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Recommend a motorbike for a shortarse
CraigJ - 1/2/11 at 08:59 PM

My Fiancee is going to do her bike test this spring (CBT in 3 week). She is only 5'4 and slim so will need a bike that she can stand over without it dragging her over. She wants a full fairing bike so looking for something with a low seat that isn't too heavy.

Any ideas? also needs to be cheap. Not looking at spending over a grand if it can be helped.


Dangle_kt - 1/2/11 at 09:08 PM

GPZ500 might fit the bill.

you can get lowering kits for most bikes, but a bandit 600 might be a good start.

cbr400rr/vfr400r would also be very suitable. I;ve owned 2 cbr400rr's and the gullarm was smaller than the triarm, but both were tiny. www.400greybike.com is a great forum for them too. Not quite as good as here of course

all of those are available at less than £1000, espeically at this time of year.


Thinking about it - 1/2/11 at 09:08 PM


MonkeyBoyJnr - 1/2/11 at 09:09 PM

Probably not the answer you was looking for but (apologies in advance!), how about a mini moto? ;-)

Balls! Beaten to it! :-(

[Edited on 1/2/11 by MonkeyBoyJnr]


T66 - 1/2/11 at 09:10 PM

seen a lot of girls out with their men on Yamaha Viragos and Harley 883's



both have low seats, and are not too big.


big_wasa - 1/2/11 at 09:13 PM

er 500 ,its even shorter than a gpz


BigFaceDave - 1/2/11 at 09:15 PM

Sv650's seem quite popular with the vertically challenged also I used to have a GSXR 400 which was rather small for me (6ft 1" but just right for my dad (5ft 4", It was a great first bike apart from me being a bit too big for it but it did look a lot bigger when I was looking at it on ebay and had a full fairing.


bitsilly - 1/2/11 at 09:25 PM

CB500?


flibble - 1/2/11 at 09:31 PM

Sv650's are also reasonably good fun


Dangle_kt - 1/2/11 at 09:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by flibble
Sv650's are also reasonably good fun


brakes need tweeking though, I found them WOEFUL without some decent pads.


owelly - 1/2/11 at 10:16 PM

To get a realistic answer we need to know how much money you have to spend and how many cc's you want. It's pointless looking at a £5k bike if you've got 30p to spend, likewise, it's daft to suggest a FZR1000 Genesis if you're looking for a 400cc bike.
If it is a first bike and your lady is a bit slight of build, then I would strongly recommend something without a full fairing purely because it is very likely that she will drop it. Experience tells you where you need to be to stop a bike from falling and also when to get out of the way and try to make the landing as soft as possible! Even with my ballast, I'm not going to stop my VTR1000 from going over should I find my foot on a manhole cover or patch of diesel on a forecourt! (or my bootlace caught on the footpeg at a road junction....)
And why pay 1000cc insurance if the bike has enough puff with 400cc?


daviep - 1/2/11 at 10:20 PM

BMW F800ST comes in 3 different low seat heights, fully faired, quite a light bike and doesn't have a chain (which is a bonus)

Davie


rf900rush - 1/2/11 at 11:20 PM

Second the CBR400RR (NC29)
Does not come much lower seat wise.

ZZR1100 is Low


Chippy - 1/2/11 at 11:26 PM

quote:
Originally posted by T66
seen a lot of girls out with their men on Yamaha Viragos and Harley 883's
both have low seats, and are not too big.


Well don't know about the Virago, but the Harley 883 is definately not low and definately not light, in fact it's flipping heavy. Cheers Ray

[Edited on 1-2-11 by Chippy]




[Edited on 1-2-11 by Chippy]


skodaman - 1/2/11 at 11:26 PM

Honda NC30. Superb little bike. V4 instead of boring in-line 4. Just bloody uncomfortable if you're 6' 1'' and riding around in Tokyo traffic jams like I was on mine.


steve m - 1/2/11 at 11:26 PM

"Second the CBR400RR (NC29)
Does not come much lower seat wise. "

I have to agree, and was my last bike. and i am only 5'3


goodguydrew - 1/2/11 at 11:57 PM

I used to have a nice wee Honda Bros 400. Very low.


Steve Hignett - 2/2/11 at 12:02 AM

Gotta be the VFR400. Best looking little bike out there, and not much power behind the CBR... (or CBR400 if that's your thing!)





[Edited on 2/2/11 by Steve Hignett]


CraigJ - 3/2/11 at 05:31 PM

cheers guys. We will take a look at some of them.

Been looking at a zzr600 today which looks quite low.


daviep - 3/2/11 at 05:37 PM

Bear in mind that it's not only seat height which counts, a bike with a wide seat and frame will feel much taller and a relatively tall skinny bike will be deciptivley easy touch the ground on.

Are you looking for a sports bike or a tourer?

Davie


CraigJ - 3/2/11 at 06:08 PM

Something she can touch the floor on and will be easy enough for her to move about without her dropping it. Will be looking at something with a small engine, around 400cc. We will only be getting something cheap to start with.


bigpig - 3/2/11 at 09:28 PM

Could try a Ducatti Monster 600, very nice and low (I found it too low for me).

ZZR 400s are ugly, but the ZXR400 is probably the prettiest sports bike ever.

VFR400s are near bomb proof due to the geared cams and CBR400s are very pretty.

Insurance on a 400 would be a lot less too.

Or if you can get really lucky, an Aprillia RS250 or Suzuki RGV250 (but you can bet both would need engine/power valve work for a grand).