Vertically Challenged

[KAYPARKER94]

Hi!

I'm a seriously short new biker (5ft nothing!) and I am looking for a second hand bike for mainly commuting. Does anybody have any recommendations? I've been driving on a scooter at the minute so height hasn't really been an issue as moving forward to standing means there is no issue.

[Evil Hans]

Hi. What licence do you have?
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Triumph Sprint ST 1050. And it's Red.

[MahatmaAndhi]

The chopper style of bikes tend to be really low seat-wise. Easy to reach the floor.
I think they're a bit of a Marmite type bike - you either love them or hate them - for most people. I'm on the fence. Having never ridden one, I have no personal experience. But I'd love to try them out.

From my hunting for 125 days, the Kawasaki Eliminator came up as a good one. As did the Yamaha Virago. Kymco ones seemed to have terrible reviews for quality. AJS were hit and miss.

Again, I've no experience on any of these. I'm going from memory from when I was hunting for a 125cc.

For bigger bikes, I've no idea at all.

[KAYPARKER94]

[Ste]

What's your inside leg measurement?

[NJD]

https://cycle-ergo.com/
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The do it all, T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶k̶e̶n̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶i̶g̶ ̶l̶u̶m̶p̶,̶ ̶C̶h̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶N̶o̶o̶d̶l̶e̶

[MahatmaAndhi]

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Keeway RKS 125

https://www.bikesandtravels.com/biker.aspx?ride=502
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Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[NJD]

[Snowdonia Rider]

Monkey bike.
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I want your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle.
Suzuki GP125 Suzuki GSX600F Suzuki SV650S KTM EXC250F SkyTeam Bongo 125
My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SnowdoniaRider

[carpe_diem]

[Rogerborg]

[Spamalittle]

Suzuki GZ125 if you don't mind a cruiser. Probably the most comfortable bike I've ridden position-wise. Otherwise a VanVan (RV125) would probably do the job, but with added cool points (from me anyway).
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Story so far: RV125 VanVan > SV650 > Indian Scout > Triumph Thruxton, SV650 (again) & CG125

[KAYPARKER94]

[KAYPARKER94]

[KAYPARKER94]

[Rogerborg]

[Kickstart]

Hi

It isn't only the height of the seat, but also the width. Wider seat pushes your legs out a bit rather than down. And lowering the seat can make your bum closer to the wider frame rails.

At 5', depending on your inside leg, you probably could ride a CBR125 or the like quite easily. They are not that tall and quite skinny.

All the best

Katy
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Teflon-Mike]

You ought to have been taught on your CBT the "Safety Position".

When stopped, you only put ONE foot on the floor, the left one. Right foot aught to be on the foot-peg, covering or applying the rear brake. (Or course on a T&G Scooter, you will do that with your hands, like on a push bike, but still, you aught to have been taught it)
So, bum on saddle; right foot on foot-peg covering brake, left foot 'out' and you 'tilt' until it touches the floor!!!
shorter leg, just means a bit more 'tilt'
How high the seat is from the floor is pretty much irrelevant.
We choose bikes to ride... not to sit on outside wine-bars... if you want to sit on a bike outside a wine bar you dont buy a bike... you buy a Harley!
SO. to ride, important dimensions are foot-pegs to bum to handle-bars.

Cruisers, so often fucking suggested to shorter and lady riders because of the low seat to floor height... USUALLY have a very long distance between seat and forward set 'highway' pegs.. great for sitting outside the wine bar.. but if you actually want to ride the thing, being able to reach the gear-lever TENDS to be rather more help-ful!

Dirt Bikes, similarly so often suggested for taller and bigger 'lads'; reverse sort of phenomina. they have a seat a long way off teh floor (outside a wine bar!) But that's because they have an awful lot of suspension lifting them off the ground; sit on the damn things and they get a lot lower very quickly! consequently they usually have foot-pegs that are very close to the seat, cos they are as far off the floor too; so they dont actually suit the taller rider any better, and shorter riders can ride them quite hapily if they can master the 'tilt' to get on and stop.

Both, though usually have very wide handlebars; may be quite close to the seat, but reaching side-ways to grip the controls can be as awkward and or uncomfortable for a shorter person, too.

Sports-bikes; are usually fairly compact; they make them small to make them light, and narrow to make them aerodynamic; riding position is some-what awkward, and doesn't offer best viability or control, but they can suit smaller riders quite well.

And as has been mentioned; its the overall 'erganomics' that matter not just the dimensions between pegs bum and bars; wide or narrow seats, different angle handle-bars, different width footpegs and where they lie under your bum ALL make a big difference to the way the dimensions (in a straight line) work in 3-dimensions with bendy limbs string between them, not a tape measure!

You have to try different bikes and different styles to find what is more or less 'comfy', ANd try it sat as you RIDE the damn thing, not how you sit outside a wine bar on it!

BUT, starting point is the regulation 'Learner-commuter' bikes 'like' the Yamaha YBR125 or Honda CB125, which have a very 'neutral' riding position; foot-pegs are slightly ahead of the seat, but close to under the bum; they dont demand a 'reach' nor 'scrunch'. Bars tend to be a reasonable width and reletively close to the rider, so they dont have to stretch or lean, and can sit 'upright' for good control and good visability as well as good comfort. they are close to a universal, 'One-Size-Fits-all' riding position, and lightweights like the 125's benefit from being 'small' all round anyway.

And like the dirt bikes, they have suspension, that squashes when you sit on them, that makes published 'seat heights' a little nebulouse regardless.

5'Nothing? OK.. that's short enough for you to have your nose always in other people's business I suppose.... NOT the shortest Lady rider I have ever met though.... and couple of them on here will concur...

I have a Lilliputian freind of 4'11 AND A QUARTER.. which I type with the emphasis she always gives it Lol!

On L-Plates she rode a 'Franken-choppa' that was constructed from various bits of Honda Benley, and Fantic moped.. and is the ONLY 'chopper' I can recall seeing wearing 'race-bike' rear-set foot-rests!

Yeah... the suggestion she 'av a little choppa, 'cos low seat; quickly found this 'niggle' that the seat to floor distance isn't quite as important as the seat to foot-rest distance, and she ended up chopping up her choppa to get round it!

AND, as inspiration, she went on, after passing her tests, to ride a real 'Big-Boys-Bike' in an era it was still considered about as big as they came; a Triumph 650 Bonaville, as an every day commuter.

A bike notorious to be difficult to start with only a kick-starter, she used to show up the lads lack of 'technique' banging it into life... although, they did have a bit of a reputation as a 'Leg-Breaker'... if the ignition timing was a little out of tune, when kick-starting they could back-firer and drive the kick-start lever, and 'break-legs' trying to kick them.... "just you wait" Lads would tell her... She did.. and it did... but weighing barely six stone wringing wet, unlike the lads who's hefty mass kept them in the firing line to have their legs broke.... she was merely launched to saddle height, and landed deftly back along side the bike like a ballerina!

As she was so want to point out, "ITS all in the TECHNIQUE, not the PHYSIQUE!"

If you want to ride a 'propper' bike; your size doesn't matter that much, the bikes size doesn't matter much, its HOW you use it.

And starts with that 'safety-position' and learning to to lean the bike on one leg, covering controls like you are supposed to, NOT trying to bolster confidence planting both feet on the floor, which is counter productive; as you DON'T learn technique, you DON'T cover the controls properly, and as like as not, you simply errode your confidence trying to do something you don't NEED to do, and actually SHOULDN'T be doing.. and FAILING!!!!!

START with the safety position; Sit the bike; left leg down; right on the peg tip to toe.. you can do it even on a scooter; start doing stuff the right way; technique & discipline will take you far further than a credit card and a pocket calculator or heaven forbid a fucking phone 'ap'!!!!
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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?'

[Fizzoid]

[M.C]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Another point is footpeg position. If the pegs are directly in line with where your legs want to be when touching the ground you need to move your legs out further, again making the bike effectively higher.

The early Aprilia AF1s were not that low but my better half (not much taller than you) could ride them but flipped up the footrests (no spring to hold them down) to get a foot down.

All the best

Katy
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Rogerborg]

[bandit1990]

The suzuki Gz125 is very low, as light as any 125, reliable, and cheap.

My girlfriend had one and is 5ft2.

I occasionally go from my 600 and ride hers, it's actually a pretty good ride.