Low Seat Height Motorcycle?
November 21st, 2009 | 
Author: I asked about motorcycle safety in my last question and I’ve been looking all over and going to dealers to sit on bikes and scooters. The problem is I have an inseam of only 25″ since I’m only 5″ tall (and a guy which really sucks) it pretty much eliminates me to a handful of exotic and less popular bikes. Honda rebel, Buell Blast I haven’t tested but they are the lowest I can find. I was able to sit on the Kawasaki Eliminator (which is only a 125cc), and even the scooters like the Kymco Grand Vista 250 or the Yamaha Morpheus. I would like to ride something like a ninja 250 but I can’t even get my leg on the other side. Most bikes have an average 30″ seat height so am I limited to the Buell blast and Honda rebel?
Posted in 
Tags:
No not by a long shot, There is the KYMCO Venox and I have short legs and I can stand up with it both feet on the ground. Hyosung makes three models of 250 one is a cruiser which I think is about the same as a venox and the make a GT that will run with a ninja it is a sport bike. And yes there is a video on utube about the two but that is not the case it was made in the UK and the Hyo must have been left in a shipping container or something It would not surprise me that Kawasaki paid for it. The GV250 is one of the hottest selling cruisers out there. And one more thing they are not from china
There are different ways too lower the seat height of bikes, the cheapest are replacing the dog bones in the rear suspention and/or raising the forks through the yolks. You can also get seats redone with less padding so the height is lower. On some bikes mostly the bigger higher performance ones you can adjust the suspention settings to lower the seat height. I dont want to sound patronising but it might be worth finding some girl bike forums on the net and asking there, they are sure to have dealt with the problem.
I feel your pain, I have the oppersite problem I’m 6′5″ and don’t fit many bikes either
There are other alternatives:
Shoe soles, many shoe repair places can add 2 or more inches to your soles.
Lowering kits, a V-Star 1100 is about 27 inch seat height and PCS has simple lowering kits that will get it down more.
Custom seats added will lower the height
Things to think about, you mostly ride and rarely need to reach the ground with your feet, seat width has as much to do with your reach as height, risers will allow you to move handle bars back and up (as a shorter rider, up is good because down means you have to reach and bend over more)
Ridley makes youth sized 3/4 cruisers, they are automatics and that makes stop and go much easier on short riders.
My wife is 5′ and she can handle her Vulcan 500 without any extras. Rebels are simply put put bikes for around the town square and soon you will be wishing for something bigger, which is exactly what Honda wants…
Look at the Honda Shadows. Maybe a used one as a first bike. But that’s a cruiser… The Triumph Bonneville can be slammed down pretty low. This can be done at the dealer. I know because my local dealer mentioned it to me. Said they do it all the time. Also, the Thruxton seat is narrower so you might put one of them on it.
And if you go with a Buell Blast, there’s a crazy following of aftermarket hop-up types that might surprise you:
http://www.nrhsperformance.com/ekitbuellblast.shtml