I just went to a local bike show ova da weeknd...nd sat on some new bikes like da gixxer,ninja's, and CBR's.... nd most of the bikes i sat on i was on my tippy toes...i asked a kawasaki rep. nd he told me that if i was flat footed it meant da bike was too small for me. Nd it's all right that i'm on my tippy toes...I really don't believe him. but is this true. Also, can i do anything to lower it. Lookin in on purchasing in a month or so....

 

Flat-footing a bike is much safer than tippy-toes. You can shave part of the seat to lower the bike. Also, dogbones (I think that's what they're called) can lower the height of the bike without an extreme affect on the handling.

 

Anytime you mess with ride height its going to affect handling mainly clearance. I can't flat foot my bike on both sides. I can't believe a rep told you that though. Thats just stupid to me. Shave the seat, adjust the preload, and then see how the bike is for you. How short are you?

 

I'm 5'8 and I can almost flat foot a 600RR with the exception of one foot being about an inch off the ground, but I'm still growing and that was 3 months ago, so I don't know now.

It's much easier to drop the bike at a stand still if you can't flat foot it because you end up having all the weight on one leg.

 

I'm 6'1 and can basically flat foot my Gixxer liter bike.

 

I'm bout 5"6-5"7 da gixxers not too bad it's jus seems kinda heavy compared to the kawasaki and cbr....i tried the RR and i'm on my tippy toes...Is der any bike out der i can sit on flat footed...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mellenium &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm bout 5"6-5"7 da gixxers not too bad it's jus seems kinda heavy compared to the kawasaki and cbr....i tried the RR and i'm on my tippy toes...Is der any bike out der i can sit on flat footed...</TD></TR></TABLE>

a YSR50...

but seriously. 5'6" - 5'7" should be no prob on most sport bikes out there. just do the "one cheek sneak" at the stop lights.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ALL MOTA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

a YSR50...

but seriously. 5'6" - 5'7" should be no prob on most sport bikes out there. just do the "one cheek sneak" at the stop lights.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've never heard that expression used before

 

The safest way to lower a bike is to change the shocks in the rear and revalve the forks in the front and to shave the seat.

Adjusting preload on a stock suspension has it's negatives and positives. Sure it'll give you sag, but it makes the bike less senstive to the road, meaning unresponsive handling.

Dogbones. That scares me. They completely changes the suspension geometry of the bike. Which could possibly lead to unpredictable handling characteristics. I would advise you to look into this thoroughly before you decide to do it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by len &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Dogbones. That scares me. They completely changes the suspension geometry of the bike. Which could possibly lead to unpredictable handling characteristics. I would advise you to look into this thoroughly before you decide to do it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's pretty standard for tracked FZR's. The danger would come in by lowering the back and not lowering the forks in the triple clamps. As long as it's lowered evenly it's no biggie.

Cheers,
Sean

 

I would go with shaving the seat. I had the seat shaved on my bike and now I can almost flat foot it, if one foot is flat, the heal of my other foot is about half an inch off the ground. You could always do the one cheek method like somebody mentioned before, I do that sometimes too.

 

I agree...I am pretty short 5' 5" on a good day. I have a ninja ex500, and I can get good toes, centered on the bike. The hight of a a bike was a big deal in picking one, especially when you are just starting and learing how to ride. I would be careful getting one too big. if its too big to stand up flat, then its probably too big to learn how to ride, incase you need to put a foot down in an emergency etc.. I would say if your going to lower a bike, have a race shop do it, they are used to having to balance out the bike, I worry about the ratio between the front, rear and forks, not being maintained when this is done and it affecting bike suspension geometry.

 

im 5'4 and i dont stand a chance on my rr i have to lean it too one side or tip toe it. its kinda shady but i got use to it just really sucks when trying to back up i have to get off the bike and push i must look like such a loser lol.

 

5'6'' 5'7'' is tall enough. You dont need to be able to flat foot both feet. You'll just have to do a little dance when it comes to stop lights on hills if you dont want to keep on the front brake.

 

im 5'3" and prety short in the legs. i can toe down on one side, i can put one foot flat if i do the ol *** slide.

 

New bikes usually tend to settle after about a month of riding , when I bought my bike I could not plant both feet , but after about a month I could feel a pretty big difference, it wont be like a 2 inch difference but it will be noticeable