Dinky bikers!

[bikergurl39]

hiya guys,
my boyfriend posted a topic not so long ago about being too tall for a bike
but i have the opposite problem as i am only 5 ft 3!
this worries me as i think it could cause problems with my balance, i havent got a bike yet and i am looking out for my first 125, having sat on my boyfriends Yamaha SR i feel stable enough....
but is it likely that i will struggle on bigger bikes when i move up from my first 125?
apart from my handling of the bike i dont really want to look miniature or silly either!

feedback will be much appreciated
thanks for your help

[mr.z]

On 125's you'll probably be fine, unless its a varadero or crosser sort of bike.. a cg/sr or similar you should have height to spare..

Bigger bikes its going to restrict your choice, forget a triumph tiger or bmw, its a matter of trying some (find the dealer with the bigest selection andc have a sit on a few you like the look of and go from there) cruisers shouldn't be a problem if thats your thing but sports bikes your going to be looking at smaller ones..

If i'm not mistaken babyyam isn't overly abundant in height so might be able to suggest some bikes?
____________________
>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[DucatiEVO]

You'll be fine, friend of mine is 5'1 and she rides an '04 R1, and another friend is 5' and she rides a CBR400.


____________________
aKa: Ducky

[yambabe]

Ha! 5'3? Oh how I long for those extra two inches........

It's all down to your confidence. In theory you only need to be able to get tiptoes down and you can be fine, and there are many people (women and men) who ride like this daily with no problems at all.

In reality you will find that riding a bike where you can't get at least one foot most of the way down will cause problems, especially if you lack the aforementioned confidence. Slight camber on the road and you can no longer reach it for example, crunch! Getting the bike off the stand even, if you tip it over past the balance point there is no getting it back if you haven't got a firmly planted foot. Also try sitting on a bike and paddling it backwards with your feet when you only just have purchase, it just isn't going to happen............

On the plus side even as a shorty there are plenty of bikes out there that you will feel comfortable on, it's just a question of finding them. Lots of bikes can be lowered by dropping the forks and changing the rear shocks, taking padding out of the seat etc.

Once you are on the bike, riding, with your feet up, it ceases to matter and you might be amazed at how good you can get at crawling s l o w l y up to junctions, lights etc so you don't actually have to touch down!

Best bet is to start visiting dealers now just to sit on their stock (you are allowed to make vroom vroom noises of course but this is not recommended in D&K's showroom on a busy Saturday afternoon cos people look at you odd) and see what you will fit on and what feels good.

There will be a bike out there for you, it just might take time to find it!
____________________
Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Timmeh]

yeah, you'll be fine.
____________________
GSXR400 x2 | '94 RVF400 | '93 TZR125 4DL (again)
20:22:30 BLUEX5: i would love to be forced to undergo a**l plugging with different sizes
20:48:18 Temeluchus: comp you hunk of smouldering homos3x you

[scorps]

why oh why do women think they have to ride dinky fecking bikes ffs
i'm 5'1 with an inside leg of 23 sodding inches and and still manage a gixer 750 and until recently a 1200 bandit, its confidence not height that dictates what you ride
____________________
Do not presume that I am male.

[Simple]

I'm female and was 5ft 2 when I rode my Aprilia RX50 (dirt bike) and varadero 125's on the road...

I'm now 5ft 4 and ride a GPZ500s, it's got a really really low seat, so I'm flat footed both sides with a bend in each leg...

makes moving it about easy which makes me completely independent,

when parking I still always park facing uphill so it's easier to get out the space without shuffling and straining.. as the gpz is heavy.

Height has little to do with it, if you can get a foot on the ground while on it, you can move it about on foot when stopped anywhere.

I've found it's technique more than anything else.. oh and a bit of leg muscle to get the beasty moving, or if on foot a bit of upper body strength to stop it falling... but if it does /shrug/ it's an old bike that drops well anyway.

Simple
____________________
Insta - FemFeral

[andrea]

I'm 5ft 4 with little legs and thought i'd have a problem tbh. My first bike was an R6, which at first i wanted to have lowered as i was on tippy toes and as it was my first wasn't very confident. I soon got used to it, and only had one small problem when i pulled a bit of an emergency stoppie and forgot to put my feet down. Crash Bungs It wasnt that easy to scoot backwards as my feet were only just touching, so i used to jump off and push it to where i wanted it.

I ride a fireblade now, and have no problem whatsoever. I really do believe its down to having confidence in yourself, and as babyyam said, practising slow stuff so you dont always have to come to a stop, works for me

[yambabe]

[Simple]

[yambabe]

[mr.z]

Another handy trick is to lower the pre load right off, provided its not bottoming out its quite usefull if your not quite there.. lowering the forks at the front works too but can do strange things to the handleing (and sometimes does nothing)

I'm 5'8 and tryed a varadero and i'd have not been happy rideing it dayly, but have had a transalp and was ok with it..

Part of it is the seat width too, if ayone goes down the route of reshapeing theirs its well worth bearing in mind..
____________________
>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[McGee]

Heh heh short asses
____________________
◙◙► K6 GSXR 600 ◄◙◙◙◙► K5 GSXR 1000 ◄◙◙◙◙► K5 GSXR 600 ◄◙◙◙◙► 96 RF600r ◄◙◙
◄◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙►◄◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙►◄◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙►
Its pronounced Jixxer!

[scorps]

had the seats cut down as much as i could, its a question of getting the jump right when i come to a stop etc, but my slow ride skills coming to lights are now second to non. on the downside i live in a culdesac the top of a steep hill and i have never been able to turn left out of my street as the camber means my left leg dangles about 13 inches from the ground, i tried to once using my right tippee toe but had to be rescued before i fell off, that was soooooooooooooo embarrassing
____________________
Do not presume that I am male.

[bikergurl39]

Hey again guys
Thanks for your posts they have been really helpful
I'm glad to know that theres people on big bikes like R6s/R1s and fireblades etc.. that are around my height
Those are the kind of bikes i would love to own in the future.
Not necessarily all at once!!
I think as i have only had any real practice on a pit bike its going to be my confidence about handling my first 125 in general that is my main concern.
Though i havent been looking at any stupidly big 125s, i am looking out for Honda CG's, Suzuki GN's and GS's and Yamaha SR's and YBR's.
As of yet i dont feel confident enough to do my CBT so hopefully my friend letting me ride his pit bike will let me try out a bigger bike such as a normal 125.
If i were to have a bigger bike lowered in the future, would it cost a lot?
Thanks again

[gemma1675]

I had to get a lowered seat for my SV650, that gives me an extra 20mm (woo hoo!). If that's enough for you, it's a cheap way to lower it. Actually it is pretty much fine for me now, at 5'4", but I can't paddle it backwards comfortably like I could my GPZ500, so I just get off and push it.
____________________
Suzuki SV650S K5

Nobody puts baby in a corner

[Simple]

[mr.z]

Thats why i sawed my legs off
____________________
>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[Al]

I'm having a sex change
____________________
Yamaha FZR400RR 3tj
My Instagram Thingy

[Simple]

[Al]

a bit of both can't bear to see the little fella all beat up again, so thought I might aswell just get rid of him and cut my 0-60 time down at the same time
____________________
Yamaha FZR400RR 3tj
My Instagram Thingy

[Simple]

Yeah, be carefull on your bust siza, can play havoc with aerodynamics and get in the way of the racing crouch
____________________
Insta - FemFeral

[Paivi]