Short man on tall bike=hard to manually move bike any tips?

[bustinjustin2k]

Hi guys, Im only 5'4 and I have a 82 GS650 I can hardly reach the ground with the tips of my toes while on the bike . Is there any way to make the bike shorter? The seat is pretty short itself, so a smaller seat wouldnt help, I have been tould that getting a smaller rim/wheel is a bad idea too.

Please dont make me go buy some tall hooker boots.

Justin

[argonsagas]

Yes, you can change the wheels and tires, but the easiest way to get a bit closer to the ground is to install shorter rear shocks.

Bear in mind that if you do only the rear, it will affect handling, so an adjustment to the front fork settings would be in order.

I have not done it, so I don't know how much it would affect handling. A half-inch reduction in height may not make a huge difference in handling, but it will make a large difference in your comfort.

There are other things you can do as well. Scotty is the best example, as he is a bit shorter than you, and rides an 1100ED. He did change the wheels.

[dwarf8]

I'm just under 5'6" but I have short legs as well.
I found some good info on these pages:

http://www.nebcom.com/noemi/moto/sbl.faq.html

[Dark Jedi]

The seat can help, though. My 82 650 has a re-covered seat, and the seat material was replaced with a higher density foam. The main saddle was reduced in height, to more pronounce the queen's throne....

As it is, my bike is a little too low for my 5'9 frame. Might be something to think about on yours, at least to add to the reduction in height.