Vertically challenged and want to ride a sports bike?

[Diesal]

Don’t give up and settle...it can be done. A few of us, both girls and guys, have asked about it now (myself included) and managing to piece it together through the threads can be difficult if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Some (hopefully) helpful stuff...

Seat height measurements
Bear in mind the width of the seat is as important as the height, and the reach to the bars will also make a difference. Sites listing seat heights:
Motorcycle Seat Heights
TMW Motorcycle Forums and Gallery
Motorcycle Fit Charts
Height conversion chart: convert foot, inch to centimeters; centimeters to foot, inch

Boots
Consider adding extra rubber to your riding boots.
- Some soles work better than others: Some riding boots can’t have anything added due to their sole and Doc’s need to be stitched by hand (is do-able, but pretty time consuming) – best to check it out first before laying your hard earned down.
- The less you add, the better as the general feeling and ground contact diminishes with every cm.
- You may need to get your 'gear' lever adjusted in order to fit you now chunkier foot under.
- If adding to non-bike boots (i.e. Doc’s), you won’t be able to use them above level one at Barbs (AHG is okay last I heard)
Reids' Bootmakers: Joe Mahon - Shop 2d Basinghall Street, East Vic Park 9361 5301; Reids Bootmakers - Home

Seat
Cutting and reshaping the seat can also give you more leverage without touching the dynamics of the bike.
- Some seats have loads of foam: you can trim excess foam from both the middle and sides of your seat.
- You’ll have a hell of a time if too much is trimmed, don't get too enthusiastic if you're doing it yourself.
R Motorcycle Seats (Recover, Reshape): Stephen Unkovich - 23 Basinghall St, East Vic Park 0417 975 598

Suspension
Tweaking the suspension can also buy you a few cm’s. With factory settings for suspension on most bikes set for a 75k rider, adjusting the suspension is also worth looking at if you are a light weight.
Front end:
- Forks can be slid through the triple clamp a little without affecting your set up. *More than a little adjustment without also looking at the rear may give you grief. See post #4 for more info.
- Bar risers, if available for your bike, can make for less of a stretch over the tank to reach the bars.
Back end:
There are drag links/dog bones/adjustable links available for most bikes which allow you to lower the seat height quite significantly.
- Major adjustments to the rear will also affect the bike’s handling, ground clearance, and your safety and comfort levels. Some peeps don’t notice it, others do - it will depend on how much you adjust it by. Be realistic about what you can have i.e. 18mm on the front and 50 on the back, just doesn't work (and don't let some POS mechanic tell you otherwise )
- The forks will also need to be adjusted if you are lowering the rear a lot
- A fully adjustable link may give you the best compromise: you can drop the rear a little and still have the shock do its job, eliminating the above.
- Worth considering: A dramatic change to your suspension may have issues if you come to grief and have to make a claim (TBC).
Suspension Guru: Marty Moose
Examples of links: eBay Australia Store: Search results for RatedR Custom Motorcycle Parts.

Welding
If you are lowering the bike a considerable amount, you may need to have your side stand welded so you can park up without worrying about the bike toppling over. It won’t look the same as before, it may even look like it may go over but if done correctly; it will be quite sturdy and shouldn’t be an issue.
GD Engineering

Tips
Motorcycle Seat Height Requirements | eHow.com
VTwin Mama's Motorcycles For Short Riders List
SBL FAQ

An example...‘05 R6 for a 4’11/5’ rider - 32.7 inch (830mm) seat height/183 kilos wet
Boots - an extra 30 mm on Docs’ (total 50mm)
Seat – 20mm shaved
Suspension – front: 10mm; back: 20mm with an adjustable link

Peeps listed are those who have been recommended on PSB and I have used. This is my 2c because I had a shit of a time when I bought my ‘dream’ ride – wanting a sportie and being a bit challenged; and I have seen many others come through with the same issues looking for any way to scrape a cm off.
Please post up any info, experience, other peeps who do these services....Disagree? Post up why....

And just to spoil the trolls tall peeps' fun and beat them to it...[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wg8dn3gD5g]YouTube - Short People: by randy newman[/ame]

[Sean'o]

Front end:
- Forks can be slid through the triple clamp a little without affecting your set up.

That statement is completely false. The rest of the post is great info for the vertically challenged.

[Diesal]

Thanks Sean'o...I've heard that this was correct - can you say why it's not correct?

[Sean'o]

Any movement of the forks either up or down through the triple clamps will change the goemetry of the bike affecting the way it tips into corners. Sliding the forks up through the triple clamps will make it tip into a corner a lot faster, the downside of that is you can put to much weight onto the front causing it to tip right in and go from under you(extreme condition) also it will affect the high speed stability. Moving it 1-2mm will have a small effect but if you drop it 5-6mm to give you a noticeable reduction in ride height then it will have quite a large affect on the handling of the bike. If you are going to do one end of the bike, do the other as well, that way you can keep the geometry of the bike as made by the manufacturer.

[Aphex]

Interesting you say it'll make the bike turn in faster with the forks pulled up through the clamps seano. With the rear dropped as well, I've actually found the oposite to be true.

[zooyork]

Thanks Diesal, that's a great post
A close friend of mine will be over the moon to read that info

[Sean'o]

with the rear dropped aphex it will slow the turn in down, if you have dropped both then you have kept it more neutral than it would be if you just changed one. If you had left the rear stock and just dropped the front it will tip in faster. If you leave the front stock and lower the back, even just wind preload off the rear spring it will sit more like a harley, tip in slower and tend to push the front wide through corners

[Nero Diablo]

Any movement of the forks either up or down through the triple clamps will change the goemetry of the bike affecting the way it tips into corners. Sliding the forks up through the triple clamps will make it tip into a corner a lot faster, the downside of that is you can put to much weight onto the front causing it to tip right in and go from under you(extreme condition) also it will affect the high speed stability. Moving it 1-2mm will have a small effect but if you drop it 5-6mm to give you a noticeable reduction in ride height then it will have quite a large affect on the handling of the bike. If you are going to do one end of the bike, do the other as well, that way you can keep the geometry of the bike as made by the manufacturer.

WHS I've used it to tweek my old road bikes geometry to get the beastie to turn in a bit faster.

[Captain Starfish]

With Sean'o's "tweak", a bloody mint and informative little post there diesal. Thank you!

[killswitch54923]

i can check my tyre pressure......so there.

[Desmo]

WHS I've used it to tweek my old road bikes geometry to get the beastie to turn in a bit faster.

All of my Ducs have had a few turns of the adjuster bar on the rear to bring it up a bit.
Great thread and great posts guys.

[Diesal]

Thanks peeps and Sean'o...a great explanation (even I understood it )

Pats killswitch on head Poor luv

*Waits for the many other short peeps to post up and help out other short folk*

[jjgres]

One of my riding buddies says I look like a five year old going down the highway. I have Two good shorty bikes: a Kawi ZRX1100, has cut down seat stock and sits low. For the dirt, a Kawi KLR250 is great for the shin-impaired.

Joe

[shortSteve]

Nice info . I found a milk crate works wonders too, if a little awkward to carry round....

[peter600]

To be honest, I'm a bit too tall for mine!!!
I was thinking of getting a KLR250, are they a less-than-tall person's bike???

[Aphex]

Most road trails are quite tall. Take one for a ride & see if your comfy with just how high they are.

[richie_b]

some manufacturers (bmw) give the option of a lower seat height or scoop seat on some models.

[HK1]

Im horizontally challenged. So I find i need a bIg bike.

[madmax_76]

Good Post matey!! Keep the good ideas rolling in. Apparently the newer 2010 model Ninja 6 or 10 has a narrow seat design that helps even tho the bike is relatively tall.

[smallie]

2c additional info -

Daytona Lady Star or M-Star boots has build-in extra thick sole I got an extra inch height, looks normal from the outside and got all the safety features and gortex etc...very comfy, worth the investment, not available in Oz, order from Europe.

Adjustable lowering link avail from Soupy Performance in US, good buy with forex rates. I have one free to give away suitable for Street Triple (R) and Daytona. Link only did 3000km. I went back to stock height with softer spring for my light weight and stop with bum off seat instead.