Mods for short people...

[mew215]

Hi all! I'm Max, I am new to the forum, excited to be here.

I'm 5'1, which is very annoying when it comes to riding.  Ive been practicing different riding techniques for short people to use and it's going ok.  However, I'm getting a V7, I've stood on the bike and its pretty tall for me, I can tiptoe it but I know I can get a couple more inches. So far I'm working on -

--getting a custom seat thats a lower height with gel pads.
--Boots re-soled to add an extra half inch.
--got aftermarket side covers which reduce the height because the stock side cover panels stick out so much. (when I sat on a V9 bobber, it was a lot better because of this!)

Stuff I want to learn more about and implement on the bike:

--handlebars or mods to get handlebar an inch or so forward towards me - I am anticipating needing this if my seat is shorter. Do you have recommendations?
--low profile tires - any recommendations? pro's and con's?  I live in Philly which has billions of potholes, obviously I'm trying to avoid them regardless but I'm wondering how much of a difference a low profile tire might make in terms of danger of blowouts. 
--also considering getting Com-star boots that have the extra inches inside the boot but they're $$$ and I already have boots...


I want to commute downtown for work, and also my partner likes to take nice rides around in the surrounding counties (which also have fewer potholes!) and we'd eventually like to do some motorcycle camping trips.  I let him do all the work with planning these kinds of things- I'm just along for the journey :)

Fellow short kings, queens and royalty - what are the things you've done to help you get as many extra inches as possible?

[Dirk_S]

Welcome to the forum!

Curious—which V7? There’s at least a 40 lb difference between the older V7 Classic and the newer V7 E5.

I’m not as short (5’ 8”), but I’m also not a fan of heavy bikes. The smaller you are, the more the weight matters IMO. Beyond practice-practice-practice (not enough of us riders do such), in addition to your considerations, you could try:

• Swap out the plastic mudguards for the aluminum ones found on the Stornello, Milano, Rough, et al, to cut a few lb off. These can be purchased for a few hundred $ directly from MAS Engineering’s website—they supply the fenders for MG, and a few years back began offering them direct to customer.
• Shave maybe 8-10 lb by swapping out the lead-acid battery for lithium; keep in mind lithium batteries can’t use the same battery tender as lead-acids, unless you have one that can charge both.
• Raising the forks up in the triple tree a tad might make the bike more accessible by changing the height potentially as well as making steering a little crisper.
• Swapping out the stock exhaust for a lighter aftermarket one can often knock at least 12 lb off the bike, (though you may have to consider re-mapping).

[tris]

Short people unite   

My biggest issue was with the Breva 1100. Fantastic bike,  but heavy if your legs barely reach the ground whe sat on it!
I had to climb on with it on the sidestand and then haul it up with one leg off the ground and hope to catch it as it comes upright

If you're young and strong you can get away with it,  but I'm neither now
and I've stuggled with all my bikes until I got the Roamer which I can flat foot

Good luck sorting it out

[Guzzistajohn]

Welcome aboard Max!

I'm 6 ft. but I ride dual sport bikes.  I've gotten used to leaving my RT ft on the brake at stops, keeping the bike in gear and putting the left foot down even if I have to slide to the left of the seat a bit. It's really a safer position for your feet at stop lights anyway.

Once you make this habit, putting both feet down doesn't seem so important.

Just my .02 

[Shorty]

Howdy! You can do a little measuring and possibly get some shorter rear shocks from a different company. Measure your existing shocks, and shop for a used set of shorter ones, like maybe a Sportster Low. Ebay is full of them. Different shocks may have different diameter holes in the shock mounts. If so, you'll need to visit the hardware store an get some plastic or rubber shims.
 They make things called bar backs that attach to your triple tree and move bars back, usually 1 or 1.5 inches. You need to ascertain your bike's handlebar diameter, and also that the cables hoses and wires have enough slack to install the devices. They usually come in black, gray or chrome:    Lowering your frame often requires cutting and rewelding your kick stand  to match the new dimensions, so the bike leans at the proper angle. Lowering may or may not make it more difficult to deploy the center stand if equipped. Stuff can be done to lower a bike with a little redneck engineering. It may effect the bikes handling a little. Or, there are lots of other choices for a comfortable commuter for short legged people. I used a Honda scooter for a long time. My boss at work was about 5" tall, and he loved his Suzuki Savage 650. Good luck, and welcome!

[Perazzimx14]

I thought by now someone would have posted the vertically challenged young woman that rides a 1250 GS. It seems to be the internet's answer to anytime someone asks about tall bikes and short inseems.

[Tom H]

Shorty has pretty much covered what I would have said to do. Raise the fork tubes in the triple clamp maybe 1", shorter shocks maybe 1". Narrowing the seat, not just lowering, can help as well as the side covers you mentioned. Also shown was an easy way to bring that bars back to you. There are also ones from ROX for instance that pivot in the triple clamp handle bar clamp. This way you can have them up a bit, or even down a bit as long as they clear the tank, as well as back depending on the riser you selected. Just a thought.

My EVT was a bit tall and a wide seat for me, couldn't comfortably flat foot it. I did as above and it made flat footing perfect and mush more confident feeling when stopped at a light if I ever put my feet down in something slippery.

Hope this helps,
Tom

[mew215]

@ Dirk S: - V7E5. I ride something of a comparable weight right now (1979 Honda CX500) 

Thanks for the ideas!!! DEF will do the battery...

Do you have recommends for exhausts that are lighter?

@Shorty - Yeah- for my CX500 it was lowered by 1" and my mechanic had to cut and solder the side stand.  Im hoping not to do this again but I would if I really felt like I needed more inches.

Also - i looked at the help section of this forum... I'm solidly an elder millennial and should understand this old school forum technology... but I don't get how you reply directly to people's comments... or do you just not?

[Tom H]

Just stay in your original message and reply either with the Quote or just write the name of the person you want to reply back to, just like you just did. Easy!

Tom

[Dirk_S]

@ Dirk S: - V7E5. I ride something of a comparable weight right now (1979 Honda CX500)

Funny how there’s a percentage of Guzzi owners who previously owned either a Honda CX500 or Suzuki TU250X…in my case, both:





I even used to pretend to miss it, with that gorgeous engine…until I reminded myself that once the motor’s off the frame, aside from the profile it’s a bit of a mess. Guzzi motors are far cuter.

[Bulldog9]

Welcome!

I can't offer much help in the way of lowering other than shaving the seat, shorter rear shocks and dropping the Triple Trees on the Forks, but the V7 series is a fantastic bike.

[Dukedesmo]

When I bought my LM2 it came with 2 seats, the original and a shaved down original - I did wonder who would ever need to lower an old Le Mans? as they are very low to start with and fitting raised rearsets didn't help with the riding position that seems to have been designed for a Gorilla (short legs/long arms required).


I actually had the lowered seat made into a raised seat: +40mm over stock was all I could get away with without ruining the aesthetics. Still cramped riding position and I sit in traffic with my feet on the road and bent legs but a reasonable setup overall - I actually prefer being on tiptoes though, probably from years of sportsbike riding.


But a Lady friend who is, shall we say 'vertically challenged', not only had her bike lowered but wears Daytona Ladystar boots that have an internal lift of around 1" or so but still look like 'normal' boots.     

[jamesfjamesf]

Most items have been addressed but regarding the lower tires - modern bikes are designed with certain tire curvatures that relate to the steering and how the tire is positioned at a particular lean angle, and if you stray from that, handling can be affected by making the bike want to fall in to a corner or need to be held down in a corner, rather than being neutral. It would be nice to be able to choose a shorter tire with the same profile but there is no database or oracle that can offer up that info. Plus, an inch reduction in tire height is really hard to get. And, as with suspension lowering, you can start running into ground clearance issues once you start pushing it out in the fun stuff. Plus the pothole issue, unless you run higher tire pressures, but then you start sacrificing traction from the smaller contact patch (a minor issue but something to keep in mind as it will mostly concern hard braking on questionable city surfaces).

I had a Corbin seat on my KLR which was super narrow up front where my thighs were at a stop, and super wide in the back where I sat. It was great for my 29" inseam. But the V7 side covers (and maybe exhaust) are going to limit you, I'd address those first to get your legs as vertical as possible for maximum strength. Then the bars with barbacks if possible- if you're stretched out too much you won't have as much leverage for keeping it upright as well as leaning forward you'll have less purchase with your feet to keep things upright.

jim

[Calculon]

when I sat on a V9 bobber, it was a lot better

Then why not get the Bobber, particularly if it's significantly better, given that the bikes are similar performance wise?

[Dirk_S]

Then why not get the Bobber, particularly if it's significantly better, given that the bikes are similar performance wise?

The V9 is usually pricier than the V7; BUT a point worth noting, one could, down the road, replace the V7 seat and tank—both wider than the V9’s—with those off a V9. I know a little welding is required to go from a V9 to a V7 seat/tank setup, but maybe not for the reverse. At least pre-E5, the V9 solo seat locked just behind the airbox; you can buy that seat lock separately. As for the pillion seat, you’d have to modify SOMETHING, as the rear frame rails are different between the two models.

[skixc1]

Max,
I do not like leaning forward at all so I added "Rox risers" to the handlebars on my V7iii. They'll bring the bars back 2" and they rotate so you can adjust the placement. Check out eBay for a decent price. 

[sign216]

The V9 is usually pricier than the V7; BUT a point worth noting, one could, down the road, replace the V7 seat and tank—both wider than the V9’s—with those off a V9. I know a little welding is required to go from a V9 to a V7 seat/tank setup, but maybe not for the reverse. At least pre-E5, the V9 solo seat locked just behind the airbox; you can buy that seat lock separately. As for the pillion seat, you’d have to modify SOMETHING, as the rear frame rails are different between the two models.

I removed the seat cover and shaved foam off my V7 seat.  With a Harbor Freight air staple gun the cover went back on, stapled underneath to the seat pan, and it looks just like factory. 

[Tom]

I thought by now someone would have posted the vertically challenged young woman that rides a 1250 GS. It seems to be the internet's answer to anytime someone asks about tall bikes and short inseems.

"Doodle on a motorcycle."  #7 for short people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LGuReOguXQ

[MerleLowe]

"Doodle on a motorcycle."  #7 for short people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LGuReOguXQ

I expect the earlier GS1250 reference was to Jocelin Snow.  Useful to watch if you're interested in mixing gymnastics with motorcycling. 

Interesting thing about Doodle, iirc she said in one video she is 5'4" with a 31" inseam which means she's 6" shorter than me with about 2" longer legs.  When we're talking about seat height, it's leg length that counts, not overall height.

[Dirk_S]

I expect the earlier GS1250 reference was to Jocelin Snow.  Useful to watch if you're interested in mixing gymnastics with motorcycling…

Jocelyn Snow is a straight up BOSS with what she does on her GS, her determination, and positive attitude.

[MerleLowe]

Jocelyn Snow is a straight up BOSS with what she does on her GS, her determination, and positive attitude.

She is quite skilled and provides good and useful training.  The flip side is that some folks want to just be comfortable on their motorcycle without resorting to hopping off the seat at every stop. 

It can become a tail wagging the dog situation where the machine becomes a way to demonstrate skills acquisition rather than a vehicle to go places.  It seems that often the answer to shorter folks is to tell them they need more skills rather than acknowledge their valid preference to have a closer reach to the ground.

[Calculon]

The V7/V9 are close in size and performance.  If one's a better fit, but cost a little more, not hugely so, wouldn't that be worth the extra money?

Most new riders prefer putting both feet down and perhaps it helps boost their confidence in the beginning, but they're likely better served in the long run learning the one foot down technique.  This affords shorter riders access to larger bikes, but the main benefit is it lets the rider finish breaking with the rear brake.  This keeps the bike more level and therefore, easier to control.