[Artistimo]

My girlfriend wants to ride the 748 ('01 model with an Ohlins rear shock) and she can barely get her toes on the ground with the bike in an upright position. She's comfortable riding but not comfortable with the height of the bike. Is there a way to lower the bike an inch or two? Not really concerned with race track handling or anything like that, this would be for riding around in general. She'd just be much more comfortable with the rear end a bit lower. I know with other bikes you can get lowering links which we have done in the past but that doesn't apply here. Do I need to get a custom shock or something? Anyone have experience with this? She's about 5' 4" maybe just a bit less.

 

[DukeDesmo]

Since there's not really much you can do with the seat, the only option is lower the ride height. I don't know if it will go low enough but if not I guess you could get a shorter ride height adjuster rod and then drop the front as much as possible.

But I don't think it's going to help the handling.

 

[mad]

I recommend she raise her rear end a bit, stand on her tip toes, wear heels or a combo of all three. Doh! That didn't come out right. Can we get a picture so we can fully understand the dilemma?

 

[DuckMan]

I recommend she raise her rear end a bit, stand on her tip toes, wear heels or a combo of all three. Doh! That didn't come out right. Can we get a picture so we can fully understand the dilemma?

Thank you so much Mad. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time

But, to the op, he's right

 

[Artistimo]

lol...yeah she probably won't go for that...I don't care about corner handling, she's not a fast rider or anything. Mostly this is a show bike I just finished building and honestly I spend most of my time riding my 999 so this would pretty much be "her" bike to ride. She weighs maybe 100 lbs or so. I just need to figure out a way to lower it so she can ride it comfortably. She can actually reach the ground ok on my 999 but not this one. The 999 is too much for her to handle she says. I honestly didn't realize the seat was going to be so high. Even my feet don't get flat on the ground and I'm not short.

I like the idea of trying a shorter rod. Unless anyone has other ideas I'm going to try and reach someone at Ohlins and see what they've got. If you're wearing shoes with platforms or something how are you supposed to shift?

 

[DuckMan]

lol...yeah she probably won't go for that...I don't care about corner handling, she's not a fast rider or anything. Mostly this is a show bike I just finished building and honestly I spend most of my time riding my 999 so this would pretty much be "her" bike to ride. She weighs maybe 100 lbs or so. I just need to figure out a way to lower it so she can ride it comfortably. She can actually reach the ground ok on my 999 but not this one. The 999 is too much for her to handle she says. I honestly didn't realize the seat was going to be so high. Even my feet don't get flat on the ground and I'm not short.

I like the idea of trying a shorter rod. Unless anyone has other ideas I'm going to try and reach someone at Ohlins and see what they've got. If you're wearing shoes with platforms or something how are you supposed to shift?

I understand. I'm 5/9 and have a hard time on the 999. There's not much you can do on the rear except crank the ride hight rod down to minimum. My 999 was pretty close to that stock. you can lower the front about 10mm by pulling the forks up in the triple clamps which will help a bit but not much. Other than that anything else you do will really have negative side effects. Sorry, the bike really isn't intended for what you want to do. How about platform shoes. Not nearly as sexy as stilettos but easier to deal with

 

[DT996]

Considering her weight, or lack thereof, you may be able to find a shorter spring and run out the adjustments. If the spring is a little on the stiff side, having the threaded adjustments all the way out (within workable reason) wont effect the handling as much as it would with a stock spring. And of course finding a ride height rod would help too.

 

[Das Borgen]

get a taller girlfriend


problem solved

 

[Matt_P]

Just get a custom shock built by someone like penske and drop the forks a little. Don't come here complaining about the handling after though lol.

 

[amullo]

Shouldn´t be a problem. I know atleast 2 girls who are on the short side who ride 748´s both on the road and on the track.

Drop the forks and lower the rear rideheight as low as it will go.
Install a 120/60-17 front to get an extra inch
There is even an aftermarket "shorter" rear rideheight adjustar AFAIK..

The BIG issue when lowering is to keep the balance equall on front and rear tire.
Don´t dally around.. Make sure that you drop the front and rear the same amount (%) or the bike will be HELL to steer. This means careful meassuring before starting on both rideheight and angle of attack.

//amullo

 

[paulmm600]

i saw a woman with platform motorbike boots the other day, maybe 2", so i'm pretty sure they're around. shouldn't affect gear changing at all, they just take a bit of getting used to, i wear docs with an inch thick sole on bikes and they're fine.

being able to get the toes of one foot to the ground should be enough if she's a confident rider. btw counter steering works at really slow speeds so she can pick which side the bike is going to lean toward

you really don't want the bike to steer any slower than it already does, if the above isn't enough what about leg extensions, a woman at work has them i could ask her how much they cost if you like

 

[scott]

The Daytona Lady Star GTX boot will give a 2-3" raise in height for her.
http://www.helimot.com/shopexd.asp?id=73

 

[tonered]

Is there anything that can be done to the seat? Cutting out the foam and replacing it with thinner gel material. Sculpting the sides so it is a bit more narrow? This may yield an inch or so. If done right, it may end up more comfortable also.

The seat pan might also be modified. Sorry, I am not familar with the 748. Just some old touring ideas.

Have a good one.

 

[Artistimo]

I contacted Ohlins and they got back to me right away. They said a proper spring would make a big difference in how low the bike settles too. Since I have a spare shock we'll try that but also look at boots.

Thought about shaving the seat, but the tank is kind of high, especially compared to my 999 and she has short arms and doesn't like the idea of lengthening the reach further by settling further below the tank. Her torso barely reaches over. If she had DDs we'd have a real problem...

 

[DukeDesmo]

Is there anything that can be done to the seat? Cutting out the foam and replacing it with thinner gel material.

The seat padding is already no thicker than a pancake, so not much to gain there.

Her torso barely reaches over. If she had DDs we'd have a real problem...

But then you'd rarely go out the house, so you wouldn't worry so much....

 

[amullo]

You might look into some raised clipons. Wont do much for the seatheight, but she´s going to be more comfortable.

Could be worse. She could be wanting a Hypermotard.
This lady normally rides a lowered 749

//amullo