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Question for the ladies...5 ft and under.

6K views 23 replies 17 participants last post by  David 
#1 ·
My wife is exactly 5 feet tall. Any suggestions on a bike that would fit her? Nothing under 500 cc. (The 07 Honda 750 Spirit looks pretty cool)

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I'm 5'6" and had an 05 Spirit. It was comfortable for me, but I don't think if I was 6 inches shorter I would have been able to get both feet flat on the ground.

The best suggestion though would be to go sit on some bikes and get a feel for them, then look into what would need to be done to modify the bike to fit your wife. With time & money just about anything is possible.
 
#4 ·
Welcome to the forum Surfridernc. I have an 05 Aero Shaow VT750C and I has a seat height if 25.7 inches. The new Shadwo Spirit VT750C2 Also has a very low seat. To my best knowledge, I don't think there's a lower stock seat heo=ight. If anyone knows of one, they'll chime in.

Bruce
 
#7 ·
I'm barely 5'2" and I have an 05 Shadow Aero 750. I'm able to sit on the bike with both feet flat on the ground and a little bend in my knee. It's the perfect height and extremely comfortable. I don't have to stretch to reach of the controls. The only problem I have is that with smaller hands my fingers are full extended to pull in the clutch and the brake levers.

Hope this helps!
 
G
#8 ·
Jack, come on, now, I'm 5'2" :p :wink:

Surf, dude, welcome to the forum. 8)

I rode the VLX (600 cc), no problem. Put the Mustang Seat on it, and it seemed to had risen me up some on the bike. The Aero (750 cc), no problem. In fact when I sent in the stock seat, to have gell pads placed in, I had sat even more leg room on the bike. Actually felt lower.

El (ETinOgden) I believe is 4'11", and she rides the VLX. She looked perfect for the bike, when I saw her in Nevada. She is on the right hand side of my sig pic.

I think the Spirit would be too high for your wife, unless you get a lowering kit. It is 1 inch higher than the VLX, and is higher than the Aero. Also, Harley has a Lowrider, that I sat on, comfy enough.

Sadie is 5'3" and rides the Sabre, I couldn't sit flat foot on it. Guess, it's all in the inseam.

Have her straddle some bikes. :D
 
#9 ·
Three suggestions:

1) Suzuki LS 650 Savage. Great power and low to the ground. Standard style bike
2) Baby Vulcan 500. No experience but friends say it has the Ninja engine and is 6 speeds.
3) HD 883 Sportster L (2007 model). It low has plenty of power and is EASY to ride and the 2007 clutch is like butter and has fuel injection.

These are alternatives to the Honda line of bikes.
 
#13 ·
Dr Bob's Patient said:
Welcome to the forum Surfridernc. I have an 05 Aero Shaow VT750C and I has a seat height if 25.7 inches. The new Shadwo Spirit VT750C2 Also has a very low seat. To my best knowledge, I don't think there's a lower stock seat heo=ight. If anyone knows of one, they'll chime in.

Bruce

I have a sabre 1100, I love it and I am only 5'3... I had a vlx 600 and out grew it in 6 month....mho is not to go any smaller then a 750 have her get a good boot, you can get boots from any Harley dealer that usually have some heel to them that can give her about an inch, and I dont mean fancy boots just reguler riding boots, that will help her with getting her feet on the ground as she comes to stops.
 
#16 ·
My wife is barely 5' and after about a year of shopping (and 2 bike shows) just got a Suzuki Boulevard S50 and LOVES it.

She didn't want the Harley Sportster 883L because she wanted to stay under 500 lbs but otherwise liked the bike.

She didn't like the fit of Hondas because the foot position was "off".

She didn't like Ducatis because the handlebar reach was too long.

The Buell Blast was VERY high on the list for several months but fell off VERY quickly as she gained more experience (on a 250 Nighthawk that was a bit "tall" for her) and we saw how many nearly-new ones were available. (Apparently a bike that people outgrow in a hurry.) She still wants to ride one, though, something she didn't get to do last year.

I forget what issues she had with other bikes.

If you're looking for a starter bike, the Blast might be a good choice because you can get one inexpensively. If your wife is past "starter" then you might find shopping to be quite painful -- no matter what you think, you'll probably be wrong. :D

Comfort and "fit" to the rider is somewhat more important than seat height as you can do quite a lot to lower most bikes.

If she gets the chance to sit on bikes, be sure to have her check the reach at the limits of handlebar travel. If it's too long, she'll lose control of the brake or clutch in some low-speed turns -- and you do NOT want that! The problem can be fixed with new risers or handlebar and should be done ASAP if a bike is otherwise just right.
 
#17 ·
hunnus2000 said:
Three suggestions:

1) Suzuki LS 650 Savage. Great power and low to the ground. Standard style bike
2) Baby Vulcan 500. No experience but friends say it has the Ninja engine and is 6 speeds.
3) HD 883 Sportster L (2007 model). It low has plenty of power and is EASY to ride and the 2007 clutch is like butter and has fuel injection.

These are alternatives to the Honda line of bikes.
The Suzuki Savage is no longer the savage, it has been renamed. I own an 01 savage, it was my first bike. If you plan on doing a lot of highway riding, you will want a twin, and not a thumper. It will vibrate your jibblies off at 80. It will also dust off most twins in first gear(its a peppy bike, but no top end, vibrates all to hell, and is a great first bike, but you will want to upgrade later). I would recommend looking at a VLX that has been lowered. They are low center of gravity, and they are fairly short to begin with.
 
#18 ·
Why the 500cc limit? Depending on the style of bike, 250cc is good enough to ride on the highways. My buddies 500 ninja is more than capapble of keeping up in 3rd gear on the highway, 70 at 4500 rpms. That leave another 4500 rpms in 3rd, and two more gears to play with. If you are looking for a cruiser only, then 500 is a good limit, but don't limit yourself to only one type of bike, all three types can be fun (cruiser, touring, and sport)
 
#20 ·
Thanks for all the tips. I am only 5'6 myself and I ride a VTX1800. I lowered it with Progressive 11.5 and shave the seat about two inches, and did the 6 degree rake with the triple trees.
Whatever she decides to get, I will slam it and do a seat mod. I got pretty good with the turkey carver and 80 grit sandpaper. :)
Thanks again for all the responses. My wife is really excited about driving instead of riding.
 
#22 ·
Solo said:
Just about any bike can be made to fit most people. I have a friend who is 4'10" and she rides a VTX1300S. It's been lowered and had the seat dished out.
How in god's name would she ever get that bike up if she unfortunately let it hit the ground?
 
#23 ·
scythefwd said:
hunnus2000 said:
Three suggestions:

1) Suzuki LS 650 Savage. Great power and low to the ground. Standard style bike
2) Baby Vulcan 500. No experience but friends say it has the Ninja engine and is 6 speeds.
3) HD 883 Sportster L (2007 model). It low has plenty of power and is EASY to ride and the 2007 clutch is like butter and has fuel injection.

These are alternatives to the Honda line of bikes.
The Suzuki Savage is no longer the savage, it has been renamed. I own an 01 savage, it was my first bike. If you plan on doing a lot of highway riding, you will want a twin, and not a thumper. It will vibrate your jibblies off at 80. It will also dust off most twins in first gear(its a peppy bike, but no top end, vibrates all to hell, and is a great first bike, but you will want to upgrade later). I would recommend looking at a VLX that has been lowered. They are low center of gravity, and they are fairly short to begin with.
The problem with a VLX as a first bike and a rider not having long legs is that the shifter and brakes are pretty far foward so it can be a struggle. It also has 4 gears instead of 5 so you will miss that 5th gear on the VLX. Actually, rejetting the carb on the Savage will open her up and quite frankly, it'll out perform the VLX hands down and at least on my wife's bike, it does not shake but she's a light weight rider.

The choice is personal but I steer people away from the VLX as a first bike especially shorter riders. I think it's wiser to start with more of a standard feel bike. A Yammy 650 Classic can also be a good choice.

Another thing about some of the bikes listed is that shorter women don't like the fat tank and don't want to feel like they're being split open. So yes the VLX would fit in the skinny tank class but so would the Sporty and the Savage. BTW, surprisingly, you won't feel the weight of the Sporty. I was verrrrry surprised.

And yes Suzuki has re-branded their line to the Boulevard series so the Boulevard S40 used to be the Savage LS650. But that's a really boring name so I stick with the Savage.

BTW, we have a Savage for sale 2006. The wife just bought a Sporty. 8)
 
#24 ·
zodder said:
Solo said:
Just about any bike can be made to fit most people. I have a friend who is 4'10" and she rides a VTX1300S. It's been lowered and had the seat dished out.
How in god's name would she ever get that bike up if she unfortunately let it hit the ground?
Hey, I saw a 5' 110# whisp of a woman lift a '05 Goldwing off the ground. It's not size that matters here (unlike SOME things :oops: ). It's leverage & positioning. She backed up to it, stooped down & grabbed the thing behind her & simply stood up & leaned into it once she got it up off the ground. It came up so easily I thought I'D be able to do it! :lol:
 
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