Lowering a bike | GTAMotorcycle.com

Lowering a bike

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boo4842

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Hey there

My question is for my gf. She is only 5"2 and likes to ride, but is finding her bike choices are very limited by the seat height. She realistically needs something below 29in seat height but that pretty much puts all sport bikes out of reach. I know bikes can be lowered, but I have no idea how much it costs, or what limitations there are.

Like is there a type of bike that can be lowered or major considerations before we go look at bikes. Right now she refuses to look at any of the well reviewed bikes because she thinks they are too big for her and can't touch. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
you can lower just about any bike. just try to lower the forks in the triple clamp as much as you lower the rear. dropping it an inch or so isn't likely to make any difference on the street. You can look for boots with thicker soles as well.
 
Ninja 250, Ninja 650 My gf is 5'0 and she's sat on both bikes. They require tip toeing but I know you can have them lowered. Spoke to the guys at Rosey Toes about it and I forgot what they said but it'll cost around $60~ for them to do it for you.

You want to look for the bike specific lowering link, they cost around 20-100 (I haven't seen one above $53, but who knows). Google it or ask around.

Also, most female rider boots come with 1 inch heels...if not more, though I can't say it's a good idea if she ever has those "OO ****" moments and has to slam her foot on the ground.

EDIT: Also, there are always cruisers if she's into that stuff.
 
Hey there, I totally understand the predicament :). 5'1" here, 29" inseam, lol. Not only do I have a height issue, but also a skinny-mini with not much weight to push the bike down :(.

I went through this process of trying to find bikes that fit. Some of the Harleys have the seat height, but cannot reach the shifter (legs not long enough).

My starter bike was a dual sport Yamaha TW200. We shaved the seat a bit, and didn't have to mess with lowering it. It's light enough to get used to balancing yourself properly, it's rugged enough that you won't worry too much about tipping it or busting up the fairings (it's meant for off road and pavement), and it's got just enough power to keep you happy for a while as a starter. It's not a pretty sport bike, but I loved mine to bits just the same :).

I now have a Honda CBR250R sport bike. I could tip toe it without any modifications, but for my comfort level, it has been lowered by about an inch and a half with a Soupy's lowering link which hubby and I installed in the garage. Front forks have been lowered accordingly as per recomendations. Now I'm pretty much flat foot with all my heavy gear on, and the sag has been set at 3, out of 5 settings. We don't see any difference in the way the bike handles, and with my weight I won't be grounding out on it.

Oh, btw...the Soupy's link is adjustable and you can raise up the bike to it's original height. Nice feature :D.

If you've got the cash and like a retro look, Triumph has the Bonneville which is just in the sweet spot for us shorties too, plus more power ;).
 
From the list of bikes she likes google that bike along with "lowering links". If they are available they will be cheap, easy to do, and lower the bike on the back end. Then you may want to pull the forks through a bit to maintain some of the original turning ability while sacrificing some ultimate lean ability.

That's all there is to it.
 
I'm another inseam-challenged female. They're pricey, but Daytona Ladystars boots would be useful no matter which bike she goes with. I have them, and they're worth every single penny.

Most sport bikes can be lowered without major issue. Although when I had an '06 Ninja 650, the lowering options were more expensive and difficult due to the shock design. I'm not sure if this is still the issue with newer 650s.

Another option is cruisers. Low seat heights, but depending on the bike the seats can be wide, or they have forward controls, both which can make reach a little trickier too.

I know for her it seems daunting, but try and convince her to test-sit on as many bikes as she can. If there's a particular bike that she absolutely loves, then she can research her options in terms of lowering it. She just may have to rule out dual-sport and BMWs (for now ;)).
 
Thanks for all the great responses. I have a sport bike, and I think she wants a sport bike as well to "match" mine and has been looking at a ninja 250. She can just barely touch the ninja. She tried the CBR 250 and it was too big for her, even the 125 was too tall, which I thought was a shame to limit the choices to just a ninja.

She rode on and off last year with a 91 Honda Nighthawk 250 which suited her fine, but it reached and breached its life span and we got rid of it. She is pretty adamant about being able to touch comfortably, and won't even look at bikes with a seat height over 29 inches.

I will mention those boots to her, and its great to know that its not that big a deal to lower a bike. This dealer was trying to convince her to buy a lowered bike at the bike show in January, saying that it costs over $500 to lower a bike. I thought he was just trying to make the sale, looks like I was right. I'll also ask her to sign up on the forum!
 
Remember that seat height alone doesn't mean anything.
A seat height of 30" with the width of a bicycle seat will be just as easy for her to put a foot down as a much lower but equally much wider seat.

Get her ass on more seats.
 
Link to Soupy's links. On special. Was $149...now $116 USD for the CBR250r.

http://www.soupysperformance.com/catalog/item/4408900/9064725.htm

But they have links for lots of bikes. The price point is pretty nice :).

Rod put a step by step up on cbr250.net complete with pics of the process.

Good luck bike shopping. We had tons of fun at the last show, planting our arses on as many bike as possible :D. I think there is another show coming up soon?

boo4842 said:
Thanks for all the great responses. I have a sport bike, and I think she wants a sport bike as well to "match" mine and has been looking at a ninja 250. She can just barely touch the ninja. She tried the CBR 250 and it was too big for her, even the 125 was too tall, which I thought was a shame to limit the choices to just a ninja.

She rode on and off last year with a 91 Honda Nighthawk 250 which suited her fine, but it reached and breached its life span and we got rid of it. She is pretty adamant about being able to touch comfortably, and won't even look at bikes with a seat height over 29 inches.

I will mention those boots to her, and its great to know that its not that big a deal to lower a bike. This dealer was trying to convince her to buy a lowered bike at the bike show in January, saying that it costs over $500 to lower a bike. I thought he was just trying to make the sale, looks like I was right. I'll also ask her to sign up on the forum!
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