Ducati monster should be no problem for you and the new GSXR600 isn't that tall either.Check out the GSXR1000 as it's about the same size as your average 600. The other bikes that might fit are 600 hornet or the new ER6 but if you like speed (and it sounds like you do) the last one may not be right for you. Dropping suspension only gives you a couple of inches at most but can affect the handling badly. the seat may be your best bet but again will only give you an inch or two at most. The new R6 has a narrow seat. give that a go. all dealers will let you try the seat for size.
Good luck

Answer 3

A gsxr 750 is out of the question, it's just too tall. You can get lowering links but they just bugger up the handling, and if you want a gsxr, then that means you want a sports bike and not a custom bike, and who can blame you !.
If I were in your situation I would go for a 250 2 stroke like an aprillia RS 250 or a Suzuki RGV 250. These are real sports bikes only smaller and lighter, and when you have mastered the riding technique they are truly unbeatable.You will not believe how hard these bikes can corner, they are true giant killers.130 mph is plenty fast enough when you dont have to slow down for corners.
The self satisfaction you get from mastering these demons is overwhelming, its a real shame that you can't buy a new one.
Everyone should try one once.
Look for a carefully maintained bike owned by a real enthusiast who can wax lyrical about synthetic 2 stroke oil and how he warms the engine lovingly before thrashing it to within an inch of its life and you wont go wrong.
Much better than a bloody custom bike !!

Answer 4

Are you British? I just found it odd that you listed your seat height in mm; I'm used to inches.

I'm not going to be of much help; I'm 5'3 but those 3 extra inches help a lot! I did get a sport bike lowered, but in order for YOU to reach the ground on it, you'd be compromising the suspension and handling too much. I think - you should of course get the opinion of guys who actually work on bikes.

And then too, there's always the option of having a longer swing arm like they do with drag bikes. I really wouldn't want that for myself because they're meant for straight line riding - but I do know someone who did it. Just for looks though.

Perhaps if you start with a bike that's already very low, like the 250 or a 500. Then if you lower it more it won't be so drastic.

And there's always cutting out the seat and wearing stacked boots.

Or you can give up the sport bike dream for now and just go standard. I have a Magna (VF750) that I had lowered to about a 26" seat height. Even you could probably reach the ground on it!

That might be a good bike. It's no sport bike of course, but because it's a big 4, you've got a little more oomph.

You can check into that type of bike.

Answer 5

Unfortunately for you, it seems that you have an affinity for sport bike styled machines but a cruiser styled inseam.
Any twin shock bike can easily be lowered an inch or two in the seat height by putting shorter shocks on it. Modern mono shocked bikes require lowering links which work o.k., but they do not gain you much height. I would personally recommend AGAINST ever sliding the forks up in the triple tree to gain seat clearance. When the forks are slid up in the triple tree, you change the steering geometry of the bike making it more likely to tuck the front end in a turn. At that point you would be taking a safer gamble to only be able to touch with one foot( you make many turns between one stop and another). A custom seat is a good idea if you have the money. You can get a race styled seat that has less foam and is there by lower. You could even go so far as to have a customizer make you a seat pan specifically to fix your issue (provided of course that you can comfortably straddle the frame rails without the seat attached.)

Answer 6

bike specs list the GSXR seat height as 810mm..but the suspension is fully adjustable so you may be able to drop that a small amount..then you can always crib a bit more with a different suspension linkage....( It may be possible to get it low enough without cutting the seat down)

they don't list the seat height of the Monster...but its the same deal with this bike....you can make them a bit shorter without affecting the handling....

But if you have your heart set on one & you cant crib enough out of the suspension...then the only one is the Monster..

The reasoning behind this revelation.....tubular steel frame..

if you look at some of the street fighter bikes on the net...you will see they have removed the seat & cut some of the frame away ...find a new home for the electrics that are under the seat, make up a new seat & you can get another 100mm lower on the seat hight.

have a look at bike specs here..
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/

Of course when you use lowering links on the back you can drop the fork tubes through the clamps the same amount & still have the same steering geometry...

you could look at getting springs made for the forks & rear shock to drop either bike as well...this may be the cheapest option.. & shouldnt affect handling to much....

Answer 7

the new 750 gixxers are tight on the suspension not much give, im 5'6 and had to put my toes down. just go to a showroom. sit on all the bikes you fancy make sure you take a tape measure with you and get the sales rep to measure you flat footed on both legs, then guess how much you can shave off the seat from the bottom. if you wants a sports bike maybe the 400 ninja or the 400 cbr rr might be your best bet or the vfr 400 nc30 all the choicest bikes for smaller people.

Answer 8

Try this website:

pkriders.org/shortbikerlist.htm

It lists all bikes according to rider height. ie. 4'11"-5'1"and lists all the types of bikes for each height category.

I'm 5"3-ish and I have a Honda Shadow 750 and a Duke Monster 695 (had the bike lowered but I forfeited some of my warranty, which for me wasn't a big deal) Good luck.

Answer 9

Those are 2 entirely different bikes... I know a girl that's about your height or shorter and she had a lowering link installed on her monster and she can ride it fine.
I also used to ride with a girl that had a gixxer 750. She used to wear boots with really big heels. I think they also sell lowering links for the gixxer.
Good luck

Answer 10

If you add lowering links to the rear suspension, you'll lower the seat height between 15 & 25mm.
If you push the fork tubes up, maybe another 15mm
There's not much you can do with the seats, as they have very little padding to begin with.
Since you're such a tiny person LOL you can soften the suspension to get another 15mm