Best Bike for a short arse

[Suffolk]

First of all, howdy! Am new to the forum and the world of bikes.

About 10 years ago I had a little Suzuki AP50 twist and go which at the time met my needs (was a student and needed something cheap to nip about town). Now I have a 25 mile commute to and from work 4 days a week and at the moment get the train, however, i've booked to redo my CBT in 10 days time and will be looking to get a 125 soon.

Initially I was all set on getting a scooter (probably because thats what I had before) although now am leaning more towards getting a bike, whatever I get i'll probably put a fair few miles on her until I get a car and then the bike will be used more for fun and shorter journeys. Talking of short, I am, very. About 5foot 5 (inside leg 74cm/29inches)on a good day so finding a bike that I fit may be a bit tricky?

Any advice on a first bike would be much appreciated and to reiterate it has to be ridable on just a provisional with CBT. I'm 28 years old and have kept my old scoot insured despite not riding it much so have managed to accumulate a 8 or 9 year no claims bonus which may help when I get the 125.



Thanks in advance

[metalangel]

A 125 cruiser might be an idea, like a Suzuki Marauder or Yamaha Virago.

Failing that, if you're doing your CBT again you're probably going to do it on a geared bike this time, right? See what you think of whatever you do it on as your typical 125 isn't exactly huge either.
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Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[Suffolk]

[metalangel]

BikeTrader, there are 43 Marauder GZ1s listed in the UK. 38 on MCN.

The best thing to do is find a local dealer who has a lot of bikes and go and sit on them... optionally, narrow it down to a few you know you like the look/price of and go somewhere that has those.

I'd say yes, do your CBT on a geared bike if you're planning on getting one, you say you've had a licence for nearly a decade, so even if you haven't ridden that much you at least know a lot of the basics... now you can throw gears into the mix and have an instructor there to help you get used to them.
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Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[ninja_butler]

You've got more choice than you think, in 125 learner-land you are tall enough for like 95% of all the upright-style bikes and then when you've passed your test you can buy something like a CBR 600 with a lowered seat or buy an old grey-import 400cc bike, most of them are fairly low since they are designed only for the domestic Japanese market where people are generally an inch or two shorter than in Europe.

[Bendy]

Have you read my sticky at the top of the section?

A 29 inch inside leg is not short, you'll fit on the majority of bikes if you want to.

[Teflon-Mike]

Cruisers are the 'obviouse' and often wrong answer for short legs; they are certainly not the 'best' answer for a Learner-Bike.

So, you are a short-arse... so cruiser with a low seat, would seem a good idea, you dont have so far to 'hop' to throw a leg over....

BUT: how wide is the saddle? Broader the saddle more leg is taken up before you can start reaching it to the floor....

NEXT; distance from floor to seat only counts when you have your foot down. Where will your feet be when you are actually riding along....

AND Cruisers, often have forward controls, the pegs unstead of under your bum in the 'Jokey' possition, they are often stretched right out infront of the engine, in the 'Lancer' possition....

Ever got in a car after a lanky git like me has been driving, and slid the seat all the way back?..... Hmmm.... cant slide the seat forward on a bike..... on a regular bike, though you CAN 'ball the tank' and slide your bum forwards.... not so easy on a cruiser with the sculpted seat that supports the back of the bum, and a peanut tank sloping up from it......

So, that takes care of the erganomics & pro's and cons of the legs.... short legs, USUALLY mean shorty arms... unless you are a gorilla....

Cruisers have a 'lad back' riding position; the seat reclining you backwards, putting shoulders behind your bum.... means more of a 'stretch' to the handlebars.....

And, them bars... not at or around the level of the head stock falling easily to hand, they are big and wide high rise, pull back things, that spread you out in the shape of a human parachute.....

If you have short arms to go with your short legs, you are as likely to find the 'spread' to accross the bars to take up a lot of arm length, the height more, and the whole lot pull you awkwardly forwards from that reclined seating possition...

THEN you have to make the thing go round a corner....

Wide bar, for teh same degree of steering angle, the handlebar grip is going to move further... so you will have to lean even further forwards to keep hold of it... and THAT will be on the opposite side of the bike to the way you want to 'lean' to go round a corner...

So, to turn, and cruisers with 'lazy' steering geometry, take more steering and more leaning for the same turning circle... but you will be having to lean the wrong way to get the steering angle, and may even struggle to get that angle, your little arms that stretched to begin with, without standing on the pegs... exept you cant, becouse they are actually ahead of the ruddy handle-bars!

JUST becouse they have a 'low' seat height doesn't mean that cruisers suit short people!

And these problems were all discovered trying to find out why Snowie, my O/H had so much trouble with an AJS Honda Rebel Copy, and she is exactly 5'5"...

Meanwhile 125 Cruisers just DONT WORK.... they LOOK like a cruiser, but that's all. Cruisers are all about 'lazy' easy riding. You cant DO that with a bike that has only 10bhp, struggles to hold 60mph, and needs three gear changes to get it to 30mph!

As a Training & Test tool, even if you dont have erganomic problems to contend with; that 'lazy' geometry is just NOT suited to hustling one through CBT or Mod 1 cones!

I know I used to instruct CBT, and I watched cruiser riders struggle enormously; and trying one or two of them to work out why; concluded it was easier to do CBT/Mod 1 manouvers on a Super-Black-Bird!

For Mod 1, they are also disadvantaged by being heavy, lower powered and lower geared, so they dont have the acceleration for the speed-trap manouvers that many struggle with even on lighter, more powerfuil and more nimble commuters.

They are REALLY a 'Bad' place to start your riding career!

Bench-Mark learner-commuter, is a Yamaha YBR125. It's about the best value Learner-Commuter on the market and a damned hard package to beat; there are more or less ecconomic alternatives; BUT the regulation Learner commuter LIKE the YBR is what you ought to be looking for.

If you CANT ride one of them; and your height ought to be no impediment; then you probably ought to give up on the idea of bikes altogether; they are the BEST starting point; one size pretty much fits all; and erganomically they are 'neutral', and make riding and learning to ride just about as easy as it can be for you.... which is what you want from a learner bike, really!
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Kernowscoot]

Depends on your budget, as said the YBR is good if you can afford one. If your looking for something a bit older then I would recommend the Yamaha SR 125

I've come from scoots onto one and it is brilliant

[Clanger]

What I would like to know was...did you read this https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=230544 before posting your question??

If not, why not?? It's a sticky...which means it's important that you read it before starting your thread.

Because Bendy wrote it, it is VERY likely to cover many of the questions that you may have as a new biker....

Read it. It's good for you.
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[Suffolk]

[Kingstondavo]

I doubt you would have any problems on a YBR or similar 125s at 5'5", as has been said it is a fantastic learner commuter and is rock solid in terms of reliability.

Personally i found the manual transmission really easy to pick up, far easier than when learning to drive many moons ago, Bike gearboxes are generally pretty forgiving, you can even do clutchless changes (wouldn't personally, but depends on your level of mechanical sympathy). From a learners point of view, its easy to get to grips with.
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Current Ride - 2010 Hornet 600

[moppy]

Suzuki Intruder VL 125.

I had one as my first bike, Mike goes on about cruisers not being a suitable first bike and he may well be right, but I had no problem passing my Mod 1 on it, U turns are a piece of piss, the incredibly low seat gives you plenty of confidence, gears & brakes aren't really ahead of you, just under your knee and you're sitting up straight, not leaning back.

Reliable bike, fairly quick up to 50mph and easy enough for maintenance. Most popular 125 cruiser in the UK I think, so plenty of them about.

Go sit on a few bikes and see what you like.

[millymols]

I'm around the same height as you if not a bit smaller and had no problems with the YBR.

The best way to know is to get out to a bike shop and sit on a few to see what feels right and what doesn't!
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Yamaha YBR125 - 2010
Theory - Passed 30/08/11 ; Mod 1 - Passed 21/09/11 ; Mod 2 - Passed 23/11/11
Kawasaki ER-6N - 2010

[TheDonUK]

TL:DR

Im shorter than you by one inch, and also one inch off the inside leg,

If you look at my sig you should be able to ride all those bikes without problems.

Only now im starting to look at dual sport / off road bikes is height becoming a concern...
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[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]

[Suffolk]

I had a walk into town at lunch time and stalked out a few car parks to see a few bikes in the flesh. I saw a CBF125 and a YBR125 and both of them look like they'd fit me. I've started looking online at what my local dealers have got and as i'm now edging closer to getting my cbt and buying my bike I wanted to ask a few questions. Here goes.

What are the pros and cons of the two bikes I mentioned above, is one significantly better than the other?

As i'll be riding about 200 miles a week i'm going to want something reliable and not knackered, am thinking something with around 5000 miles or less - what price should I be paying assuming its in good condition?
I'm most likely going to be paying for my bike with my credit card and using the £80 a month saved by biking rather than getting train to work to pay it back but have also some cash saved, all in all I will be looking to pay around £1800 tops

Lastly, when checking the bike and its service history what are the important things to look out for?

Thanks and sorry if these are stupid questions, i'm a newbie and therefore am stupid (for now).

[Bendy]

[Teflon-Mike]