[foreverbobae]

So my buddy is really starting to get into motorcycles recently, so I took her out looking at bikes, in a couple of places, and we found out that she is too short for all the bikes she tried out...(with the exception of the ninja 250 but she wants something that is at least 500ccs) now obviously there is the Ninja 500 that's not bad but, she was on the balls of her feet on that one, I also tried the FZ6R, the great "women" beginner bike was not only ridiculously tall but it weights more then the FZ6, needless to say pissed me off since I was really trying to 'endorse' the bike, pssh so much for that. Are there any other sport bikes around that close to the same height, just so she has some choices to look at. If not, how much does lowering a bike tend to cost, I know when I spoke to the sales guy in one of the dealerships she, being about the same height as my buddy, mentioned that you have a certain amount you can lower a bike till you have to start seriously modding the thing, seeing as how we are gonna have a paid professional do the work the less cost, the better.

Also, if anyone has another idea of what we should do I'm all ears...shes been looking for the better part of 5 months and pretty much missed the riding season here because of it...

 

[rennsport]

Take her to a Ducati dealer. Any one in the monster line will fit her.

 

[foreverbobae]

Take her to a Ducati dealer. Any one in the monster line will fit her.

Ahhh... except as a poor college kid the only chance at getting one of them would be used and she was looking at getting new she had a little POS Honda rebel to get used to riding and now she wants to jump on new so she doesn't have to deal with too much maintenance....

 

[rennsport]

Ahhh... except as a poor college kid the only chance at getting one of them would be used and she was looking at getting new she had a little POS Honda rebel to get used to riding and now she wants to jump on new so she doesn't have to deal with too much maintenance....

Well most used Monsters are low mileage bikes that were traded in for something b*****. For the most part they have been well cared for. So there is little maintenance required.

 

[foreverbobae]

Sweet I'll definitely start looking into that for sure

 

[foreverbobae]

Accept that she just told me she didn't want a standard for a first bike, she wants plastics to shield her from the wind...shes a pain in my ass...

 

[rennsport]

Accept that she just told me she didn't want a standard for a first bike, she wants plastics to shield her from the wind...shes a pain in my ass...

Tell her, "good luck with that", unless it is a touring bike, with a barn door for a windshield. I found the windshield on my FZ6 to have a lot in common with the hind tits on a Boar hog. They are both useless...

In fact I much prefer the clean air air I get on the naked monster, to the buffeting I get from the FZ6.

 

[04efi]

How tall is she. I know my friends girl picked picked up the FZ6R and lowered the seat to fit her very well. And bike is only heavy till you move. She is very small girl about 5'3" and maybe a buck 105 LBS ... She loves it. I think the sound of it your girl would love it just have to let it grow on her. Either way has she done a safty coarse . That helps alot for understanding the balance of a bike and how to deal with it.

 

[RJN2112]

Accept that she just told me she didn't want a standard for a first bike, she wants plastics to shield her from the wind...shes a pain in my ass...

Look at Cycle trader for used GS500Fs. That's a stone simple, bulletproof 30ish HP bike. With full body work. Like the FZ6, it has a non linkage rear suspension, so it's pretty easy to lower, if needed. Light on the pocket book, light in weight, not terrible on the eye.

 

[AugieNYC]

What's her height/inseam? Was she wearing well healed boots when trying out the bikes? What's she look like (just kidiin). Don't forget about adjusting preload, aftermarket spring and seat shaving. But if she's under 5'5", all those mods won't help.

 

[foreverbobae]

What's her height/inseam? Was she wearing well healed boots when trying out the bikes? What's she look like (just kidiin). Don't forget about adjusting preload, aftermarket spring and seat shaving. But if she's under 5'5", all those mods won't help.

Shes sitting right at about 5' 5" with a 31" inseam...and no healed boots she wants regular shoes first lol

 

[foreverbobae]

How tall is she. I know my friends girl picked picked up the FZ6R and lowered the seat to fit her very well. And bike is only heavy till you move. She is very small girl about 5'3" and maybe a buck 105 LBS ... She loves it. I think the sound of it your girl would love it just have to let it grow on her. Either way has she done a safty coarse . That helps alot for understanding the balance of a bike and how to deal with it.

She is scheduled to take the safety course soon I'm hoping she will learn a bit more there unfortunately the bikes they use there are no b***** then the rebel so she fits fine on thoughts bikes, how long has friends girl been riding?

 

[AugieNYC]

She is scheduled to take the safety course soon I'm hoping she will learn a bit more there unfortunately the bikes they use there are no b***** then the rebel so she fits fine on thoughts bikes, how long has friends girl been riding?

She will be okay with some of the adjustments listed on 600/650cc sportbikes. My inseam is 30" (hgt 5'7"). With boots on I'm fine - maybe not getting to flat-foot both feet but I'm okay.

 

[foreverbobae]

She will be okay with some of the adjustments listed on 600/650cc sportbikes. My inseam is 30" (hgt 5'7"). With boots on I'm fine - maybe not getting to flat-foot both feet but I'm okay.

Do you stop and hold the bike with one leg or do you just put both feet down and use the balls of your feet?

 

[Guitar Man]

The wife and I are buying new bikes wednesday (09 FZ6 and FZ6R) and the dealership will lower them 2" for an extra $400 ea. They had a FZ6R already lowered on the showroom floor and one at a normal height. She tried them both and liked the lowered one alot. This is my second FZ6 (07 was totalled a couple of months ago) and I'm keeping it the stock height.

The rear spring is swapped out for a shorter one and the internals reworked. The front is just pushed up farther in the triple tree. At 5'7" my wife can now flat foot the bike. This is the first time I've ever heard of any dealership doing this. I've read threads where people said that there was not a lowering option for the FZ6. But apparently someone figured it out and the dealership will do it and warranty it. The seat height is also ajustable on the FZ6R with two positions to choose from.

If you want to call and ask them at the dealership itself here's the info.

Houston Motorsports
281-890-2020
Texas, Yamaha, Polaris, ATV, Motorcycle, Dealer, Houston Yamaha Motorsports

Maybe they can tell a dealership near you how it's done and the parts they use.

 

[AugieNYC]

Do you stop and hold the bike with one leg or do you just put both feet down and use the balls of your feet?

I get one foot down. The other, I'm on the balls of the foot. The only time I have a problem is when I'm backing it out on a road that has gravel or debris to slip on.

 

[foreverbobae]

I get one foot down. The other, I'm on the balls of the foot. The only time I have a problem is when I'm backing it out on a road that has gravel or debris to slip on.

Ya I got her to read this thread and now she is finally considering the whole one foot possibility she was on the fence about it before worrying that she wouldn't be able to hold the bike with one foot... So now maybe she'll consider a larger variety of bikes...solves some problems WOOT! thanks for all the help guys

 

[Cap'n]

To chip in, I am male, 5'5" 115lb's and ride a stock FZ6 with Alpinestars boots (tiny heel, which doesn't help anyway). I stop both ways, depending on the situation... one foot sometimes, and sometimes on the balls of both feet. Backing up is a little tricky sometimes, but it taught me a few things:

1. Park with the nose uphill. It's amazing how simple that is, and how often I did it wrong when I had a low seat height vulcan 500. With this taller bike, I have become a nose-up-parking-ninja. It becomes habit.
2. You can hold the bike up standing beside it and walk it backwards. It's a good skill to have, and isn't so scary after you do it a few times. Make sure your belt buckle / pocket knife doesn't scratch the tank.


In summary: you don't know what you're capable of until you get forced into trying.

 

[foreverbobae]

To chip in, I am male, 5'5" 115lb's and ride a stock FZ6 with Alpinestars boots (tiny heel, which doesn't help anyway). I stop both ways, depending on the situation... one foot sometimes, and sometimes on the balls of both feet. Backing up is a little tricky sometimes, but it taught me a few things:

1. Park with the nose uphill. It's amazing how simple that is, and how often I did it wrong when I had a low seat height vulcan 500. With this taller bike, I have become a nose-up-parking-ninja. It becomes habit.
2. You can hold the bike up standing beside it and walk it backwards. It's a good skill to have, and isn't so scary after you do it a few times. Make sure your belt buckle / pocket knife doesn't scratch the tank.


In summary: you don't know what you're capable of until you get forced into trying.

Ya I made her sit on my Fz6 yesterday to give the whole one foot thing a try (my shoulder still hurts from catching the bike so it didn't hit the ground on the first try) but after a couple of attempts she got it pretty easy, though to be fair my bike is actually raised about an inch thanks to my custom seat...so I think she could handle the bike but shes not so sure, well...I'll work her into it anyway

 

[alloutgraphics.com]

If you want to shave just a inch or two off you can mod the seat. You can have somebody shave down the seat foam and reapply the seat cover. Or you can remove all the seat foam and replace the inside with neoprene.