Just another Florida girl

[kevin_stevens]

Originally Posted by snoozieq

I was on my tippy toes with the ninja 250 and I felt very uncomfortable with that because I would have to shift the bike from one side to the other because both wouldn't touch at the same time.

That's normal. Or at least not unusual. Everybody is in that situation with dirt bikes.

KeS

[Süsser Tod]

Originally Posted by kevin_stevens

That's normal. Or at least not unusual. Everybody is in that situation with dirt bikes.

KeS

I have to tip toe my XT660R and I'm 6'2".

[snoozieq]

Originally Posted by Süsser Tod

I have to tip toe my XT660R and I'm 6'2".

Holy crap that must be one huge motorcycle

[bluspyder]

I toed my ninja 500 and my .

Heck I have to slide of my duke and I can only toes one side on my Strom. It's the nature of being short. And yes its very easy to lower a bike.

After you get some saddle time in having a taller bike isn't a big deal. I'm 5'5 btw.

Sent from HTC Thunderbolt.

[Elgix6]

Welcome aboard. You might have to stick with a cruiser.

[No Coast Rider]

I started on a cruiser, Im 5'5", once I got used to balancing a bike I switched to sportbikes. Now I ride a V twin Aprilia, one of the taller bikes out there, just fine. Now I wont be riding any adventure bikes any time soon, but I can do any sport bike just fine.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Motorcycle.com Free App

[L8 Braker]

Welcome. <<<--- standard greeting

At 5 feet, you're going to have to lower whatever you buy. Or go sit on a Honda Rebel at the dealership. It's not a sportbike but its a great way to enter the motorcycle world.

[Justice06RR]

Originally Posted by snoozieq

I could probably convince a dude to lower it for free after all dudes fix my car for free all the time lol

You're lucky because you have boobs


Any sportbike you try may be too high for you, unless its lowered. My advice, get a 250 or 500cc that you are comfortable with and learn on that. A 250/500cc cruiser may be a better choice, but I'm not sure if your heart is set on a sportbike.

I knew an asian chick who was your height that rode a super lowered GSXR600. She still had to tip-toe, and the bike would almost always bottom out on bumps because it was so low.

Good luck on your search and welcome to the forum. Take the MSF if you haven't already.

[snoozieq]

I bought them so now I got to make sure they pay for themselves over time, lol.

My heart is definitely set on a sports bike. Definitely do not like the sound of it bottoming out *sigh* Why must I be so short!!

[lasermax]

There's nothing wrong with tippytoeing on your bike. I cant put my feet flat on the ground on either of my bikes. You learn good balance and technique, and you'll be just fine. The ninja 250 is perfect for you in that regard. If you cant handle the weight of that bike at its stock height, then maybe you should reconsider riding altogether.

[ZorroX]

You can get it a few inches lower by going with a racing style neoprene seat or getting your stock seat reduced. If it's still too high you can lower it another inch or two with a lowering dogbone, but that will start to adversely affect handling.

Don't worry about flat footing or even being able to get both feet down. It might be a little more difficult at first, but you only need to use one foot. I know a couple five foot nothings on stock height bikes. Don't get too upset if you loose your balance and drop it.

[Conza]

My brother, who is also someone with shorter legs, had issues with a bike that had a 900mm seat height, the bikes we chose instead at 820mm initially, have lowered so much, one has been riden 200kms more than the other, it is another 40/50mm shorter, its a visible height difference.

I'm no expert, but when I stop, I always put one foot down, and if I put the right foot (rear brake foot) down by mistake, I drop the left foot and raise the right foot simultaneously... hard to compare since I could probably 'just' make flat foot either side, but yeah.

I ride an Aprilia RS4 125, 17bhp/11.8kw weighs 135kgs, its a fantastic learner bike, if it were a 250 it'd be perfect, that's its only issue, oh and possibly the price, while it only uses 3.3l per 100kms (90mpg or something amazing, don't know the conversion), it lacks torque. I love my bike to death, I swap sleep for riding it two, three, four times a week if the weather permits, its the most addictive thing I've ever tried, but its on the pricey side, it was $6k here, it'll probably be... $4-$5k for you there.

What were you finalists again? Stay away from the Ninja, for every 3 people I hear that speak wonders of it, I hear 15 people saying its far too peaky, which isn't what you want, imo. The CBR 250, can't really go wrong, its cheap, good resale, amazingly forgiving, and it looks a wee bit alien with the single head light, again imo.

Good luck, let us know what you come up with, should be interesting.

[SamanthaSchou]

Did you take a look at this thread? It might be helpful in your search. Check out the last post in the thread as well.

Seat Height list

[Sportbike_Mike]

Originally Posted by No Coast Rider

. Now I ride a V twin Aprilia, one of the taller bikes out there, just fine. Now I wont be riding any adventure bikes any time soon, but I can do any sport bike just fine.

Which Aprilia do you have? I'm going to assume the RSV Mille?
The 2000-2004 model was on my short list of bikes before I would up with the 954. I would still like to get one though.

Originally Posted by snoozieq

I bought them so now I got to make sure they pay for themselves over time, lol.

HAHAHAHA...at least you are honest about it.
And thank you for this thread. I work with a Korean girl who is your height who likes bikes as well, and wants to eventually get one. This will be some decent info to pass on to her concerning seat height and such.