bike for a shorty

jcr · 26 Oct 2020 at 20:01

ive been getting the itch to get back on 2 wheels lately. wrong time of year i know. thing is im only 5ft 6in so a lot of bikes are simply to tall for me. for example, many years ago a mate had a susuki gs850, when i sat on it i could only get the tip of my toes on the ground so was unable to take it out for a spin.

my last bike was a gsx550 about 25 years ago.been cars since then.
the bike will be just for fun. no particular style in mind. for example, ive been looking at royal enfield bullets, fazer 600, sv1000, street triple.

have set a budget of sub £3000 for the bike. no rush to buy.
would like some opinions. thanks.

Steampunk · 26 Oct 2020 at 23:48

Lots of Kawasaki road bikes have a low seat height that's totally fine for your height. Try a few for size at your local dealer and see if they fit.

Deleted member 77746 · 26 Oct 2020 at 23:49

Get yourself a tuk tuk lol you can taxi people about then. Good enough for short people ha ha

ttaskmaster · 27 Oct 2020 at 10:54

My wife is 5' 5" and can easily manage the old model ZZR600. Pretty good fun to ride, as well!
You might also consider a Triumph Daytona, or perhaps a Fireblade. Both seemed quite good for the vertically challenged.

Just don't fall into the trap of getting a Cruiser. They have a low seat height, but many have the controls quite far forward and it's often a fair stretch for the shorter guys.

Mickcas · 27 Oct 2020 at 13:06

I'm 5ft8 on a good day and can flat foot my sv650 without any problem.

tom_e · 27 Oct 2020 at 13:13

Neither my SV650S or my Honda Blackbird caused me any issues and I'm only 5'5 with a 27 inch inside leg. The bird was tiptoes on both feet but didn't cause me any problems.

Diddums · 27 Oct 2020 at 17:27

tom_e said:
Neither my SV650S or my Honda Blackbird caused me any issues and I'm only 5'5 with a 27 inch inside leg. The bird was tiptoes on both feet but didn't cause me any problems.

If the bird was on her tiptoes at that height then you can't be taller than 4ft.

jcr · 27 Oct 2020 at 18:25

thanks for the suggestions folks. used to lust after fireblades when they came out. id rather have a bike where i can see the engine these days though. so full fairings arent at the top of my list.
the sv650 seems to be very popular from looking at bikes for sale. plenty of used ones to choose from. but i think i might find it a bit under powered after the initial thrill of being back on a bike again subsides. the sv1000 did catch my eye though, along with the fazer 1000. theres quite a few advertised in my price range, and i do like the sound of v twin engines. an early street triple might just be within my budget too, but im not sure about the seat height.
i think the daytona might have a bit too sporty a riding position for me these days. at 49 im not sure if i could manage the super sport riding position for too long any more

tom_e · 27 Oct 2020 at 18:29

Street triples are about the same height as the SV I think as I've been eyeing them up.

Deleted member 77746 · 27 Oct 2020 at 18:49

I found your perfect bike. How about a Tuk Tuk motorbike. You can really impress the ladies with this.

tom_e · 27 Oct 2020 at 19:42

Bouton Aide said:
I found your perfect bike. How about a Tuk Tuk motorbike. You can really impress the ladies with this.

Did you forget you'd already posted the tuk tuk joke?

Diddums · 27 Oct 2020 at 19:46

tom_e said:
Did you forget you'd already posted the tuk tuk joke?

I doubt it, he just likes to make sure he gets his value out of them as evidenced in many, many threads on this forum

jcr · 23 Feb 2021 at 11:09

going to look at a Yamaha Thunderace today. old school but cheap. from reading reviews, they are very well liked by people who have owned them.
when my partner asked, i told her it was an old bike with only a litre engine. seemed to work