Am I too short for 600 sportbike?

[bindy]

I want to buy my cousins GSXR600 02 model. But when I go to sit on it I can only touch ground with my tippy toes. What can I do? Help

[Type_Mo]

Lower it
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- Typhoon ?0 - Yamaha DT125R - Aprilia SR125 - Yamaha DT125R - Honda Hornet 600 -

[DEN MONKEY]

BUY IT, just dont ever stop riding. get one of your friends to attach a jerry can to their bike and you can fuel it on the run.
That or just stay away from roads with nasty gradients where you need to stop.

Or as said, just lower it a bit or you might consider a pair of boots that may give you a little extra height.

How height challenged are you ?
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meh

[ISLAND GIRL]

Buy it! Ok ok, so I can touch the floor flat footed on the hornet but I have seen plenty of riders just tip toe-ing it and they manage fine, failing that you can always get the seat lowered, not sure how much it would cost mind.
Out of curiousity how tall are you anyway?
I am five foot four/five

[Andy C]

i cant get both feet down flat on the SV but i normally slate so one leg is full on the floor and over isnt but is enough, unless your very small it wont be a problem, will be a bit of strength not to drop it!
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99 RS125 --> 02 SV650s --> 03 Speed Four --> 92 RXS100 --> 93 CB400sf --> 01 CB600f Hornet

[Zimbo]

Some are lower than others, try a few other bikes and you may find one that suits.
If that fails, the Kawasaki ZZR600 is the lowest of the 600s, try that?

[dotti]

Handling a big bike is more of a confidence issue than anything else. The more experience you have with the bike in question, the less of a problem you will find this to be. While stationary, I very rarely have 2 feet on the ground at any one time, so have never found a big seat height to be a problem, as you can just angle the bike so that one of your feet is flat to the floor.

Over Christmas I took my dads KLR650 out for a spin without any problems at all. The only thing of note was when it was parked and needed to be 'reversed' out of the parking space, I had to get off the bike and wheel it backwards, rather than sitting on the bike and walking it backwards as I would usually do.
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Dangerous traffic offences spotted on 50-minute trip: Lost count after 100. Number of traffic cops spotted: One, sitting by a speed-trap camera

[craigs23]

One of the main concerns for me when buying my last bike was the size of it. People are right in saying it's a confidence thing, but what's wrong with that? If you're not confident you're going to save the bike in the eventuality of an off balance, low speed (or zero speed) twitch, well, I wouldn't like to be in that position.

I'm not exactly tall, but one of my main concerns for my next bike was whether I could comfortably get both balls of my feet on the floor when sitting upright. I tried a Triumph Daytona for size and was a touch on the large size - could only get my toes down; plus it was a bit on the lardy side (I couldn't freely paddle on it).

Weird though; the R6 I tried fit fine, a nice locked in position and I could sit on it comfortably - more so than the Blade that I actually bought (which I can get the balls of my feet down on, plus it was lighter than the Triumph).

Try some out for size and then guage how comfortable you are with them. Of course, when riding at anything above strolling pace, the height of the saddle doesn't become so much of an issue.

[mrchips]

[numark1]

Just what i thought.

[True Blue]

[Sparks!]

tippy toes is no problem.. you'll get used to it. You only need a firm footing with one foot to be able to ride any bike fine, some people barely even get a single firm footing yet still ride big bikes

[kwacky]

[Bendy]

Tip toes is only an issue when you're a newbie, the confidence boost of feet flat on the ground is good when you're starting out.

Once you know what you're doing, you can get away with much taller bikes that might only give you one tip toe on the ground with some bum shimmying. Tis down to you whether you're comfortable with this or not.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Tip toes on both sides is fine. You can probably get the seat reshaped a touch to make it a bit lower. If really desperate then there are lowering kits available but these stand a fair chance of screwing up the handling.

All the best

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

[loply]

I can actually stand up with my arse off my seat, and both feet flat on the ground.

If you can tiptoe then surely by adjusting suspension and (possibly) adjusting the seat you could lower it sufficiently to allow you to get your feet flat?
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Yamaha SZR660 Caution to the wind, the throttle pinned!

[ZZR Girl]

What the others have said is right. I think it's all a matter of confidence and how comfortable you feel on it. I could only touch the ground with one foot flat on the ground and the other on tiptoes with my GS500 and never really got used to it. With the ZZR I can put both feet flat on the ground and feel so much more comfortable and confident.
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Keep it shiny!

[quacker_boy]

i dunno what gixxers are like but i used to ride a CBR600RR and i could only just about touch the ground with my tip toes...alternatively i'd hang off so one foot is flat on the ground and the other is on the peg and the bike is leant against the inside of my leg. sorted.

[3806danny]

why cant you just use some birds fmbs

[steveh]

what you need is Platform soles maaaan


Steve.
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Current : 06 Zx10r, 07 Wr450f SM, 74 850 norton commando, 63 bsa b40, 1962 Triton 650, 67 Triumph Tr6r, 1955 Triton 750, 1978 TY250E.

[nrml76]

Can you you get your left foot flat, with the right on the brake and arse slid towards the left? If so it shouldn't be a problem.

[Nb]

I can only get the tips of my toes down on my bike cos im a short arse (and its a tall bike). Its only a problem when it comes to parking! So im just careful not to park the bike down into a space i cant ride out of.
If your mega short perhaps get the bike lowered? Doesnt cost that much usually.
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Cbr1100xx blackbird gone, mk4 golf gt tdi chav now
Colin1 wrote 'Im grateful for what i can get, which isnt all that much.'
Columbus travel insurance are crap!! Do not use!

[Villers]

Just slide your arse off when required, im tippy toes on my CBR but Ive only managed. Stop worrying, start riding!

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RS125 > CBR6 > SV650S > ZX636R > GSX1300RZ Hayabusa > 06 RSVR Mille > SV1000S > Street Triple 765 RS

[kawakid]

I'd only get a bike where I could put both feet on the ground. Was shocked by the Daytona and the BMWs , I' am about 5'7" may be 5'8" , thing thats annoying is that my wife is like 5'5 and her legs are 32", where as mine are 30" and I'm taller.

Saying that my current bike is a ER5 and the seat height is 800mm and I can get both feet on the flat, looking at specs in ride / motorcycle news etc, there's loads of bikes that are okay for me.
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I've a twin and a 4.

[Bendy]

You have to consider width as well as height, they never quote that but it can make all the difference.