WOMEN Riders less than 5' 3" in here please
 

Ok ladies, post your height, what bike you ride, inseam, and how much you had to lower your please. I'm looking for some points of reference I can use with my height challenged wife.

Thanks
Thomas

Good idea....I'm looking for a little lady :dthumb:

her height isn't so much important as her inseam.

I am 5'6, and have a 34 inch inseam. Never had to lower a bike,ever.

what a great inseam :rockwoot:

you have some long legs there

I'm 5'3" with a 31 inch inseam...my Cbr600rr I had lowered 1.5 inches until I could one foot it, but currently ride a gsxr600 at stock heighth.

My best friend is 5' with short legs, same bike lowered 2", (which I don't reccommend due to handling) but it can be done. Since she doesn't know any different it doesn't matter to her, either on street or the track.

Depending on your wifes skill level, and the specifics you want, you may or may not want to lower a bike.

Spinner?

She has a Ninja 500 right now, she's not into extreme lean angles or very spirited riding at extreme speeds on the street, and I doubt she will ever do track days but then again you never know.

Off topic but my 16 yr old daughter is named Raven and we call her "Rae"

:lol: it's a good name, my given is rachel, but I prefer rae...

I can't stand the thought of lowering a bike, having ridden them it makes me shudder at the loss of performance, small tho it may be! My friend had the 250 and got links to lower it and it met her needs. I'd try that, then when she is comfortable, take it back to stock if she wants.

I am 5' 7" and my in-seam is 31". I ride an R6s, stock height. Did not shave the seat. I am on the balls of my feet, not flat-footed.

My friend is 5' and also rides an R6s which was lowered 2" for her. She has not shaved the seat.

She really wants to be able to pretty much flat foot any bike she has, it's pretty "hilly" where we ride and she hates the balancing act she has to do while stopped at the top of those hills.

I'm 5'-6" BUT I have a very short inseam - 26". I ride my SV at the track on tipie toes - makes starts a little iffy but otherwise I manage ok. My street bike is a Honda SuperHawk, it's lowered without links - Louie did it on one of our trips after I dropped it in a gas station. I can tip toe it but have ridden enough now that it's not an issue. I started riding on a VFR800 that I couldn't even tip toe - I could touch one side with a butt slide. It comes down to what she's comfortable with. Good luck!

You probably don't get much teasing at your name, not like I do with my last name. I think Rachel is a great name...Ever rent that movie "One night with the king"? Good Rachel in that one I seem to remember.

My wife is 5'3" and has a pretty short inseam that limited her bike choices. She liked the Ninja 250 (1st gen) cause it has a 29 in seat height but after all is said it goes back to confidence, like Lauralynne. If they can muster enough confidence or master the butt slide the seat height isn't that big an issue. Weight of the bike on the other hand sometimes is with the height impaired as it has to lean a great deal further when one footing it.

That's her problem or where the lack of confidence comes in, is the leaning on one foot with the weight of the bike, she's struggled on a few occassions to keep it upright at a stop sign. I need to find out what her inseam is. The ninja 500 has a dry weight of 388lbs, the GSXR and CBR 600s are 354 and 345 dry which might be just enough of a difference to give her an added bit of confidence in those type of situations. or she could just wear the KIZZ boots and be done with it LOL....

I made my wife prove she was serious about having her own bike by learning on my YZF600R. It was 488 lbs although it only had a 32 in seat height. Then I showed her I loved her by riding on the pillion giving her alot more weight to juggle. After that she handles the little 250 just fine!

I love them shaved too but i am not sure if I ever saw a woman that had to shave her seat:idk:


26" inseam? wow. You would be the perfect sportbike pillion companion!

Pillion? no thanks. :sorry:

My wife is the same wants to have her own ride

even better! :drool: :dthumb:

As mentioned, confidence is KEY. If she is comfortable riding, she can ride anything, regardless of height or bike, but until she gets there, go ahead and lower that bike.

On the kiss boots, firstcherokeekid here on the site is 5', and in all the years I've known her, has ridden an rc51 at stock height. She compensates by wearing heeled boots, even to having custom soles added to a pair. She can ride anything on 2 wheels, because she has the confidence and has learned the skills needed. Good luck to your wife, keep us posted!

I'm 5'1" with a 26/27" inseam. My bike's seat height is close to 32". I ride mine stock. I can barely tip toe on each side.

I did temporarily lower the rear and shave the seat until I got comfortable enough to put her back at stock.

250 probably feels like a bicycle after that lol

you could put a trackskin tail on it-gets rid of the seat and the extra 2-3 inches it takes up altogether. should be tolerable for multiple 15-20min trips til shes comfy with the bike, never have to touch the susp.

if u decide to lower it, make sure u lower the front and back, and then adjust the susp (if u can) accordingly. dont just lower the back and call it a day.


another thought-would a twin or triple help? they arent as wide, mite let her use what little length in the legs she has to their full potential.

Spinner FTMFW!



Duc Monsters have low seats from what I hear.

SV650s have a lot of seat to shave.

there's not always a loss of performance - there can even be an improvement in performance (my bike is one of those cases).

Ducati Monster 620 :dthumb: It's a two-valve, so they don't have the maintenance issues the four-valves do. And, the weight is well balanced.

The other idea - get a dirt bike. Have her run around an learn how to balance with something smaller. That's what I'm doing with my daughters...

Zoom you should know better than to think a newer rider should have a duck. Nothing on a duck its the first time not even a after market screen. Thats far to much stress for a newer rider.

Get her a Honda Nighthawk 250, or the Honda Rebel 250, or that Suzuki's equivalence of the Rebel 250. After she gets comfortable with riding and balancing a bike, then get her something taller so that she can balance on one leg. Starting out with a tallish bike is do-able, but not pleasant and the learning curve is definitely a lot shallower than starting out with a bike that gives her confidence.

I'm 5ft6 with stubby inseam (29" pants, 26" actual). I can ride any bike of any weight all the way up to 34" seat inseam. After that I can't because I simply run out of leg room to even teeter on the ball of one foot. BUT I sure as hell didn't start out with an adventure bike and 33" worth of seat inseam.

What? They are cheaper than most anything out there - and lower to the ground. And, it doesn't have to be modded to hell and back again.

You know the sad truth?

The truth we all know - everyone wants to have something pretty and sparkly. I know men and women alike that want to start on the fastest most bling (performance or otherwise) thing out there. No one wants to start on the newbie bike.

She likes the ducati 620, we plan to sit on a few at the dealership in Charlotte, we ran out of time today.

My ex was 4'11" with a 27" inseam and she could flat foot my busa. It's only 1.5" lower than stock and has a stock seat. :idk::whistle:

The wife's inseam comes in at roughly 28", you all measuring with or without shoes?

She can also get a thick soled boot to wear to help her touch. If I tried riding with regular boots or shoes, the only way I'd be able to touch is to slide my butt off the seat and tip toe one side (which I still sometimes do). :lol:

Any recommendations in terms of boots? I'd like to find something with a thick sole on the front of the boot since that's what will count when she's on her toes lol....

Latex or leather... thigh high.

When I started riding my SV, I tried several different types of boots. I find that touring or cruiser boots work better for me. Not only do I look for a thicker sole, but something that I can feel confident in when I put one foot down in the wet (I don't ride much in the rain, but it never fails that I'll get stuck in it from time to time). I have a huge fear of putting that one foot down and slip under me. At one time I found a work boot from Wal Mart that worked well. I found a pair of Joe Rocket Powerglides soon after that were even better (I haven't seen this model in a couple of years so I don't think they make them anymore). Right now I'm in a pair of Sidi sport touring boots, but I need a new pair. The problem I find with boots is since I mainly put just one foot down (even push with the one foot if I'm on level ground backing up), that the sole on that foot (my left) wears fast. I don't drag my feet, always lift as soon as the bike begins to move and don't drag my feet when I stop, yet I still wear out the sole of the left side side super quick.

Another consideration when buying boots with a thicker sole is if they're too thick, you may not be able to shift well in them. It's an aggrivating process finding a pair of boots that meet my criteria - must have a slightly thicker sole than most boots, must be non skid/slips (and just because they say they are doesn't mean they are!), and I must be able to shift well.

What size does she wear? I'll begin looking for a new of boots for myself in the next week or so (hitting the clearances!) and can PM you links of what I find. :)

The trick is to not rely on the boots - anything with good ankle protection won't allow you to point your toe. And, if the sole is too thick she won't be able to get it between the lever and the peg. I know, not easy. :sorry:

Not a problem for me...I am 5'11''. :lol:

you are right - and confident rider can ride almost anything, but it's hard for some people to gain confidence if they don't feel safe while stopping... heck, after 20 something years I still don't feel confident to ride my hubbies KTM with 37.5 inches :lol:

The 620 Monster is a very easy bike to ride and I am (was) able to flat foot the bike with 2 feet at stock height (30 inch inseam) - getting it lowered will even make it easier.

She's too proud to start on a beater cruiser?

Very true. When I first started riding, I didn't know shit about bikes, gear, or anything. I learned on a V-Star 650 Custom, which is a heavy bike. I could almost flat foot it...couldn't quit get my heels firmly on the ground.....but it was heavy for me, even though the weight was lower to the ground. I couldn't ride it on the interstate because I felt unsteady on it at higher speeds, especially if it was a little windy.

When I got the SV, I didn't take into consideration the differences in the seat height (although I knew it was going to be taller), I was more concerned with the weight of the bike. It was alot lighter and easier for me to manuever, but I lost being comfortable at stopping, etc. I didn't want to lower the bike at first but since it came with lowering links (previous owner was a shorty like me), we lowered her and soon after redone the seat. It gave me time to get to know her and build a little confidence. I'm hard headed and practice stopping with one foot on tip toe (sliding my butt a little off the seat so I could touch) and when I became confident with it, I raised her back to stock and shortly after got another stock seat to replace the one I had redone. She was lowered for about six months.

Later the ex and I bought a little TTR for me. It's sole purpose was to give me a smaller bike to ride and romp on to build my confidence in riding period, which it did. It seems when I started riding dirt, my skill level improved almost overnight. I still have a couple of small issues with being so short legged on the bike, but I work through those as I get to them.

I also rode my ex hubby's KX125 and although it made me nervous to ride on a track full of people, it helped me to overcome alot of my height issues with the SV because the seat height is almost a foot taller than my inseam! :rofl: I rode it just fine, even with starting and stopping without help. The only help I needed is if I went down on the dirt track. I didn't care for the KX because it was a two stroke....I had never ridden one so the power delivery was a major adjustment. I probably would have done much better on a track on a four stroke.

Looking back, sometimes I kind of wish I had gotten a little smaller bike, something that wouldn't have posed such issues I had to overcome with height issues. But I'm hard headed and seem to only learn the hard way. I think my skill level would have improved at a faster rate than what it has.

Great advice! :dthumb:

I started on an EX250 and glad I did, it helped build my confidence to move up to a bigger bike.

30.5 inseam for me, without shoes. 1st gen SV 650, I had about half the foam shaved from the seat. What I didn't do was have the seat narrowed - that would have helped too.

I wear normal MC boots, so the sole isn't too thick - my foot-to-ground ratio is better when I wear something like Doc Martens, but I sacrifice the ankle protection. I have accepted the fact that I won't flat foot the vast majority of bikes in production today, and I'm OK with that.

If your wife is dead-set that she has to flat foot at all times, then it's not real likely that you'll be able to keep her on a sportbike without doing some modification. Get her into cruisers, or work on the suspension big-time. Like Zoomy said... boots will get you so far, and you shouldn't need to rely on them.

hell yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! woot-woot

She hates the cruisers. She has a ninja 500 now, and has put some decent miles under her belt and wants to step up (I've told her to keep it but she wants another one so:idk:)

I hear breast size is very important when picking a bike. Dimesions and pics would help greatly. You know. For the ladies because I care and have tried to end Woman's Suffrage for years.

I know a local female rider. She's got to be around 5'3" or less. She sports a white Ducati 848.

I can give the lady riders of short stature a hand free of charge.

I am hereby relieved of liability for damage to your bikes suspension or your dignity.
http://imagefrost.com/i/XS.jpg
http://imagefrost.com/i/XR.jpg

Damn! How tall are you?

RAAARRRRR!!! :lol:

Our Piz is the most ginormous man I have ever met in person, and the best canonballer EVAH!!!

Name throws ya off dont it? :lol:

Well, hell, if she had some decent mileage under her belt then she shouldn't have a problem with stopping on one foot on the Ducati Wee Monster.

Exactly what I was thinking - but you and I have had a drink of that water.... :lol:

A Sargent seat will bring the rider down a good couple of inches, although it would probably help if it were a bit narrower.

Too bad she doesn't like cruisers- my wife really likes her Honda Shadow VLX 600 - seat height is only 25", with a low center of gravity so it doesn't feel tippy. Hard to beat as a first bike for a shorter person. :idk:

Ask her about the track now....

This is definitely something to consider. I am like a ballerina when I have my riding boots on, just because I can't flex my ankle as much as when I am in my work shoes. I need to find a lower pair of riding shoes/boots for the every day stuff.

Seat height = 32.5
My height = 5' 4.5"
Inseam = 29"

Seat height = 27 inches
Height = 5'1"
Inseam = 27 inches

I'm 5'2" with a 28 inch inseam. I ride a GSXr 750 at stock height with a 31+" seat height. Just learned to flat foot on one side by sliding off the seat....as seen here (I do need to get off it to back up though)

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/d...1/IMG_0152.jpg

I am 5' 1.5", 29 inch inseam. I think my bike has a 30.6 or was it a 30.9 seat height. I'm riding a dr200 stock and can get my tip toes down on both sides. I'm am also about 105 lbs so no compression of the springs at all :lol:

Before that sv650, took all the foam out of the seat and got a shorter gsxr shock and raised the forks about 10 mm to match. Loved that bike, it was light and easy to ride but i sold it because i was having more fun with the dualsport.

Before that an EX500, shaved about 2-3 inches off the seat. It was the heaviest bike ever for me. All the weight was on the nose and not well balanced at all so I feel your wife's pain.

When I finally did downgrade to the smaller dual sport is when my riding finally improved. I didn't care if i dropped it a million times (funny that after I got it, the only times i dropped it was washing out in the dirt) and being so light it was easy for me to manage and that is where my confidence finally grew.

Trying to upgrade now to a monster, either 620 or 695. Can get my toes down but will take out some foam so i can touch with the balls of my feet.

Some of the girls here are pretty talented with getting just one toe down but I am just not strong enough to do that.

my g/f is 5'4 and won't ride if she isn't flat footed. she had a ZX6E Ninja that worked really well. I don't think she was quite flat footed but it was pretty close. no lowering of the bike at all.

First thing I thought too...... WOTBlakeschic....