Vertically challenged girlfriend

[jver1200rt]

Hello all, I have a vertically challenged girlfriend (5'0") who wants to ride a sport tourer BMW. She LOVES the RT's AND RS's but unfortunatly cant touch the ground, even with 1.5" heeled boots! Are there any solutions the this as far as lowering the bike, The Ideal seat height would be around 26" but I have no idea if this is possible/ practical. I would really like to see her dream become a reality! Right now she's on a honda rebel and is wanting to step up to a bigger bike thats NOT a cruiser style bike.

[womanridge]

Try this link. It's on page two of the women's forum.
The thread was closed, but you can still get some good info from it.

http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41175

[Bullett]

That's a tough one. I purchased a low seat RT before they offered the lowered suspension version. I also lowered the bike one inch when I upgraded to aftermarket shocks. She might also consider an F800ST or the naked R- bike and add a hannigan fairing. Good luck.

[AKBeemer]

I too suggest she consider the lowered version of the R12R. Add a Hannigan fairing or a Parabellum Scout fairing as my wife did and you have a great bike.

[scout6]

Susan rode a very modified RT for 5 years. Lowered shocks, shaved seat. The thing was low. Even low, it was still heavy and was hard for her to push around without power. She has tried out the factory lowered F800ST and really likes it a lot. There are a few folks that mounted GIVI bags on it instead of the stockers, replaced the windshield, and did a bit of work on the bars to make a great, lightweight sport tourer.

[bmwgsrider]

Hello all, I have a vertically challenged girlfriend (5'0") who wants to ride a sport tourer BMW. She LOVES the RT's AND RS's but unfortunatly cant touch the ground, even with 1.5" heeled boots! Are there any solutions the this as far as lowering the bike, The Ideal seat height would be around 26" but I have no idea if this is possible/ practical. I would really like to see her dream become a reality! Right now she's on a honda rebel and is wanting to step up to a bigger bike thats NOT a cruiser style bike.


I am 4' 11" with a 26" inseam and my dream bike was to have my own Beemer. I ride a factory lowered F650 GS. It may not be the RT or RS that she is looking for but the F650 GS is an all around fun bike to ride. I wouldn't ask for a much better bike. Of course, BMW is now making other models that come factory lowered too that she may also want to consider.

[ALIERA]

Hello,

I am 5 feet 1 inch tall with a 25 inch inseam. My vintage Frye
boots have a standard 1 inch heel which I prefer to wear. The
Fluevogs I am wearing in the avatar photo have 1/2 inch heel.

I have a 1995 R100R Classic which had a 29.5 inch seat meaning
one foot on the ground only. Ever. Rain or shine.

The Ohlin shock changed my life - the seat is now 26 inches ... I
actually do notice a difference ... hope this helps !

The newer R1200R and GS models are available with the lowered
seat option as I understand it ...

Regards,

Lynn

[Voni]

Thanks for sharing that, Lynn.

Exactly what someone need to hear :)

Voni
sMiling

[EllenR]

I, too, am vertically challenged with a 27" inseam. My second bike was a F650CS which I lowered by the use of Kouba links. When the R1200ST came out I fell in love with the bike. I had 2" soles put on my BMW boots so that I could touch the ground, but after 38,000 miles in three years on the bike I decided that I either needed to change the suspension or get a different bike. I've had my F650GS twin for 14 months and have 22,000 Smiles on it. I've ridden it on many solo trips (something I would never have done on the bigger bike) including doing a SaddleSore 1000 on the way to Redmond. I added a Cee Bailey windshield, changed the stock seat and put on bar backs and find the bike to be very comfortable. I would encourage your girlfriend to test ride one.

[womanridge]

Way to go EllenR, on your SS1K. And welcome to the Women of the MOA sub-forum. Stop by often.

[EllenR]

Thank you, Karen. I've been a lurker for a while. We met in Redmond...I sat next to you at the Women Who Ride Seminar and marveled at your solo Alaska travels:)

[womanridge]

Thank you, Karen. I've been a lurker for a while. We met in Redmond...I sat next to you at the Women Who Ride Seminar and marveled at your solo Alaska travels:)

Not to hijack, but thanks for the kudos EllenR. Voni sure knows how to put on a seminar, doesn't she.

[BACKROAD.ADV]

Hello all, I have a vertically challenged girlfriend (5'0") who wants to ride a sport tourer BMW. She LOVES the RT's AND RS's but unfortunatly cant touch the ground, even with 1.5" heeled boots! Are there any solutions the this as far as lowering the bike, The Ideal seat height would be around 26" but I have no idea if this is possible/ practical. I would really like to see her dream become a reality! Right now she's on a honda rebel and is wanting to step up to a bigger bike thats NOT a cruiser style bike.


A non cruiser and seat height less than 30 inches-that will be challenging. The BMW 650 single lowered might be an option. Older BMW Cruiser 1200C or CL might be an option but its a cruiser......

Because of seat height issues I ride a 650 single and a Yamaha TW200 with a custom seat and I too don't like cruisers but I'm going to go for a R1200C or CL next year because I would like a bigger bike but not a higher seat. Not much else on the market. I have even looked at a 500cc Piagio (three wheels).

OK!!!! Another options finding a used RTP.

I know that the RTPs had the greatest amount of adjustment in seat height range since these bikes were used by the police. I looked into this at one time and I was planning on buying a R1200RTP---- but now BMW no longer makes them available for private purchase or so says my local dealer.

You might want to check this out but I think the bottom end of the seat height for an RTP was 28 inches if my memory serves me, then with lowering of suspension and shoe lifts this might work.

Just a thought.

Good LucK

Backroad ADV

[pffog]

Like others said, don't sell the F650's short, both the twin and the single make great sport touring mounts.

The F800's also are a great bike, if the "GS" look is not appealing

[kellysbeemer]

I'm not vertically challenged, 5'9" but when I ride my R1150RT I am challenged when moving it around in gravel or on an incline. I recently purchased a 1200C and it is a dream to ride. It might be fun for your girlfriend to try one out and see how it feels. It is a cruiser but sitting on it feels much more comfortable than sitting on my Honda Shadow which is also a cruiser. I sit up straighter on the C and find it doesn't make my back hurt like the Shadow did.

[cweaver61]

The 1995 R100 Mystic has the lowest seat of any unmodified BMW. It is a great running bike with good mileage and good saddlebags for storage.

[pffog]

The new F800 R has a very low seat also.

[RNowell]

Thanks for all the ideas. My girlfriend has an'85 700cc Virago. It has been
modified to allow short inseams. She has a 24" inseam and stands4'8". Not easy
to find a BMW for her. My R1200CLC is too heavy and too high. We will be looking
at the F650GS twin or F800s.;)

[rt1to3]

Rode R1100RL for 10+ years. Found a 2 inch addition to my boots worked great. Now ride a 2008 R1200R. I ordered Hyper Pro Shocks built to my inseam and to the bike.
This lowered the bike 2 inches (Maximum it could be lowered.) If I stretch, I am 5' 1/2" with short inseam. With the 2 inch lift on my boots, I am comfortable.
If you lower the bike with shorter shocks, you will have to shorten side stand and center stand as well. But I have over 10K since doing this and love it.
I started on R65 in 1992 which I took foam out of the seat. Then I rode an R90/6. Then 1998 I got the R1100RL. If you find one of these, get the shorter shocks for it and it will work too. I still have the short shocks I had made for it.
:bikes

[kosher kitten]

I have been riding a Honda Shadow Sabre with a mustang seat which puts the seat at 28". I just recently purchased the factory lowered F650GS with a stock seat. I am completely flat footed. I stand 5'1" with a 28" innerseam. It's a great bike. I don't know if another seat would lower it even more but I would recommend this bike to any woman. It is light and certainly has the kick you need to pass anyone!

[PattiB]

It's nice that BMW finally figured out how to offer a lower suspension option on most of their newer bikes and for only $250! I just bought an '08 F800ST with a low suspension but it still has a stock seat for better butt cushion and it fits me to a T.

I am about 5' 3" with a 29" or so inseam. But for what it's worth, I have been doing some yoga and regular stretching along with my workouts for the past year and I swear I can touch the ground on bikes I wouldn't even have ever thought of sitting on. At the Int'l Motorcycle show I sat on a Vstrom 650 stock, no problem. The new Honda CBR250, no problem. And I think all these seats are over 30 inches.

So get out there and do some downward dogs before you get on that bike! It just may help, not to mention you'll feel better too! :laugh

[suecanada]

I added quite a bit of stuff into the inside of my boots in the heel area: I have in there a blue microfibre cloth folded up (handy to have anyway), some foam wedges from Dr. Scholls, my old Honda Civic's brake pad covers which fit perfectly, and an old set of orthothotics and I grew 2.5 inches. All you have to watch is that the boot has a sizable heel to arch height and that you don't have really high arches. No one knows I am not that tall until I take off my boots! My boots are Forma Adventure GT's.

Cheers,
Sue

[brewmeister]

Is that like the small pillow I place under my t-shirt to make it look like i'm livin the good life when i'm really in good shape?

[jaherbst]

Thanks for all the ideas. My girlfriend has an'85 700cc Virago. It has been
modified to allow short inseams. She has a 24" inseam and stands4'8". Not easy
to find a BMW for her. My R1200CLC is too heavy and too high. We will be looking
at the F650GS twin or F800s.;)

Try the new factory lowered F650GS. (twin)

Jack

[kellyhanley]

[QUtiniourOTE=brewmeister;681645]Is that like the small pillow I place under my t-shirt to make it look like i'm livin the good life when i'm really in good shape?[/QUOTE]

subcutaneous tissue doesn't count.;)
kelly

[rinty]

...don't sell the F650s short...pffog

+1

After riding bigger machines for many years, I have been touring on 650s the last two summers: a BMW Paris Dakar, and a Kawasaki Versys.

JMO, but a 650 is perfectly suitable for solo sport touring. These bikes handled high Rocky Mountain passes with ease, and are happy at almost any speed.

The Versys is brilliant, and the ER-6n version has a 29.7" saddle. The bike can be lowered another inch with aftermarket stuff. The F650 is good, but the Kaw is a lot smoother.