WOMEN Riders less than 5' 3" in here please

[tached1000rr]

Originally Posted by smileyman

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....

[smileyman]

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!

Originally Posted by MissHell

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.

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

Originally Posted by lauralynne

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!

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

[lauralynne]

Originally Posted by smileyman

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

Pillion? no thanks.

[tached1000rr]

Originally Posted by lauralynne

Pillion? no thanks.

My wife is the same wants to have her own ride

[xx CURVE xx]

Originally Posted by lauralynne

Pillion? no thanks.

even better!

[the chi]

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!

[cuttle]

Originally Posted by The Chi

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.

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

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.

[rogue]

Originally Posted by cuttle

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

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! 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.

[wildchild]

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.

[Dnyce]

Originally Posted by smileyman

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!

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.