Size DOES matter...(longish)

Brought back fond memories eh? ;-)

 

In aus.motorcycles on Tue, 8 Aug 2006 21:00:28 +1000

But there are so many bikes... and they are all good!

Best bet is to wait till one mugs you and then drags you out the door
while throwing your wallet at the seller.

Trust me, you'll know when it happens.

Zebee
- multiple mugging victim.

 

Well my number-1 suggestion is to ignore your friend and enjoy your GPX!
Fark; a GPX has tons of power (twice that of gNat's TU250), is
mega-reliable, has excellent brakes and suspension and can carry heaps of
load (cue piccies of BT's Jackal).
I think you really will end up regretting it if you trade "up".

 

I'm not 100% sure of what you're getting at Dale... but I'm 99% sure it
involves mental-images I don't wish to entertain so please stop now!!

 

She's so right. Twin cylinders in all sorts of configurations, some
triples, a horde of fours, with and without fairings and luggage hooks;
there's heaps of bikes. Did I mention singles? And when you've inspected
the lot, you might yet decide that the GPX is actually pretty good.

 

No question on the last bit. The L is the sweetest-looking of the
oil-boiler GSX-R's, but, like the rest of its family, it's not a bike
for a n00b, especially a n00b with reach issues. They're over 230kg wet
and physically pretty damn huge.

 

Have probably posted similarly previously, but you might think about the
anniversary model GSXR 750L. Getting on a bit at 1990 vintage, and there are
just a few good ones about. My daughter has one; black and silver, upside
down f forks 4:1 factory exhaust system, grunt, low seat height, perhaps a
bit of a stretch to the bars, cost ~ 4k. A bit special IMO
Rockit

 

If you are not talking brand new (although there may be some around still)
the Kwaka ZZR 600 has a seat height of 780 mm and is fully faired. My wife
is the same height as you and can easily touch the ground on it. It has a
good riding position as well (about halfway between the latest sport bike
and full touring bikes). Not as light as the latest and greatest though (not
much heavier than the Suzuki SV's and Hyosung 650's but far sportier than
either). Oh and the standard price (it doesn't seem to matter which of the E
series you buy even though it had a 12 year model life) is $4,500 to $7,500
which isn't too bad.

 

Hi Betty

Deb is 5'2, I'm 5'4. So this is something we're familiar with. When we
were looking at bikes years ago, we did find similar things - the 600s and
750s were taller than the 1100s or 1000s for some bikes. Strange! But
things are a lot more varied these days as manufacturers seem to have
realised the changing market.

At the moment I have the original model Triumph TT600, the precursor to the
675. The TT has a less-racer riding position than the current model, and
slightly lower seat height - 810mm I think. Even so, I can't quite get my
feet flat to the ground on it, even though it has been lowered a bit. Also
I'm finding now (after having it for nearly 6 years) that it is getting very
uncomfortable particularly in the neck, knees and hands after long rides.
Age finally bites... Lower back pain isn't an issue - it seems to force my
spine into the correct curvature, so that's about the only bit that doesn't
hurt.

The weight distribution in the sporty bikes is usually fairly top-heavy too.
Maybe not the best choice if you're a bit nervous. Even if it's 15kg less
it's harder to manage if the weight is high.

Deb's previous bike was a CBR600F3 - approx 1998 model from memory. She had
it lowered by having the rear suspension modified and the seat trimmed on
the sides. I think she gained about an inch or two out of it, which made
her feel a lot more comfortable on it. The biggest drawback was that the
bike had a centrestand, after the suspension mod it took two people to put
it on the centrestand because it had changed the angle at which it contacted
the ground.

She currently has the Cagiva Raptor 1000, and she just loves it. It's a
fairly upright riding position with fairly wide handlebars (after riding the
TT the Cagiva feels like a big dirt bike). Seat height is around 790mm, and
the weight distribution is low as well.

I'm looking at a Speed Triple for the upcoming upgrade. The local Triumph
shop assures me that the suspension is very amenable to modification...
Just as well, because it's a tall beasty! Unmodified, I can manage it OK on
flat ground, but if the going gets a bit uneven it could be interesting...
It's a very comfortable bike to ride, fairly upright (compared to the TT)
but not cruiserish position, wide bars, weight distribution is fairly good
too.

Probably the best advice I can give is to try the bikes you're interested
in. You may be surprised. Ask a suspension expert how viable it is to
modify the suspension. See how much seat you can afford to lose (from the
side, not the top!) And see how comfortable you are moving the bike around
too. Living with a tall or topheavy bike day to day is a much different
proposition to just riding one. Riding it is the easy part - getting it out
of the shed down the sloped driveway, getting it out of that tricky uneven
parking spot and getting it on or off the centrestand are the real
challenges.

Good luck!!

Julie and Deb

 

"Cannondale"? I don't think so, mate.

"Canyonero", that sounds more likely! ;-)


BTH
"Eight feet tall, two lanes wide, 66 tons of American pride.
Canyonero! Canyon-e-e-e-ro!"

 

Yeah , near enough

Well make up your blewdy mind, am I a dwarf or not ?

JL

 

May not be your style, but have a look at the Suzuki GSR600
Lowish and narrow seat. Newish model, so not heaps of info
out there but it draws heavily from the GSXR

Looking at possible upgrades from the too-fiddly for the 5'1"
girlfriend and it's on the short-list (no pun intended) along with
the trusty old gs500, with or without fairing...

A.L.

 

My daughter is 59 inches short and she had a Suzuki 500 twin.

Theo

 

Forget about Triumphs all their bikes are relatively tall - even the
cruisery ones are taller than their competitors. The earlier
Daytonas(haven't sat on the current one) I scrubbed off my list as being
just that wee bit too tall.

Also forget about seat height - yes I know it's counter intuitive. It's
not the seat height that matters so much as the width and shape of the
seat, and the stiffness of the suspension.

For example the Yamaha Warrior (?I think thats the name?) 1700 sports
cruiser has a seat height of about 650mm - no worries you'd think ? Yeah
but the bloody thing is about 4 feet wide across the saddle - I could
just barely tiptoe it - I felt like I was doing the splits. On the other
hand the KTM 990 Superduke has an 855mm seat height and I can
comfortably get the balls of both feet down (which is my criteria for
being easily rideable). Long travel softish supension and a narrow seat.

If you can tiptoe one foot by sliding a bum cheek off you *can* ride it,
which means I can ride most things, but some things are just a car park
disaster waiting to happen.

You will find most 600 supersports to be among the tallest seat heights,
even more so than the litre bikes for some reason. The supersports tend
to be taller for max ground clearance, if you *really* want a 600 as
your next bike think about getting it lowered 10mm or so (if it's your
second bike you're unlikely to notice the compromised ground clearance,
it'll still be heaps more than the GPX)

You'll generally find that sports-tourer type bikes will have lower seat
heights, however sometimes the additional weight will be worse than
having to tiptoe it, if you're not an amazon in the upper body strength
you're probably better off with a light bike thats a touch taller than a
heavy bike that's a lower seat.

New bikes - consider FZ6, ER6, Bandit 650, Raptor and V Raptor have a
quite low seat height (of course I had to buy the X Raptor which has the
taller seat to go with the better specs :-( some of the Monsters are
quite low (S2 and S4 aren't I believe). Almost all BMWs come with a low
seat option. The K1200RS I can almost flat foot !

Not necessarily, I'm 160cm with quite short legs for height (same
lengths as Cat's when we sat in the dirt at SBK a couple of years ago
and measured My bike is 810 and I can ride most anything, it's just
whether you're comfortable doing so. See above comments.

There's a lot of bikes around you can easily ride without problems, and
if there's something you really want you can get it lowered

JL

 

My Sheila is exactly 72.00 inches long..
I reckon your figure is a little low .

 

Weight distribution matters more than actual weight too. A boxer's twin
pots will be less noticeable as they're down low, even though it will
weigh more. Similarly the cruisers may tip the scales in the high 200s,
low 300s but you'll probably find that less troublesome than a 210Kg
Daytona 955

JL

 

like this...
http://www.thisstupidurl.com/superbike2003/images/112-1216_IMG.JPG

That pic is Stéphane Chambon on his 600 supersports race bike at Phillip
Island. He's 5'4".

Nev..
'04 CBR1100XX

 

Have found the '99 Dayto to be beautifully balanced and easy to handle at
low speed. Easy to live with around town. Weight is not of concern unless
you are a motorcycle journalist.

Easier to manouvre and felt more "balanced" than, for example, an SV650.

Alternatives for all bikes is also to look at seat and suspension
modifications to attain terra firma....or a sidecar.

Still comes down to getting bums on seats (or bum on seats) and trying a few
bikes on for size.

 

It's known as dreaming.

It's a good thing to do.

Moike

 

er.. longitudinally challenged, if you don't mind....

Moike