Sport bikes for short people

ifiddles

ifiddles

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Hi all...tried finding something here but couldn't so thought I'd ask...does anyone know of a sport bike (preferably under 600cc) that has a low enough seat height for someone that is 5'4" with a 29" inseam?...I am planning on going to the Toronto Motorcycle Show in December but was thinking if I could get a few suggestions, then I could save some time...I had a CBR125 but sold it after 3 months as I found it was under powered and couldn't keep up with the boyfriend (who rides a 1700 cc cruiser) (I also know many of you love your 125's and I'm not knocking them, I just didn't feel comfortable on them at fast speeds, so please don't turn this into a "you don't know what your talking about with regards to the 125 post)...I currently ride a Kawasaki Vulcan 500 and love it's low seat height and the fact that I can flat foot it at a stop...I know cruisers are definitely lower than sport bikes, but would like to have a sport bike as an alternative ride (yeah, I'd probably keep both)...I've checked out most dealer websites, but other than the new 250's I haven't seen much...am I missing something, or can someone give me an idea of what to check out?
 
I know a few girls that are 5.4 and ride SS'. The gixxer 600 or 750 is probably one of the lowest SS on the market, I'm 5.7 and can almost flat foot, all other SS' I have had were way higher.

I'm glad you are not getting a ****ing 250, enough of them around. No offence to all the people I know in 250's :-)
 
I can only speak from my experience with 600's. My 02 r6 and 07 r6 were both had a noticeably higher seat height than my current 07 gixxer 600. BTW I'm 5'8".
 
I am 5'4" and have a 29" inseam. I ride just about everything, and have never lowered a single bike. I find that sportbikes can all be managed with a tippy toe or a one foot stance if you are strong and confident. And what's the worst that can happen? You drop it at 0 mph? No one is gonna get hurt at 0 mph.
My current bike has a 35.5" seat height. I can't even reach the sidestand with my right foot tippy toed on ground,LOL. I still manage.

I have been riding bikes for 30 yrs though....so I have become accustomed to everything being too tall for me,LOL
 
spend the time setting the bike up properly and you'll be surprised how well you'll fit.

I'm about the same height as you and have zero problems with any bike out there, and I've ridden them all.
 
I'm in the same boat as you. My inseam is only 29" as well. I found out that the GSXR has one of the lowest seat height in all of the 600CC SS category. And thats probably the bike i am going to upgrade to or the Can Am Spyder.

I plan on lowering the bike to fit my needs (both and front). I believe that lowering a bike will not upset the geometry of the bike as much as some people say it does. Afterall, im only going to ride it on the street and not drag knee every corner.
 
omnivore said:
I am 5'4" and have a 29" inseam. I ride just about everything, and have never lowered a single bike. I find that sportbikes can all be managed with a tippy toe or a one foot stance if you are strong and confident. And what's the worst that can happen? You drop it at 0 mph? No one is gonna get hurt at 0 mph.
My current bike has a 35.5" seat height. I can't even reach the sidestand with my right foot tippy toed on ground,LOL. I still manage.

I have been riding bikes for 30 yrs though....so I have become accustomed to everything being too tall for me,LOL
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I refuse to believe you're that short.
 
I'd practice on your current bike getting one foot down on all your stops from now on:

- Learn to move the handlebars (most of the time you'll apply slight pressure on the left bar) as you're slowing down, to lean the bike to your left so you can get your left foot down.
- Think ahead about all your stops: Is there a dip in the road? Am I stopping on uneven surfaces? A crown in the road that falls away to one side? Then plan which foot you're going to plant.
- Plan your parking so that you're never pointed downhill

Once you're confident that you won't need two feet to balance a motorcycle when stopped, you can shop for any motorcycle without asking what the seat height is. Some of the best bikes out there have pretty tall seats and you don't want to mess with the geometry by changing suspension or linkages, nor do you want to give yourself a sore butt by switching out the stock seat for a thin vinyl-covered plank.

My inseam is 30" and on most of my bikes, I sit on my right thigh at stop lights, right foot stretched down to get at the rear brake on the other side of the bike.
 
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I'm 5'4" and ride a 2003 VFR. When I picked it up I was all worried about the height and went and got some boots with thick soles at pay less the night before! I was researching things like lowering links and modified seats to lower it, but I since got used to it and don't even bother with the boots anymore....when I commute To work I just wear regular shoes and I'm fine. It's easy to put one foot down or use your toes, either works for me. It's only really an issue if you have to walk the bike backwards on a slight incline, but you can do that with one foot with some practice. I'm an experienced rider but this is my first bike after a 6 year break...
 
Just get it lowered. I did and it rides the same as non lowered. I've been told that as you don't go lower than 4" it doesn't upset the handling. Just be careful of speed bumps.
 
If you're lowering by 1 or 2 inches, not as big a deal. But lowering 4 inches and you'll making sparks. And that's all in the rear suspension. Any plans to lowering the front? Cruisers are low and they scrape pegs on roads easily.
 
My gf is 4'11 and rides my GS500F occasionally. My handle bars are not stock (clip ons) so it does kinda screw with her back after a long ride; I'm pretty sure stock will fix it.

I'm also pretty damn sure that motorcycles are the only thing where being short gives an advantage to the rider. I don't think you're going to have problems fitting on any motorcycle, especially Japanese ones. Now if you're tall, that's when the pain comes in apparently.
 
Yup, I have had to consult the lists too. Hubby and I both have 31" inseam. I'm all of 5'1", he is 5'8", lol.

To give you an idea, I have a Yami t dub 200ccs. He shaved the seat slightly for me. I would tippy toe two months ago (new rider), but now I can flat foot either side of the bike. I am careful about dips in the road that could affect my footing.

I sat on his Ninja 650r this weekend and could actually manage it. Ask me to do this two months ago and it was very intimidating :)! I am all of 105 lbs or so.

Here is a short persn list of bikes that you also may find helpful

http://www.vtwinmama.com/motorcycles_for_short_riders.htm
 
RetroGrouch said:
If you're lowering by 1 or 2 inches, not as big a deal. But lowering 4 inches and you'll making sparks. And that's all in the rear suspension. Any plans to lowering the front? Cruisers are low and they scrape pegs on roads easily.
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Yep, going to get both the front and rear lowered. Much safer and doesn't mess up with the bike as much.
 
My gsxr looks lower than my gf's R6, but sitting on them is pretty much the same. I'm 5'7" and I can't flat foot it. NEVER a problem. I can still waddle it, but when I'm moving it into the garage or whatever I drive near and just get off and push it in. Don't lower, a lot of my friend's have and it reduced their bike performance and one of them almost got into a bad accident from cornering too hard and scraping the pegs 'prematurely.'

You'll get used to it after the first ride. Just stop with one foot flat and lean the bike it feels perfectly normal to me. Actually it will probably get you into that habit (which is the proper legal way of stopping anyways) so when you do your M you won't get docked marks!

I think it looks badass when the bike is bigger than you anyways (definitely way better than when the rider is much bigger than the bike imo).
 
omnivore said:
I am 5'4" and have a 29" inseam. I ride just about everything, and have never lowered a single bike. I find that sportbikes can all be managed with a tippy toe or a one foot stance if you are strong and confident. And what's the worst that can happen? You drop it at 0 mph? No one is gonna get hurt at 0 mph.
My current bike has a 35.5" seat height. I can't even reach the sidestand with my right foot tippy toed on ground,LOL. I still manage.

I have been riding bikes for 30 yrs though....so I have become accustomed to everything being too tall for me,LOL
Click to expand...

This makes me feel a little more confident in riding something taller lol. I'm 5'3" and ride with a seat height of 32.5" but man 35.5" is really high up. I can't even flat foot one feet don't know how I can manage at 3" higher lol. Do you keep your tire pressure low at all times? lol
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