My wife is short. Real short. 5' even short. She loves to ride and does not want a cruiser (1 of the many reasons I love her). I want to get her a Monster but have not been able to figure which one would do the job. The main issue is that she is low in the legs which just dropping the height is not enough because of the width of most seats. She used to have a..gulp..buell lack o blast because the seat height was great. It just had a problem with grenading.
Now the thought in my head is to lower my baby M900 for her, but I don't want to go hacking away on the bike if it won't do the trick.
Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!
Easiest, I think, would be the ST frame Monsters, '02 (01 for S4) and newer with dual sided swing arms since you can purchase a rear lowering link. You might also consider a 696.
6XX Monsters will probably be the best starting point, or getting a 6xx seat which will be a bit lower. Depending on her, my might be looking at a few things to accommodate.
1. Lower the front (only)
2. Lower the front and rear
3. Different bars to make an easier reach.
You might cruise over to the Monster Women section of the board. This topic's probably already been gone over there. If not I know some of the more petite members have lowered their monsters and might have insights for you if you post a question. Or you don't lower it... Jbubble rides a stock height s2r w/ a 695 seat and she's itty bitty
One other thing to consider is the clutch. When I rode the dragon Jbubble sat in the saddle of my 900 to check out the ergos on clip-ons and give the clutch a pull. Her response was 'oh hell no' to the clutch pull. And I've got radial masters, Pazzo levers and a Evo clutch slave.
JBubble here. I'm 5'2" on a good day.
First of all, how comfortable is she riding? I've been riding a year and am pretty good with only getting the balls of my feet down. I can't flat foot either side unless I slide my butt over in the seat and hang off a little. If I know I'm gonna be riding around in a place where its gonna be difficult to park my bike, I plan ahead and bring a boy (Thanks Yuu! [thumbsup]) or I get off the bike to park it.
If she's comfortable with just being able to use the balls of her feet, I would suggest custom lowering the seat and making it a little more narrow. I have the same problem with short legs. My Ducati shallow seat seemed to help a lot with that but I know several people have custom shaved theirs and gotten great results.
There's a lowering link available for some bikes, I almost got one when I had my old 695. You have to be careful with changing the geometry of the bike though.
Also keep in mind the weight of the bike. Ducati lists the 696 at 355, the 695 at 370, the S2R 800 at 381. For us chicks, the weight of the bike can make a big difference when trying to move it around and keeping it steady. I like my S2R but its a bit heavy.
There's also the Short Rider FAQ: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=1853.0
I hope that helps!
Quote from: JBubble on December 11, 2008, 11:56:15 AM
If she's comfortable with just being able to use the balls of her feet, I would suggest custom lowering the seat and making it a little more narrow. I have the same problem with short legs. My Ducati shallow seat seemed to help a lot with that but I know several people have custom shaved theirs and gotten great results.
Check out 'MangledBugs' custom lower gel seat tutorial in that section...
Quote from: JBubble on December 11, 2008, 11:56:15 AM
JBubble here. I'm 5'2" on a good day.
First of all, how comfortable is she riding? I've been riding a year and am pretty good with only getting the balls of my feet down. I can't flat foot either side unless I slide my butt over in the seat and hang off a little. If I know I'm gonna be riding around in a place where its gonna be difficult to park my bike, I plan ahead and bring a boy (Thanks Yuu! [thumbsup]) or I get off the bike to park it.
If she's comfortable with just being able to use the balls of her feet, I would suggest custom lowering the seat and making it a little more narrow. I have the same problem with short legs. My Ducati shallow seat seemed to help a lot with that but I know several people have custom shaved theirs and gotten great results.
There's a lowering link available for some bikes, I almost got one when I had my old 695. You have to be careful with changing the geometry of the bike though.
Also keep in mind the weight of the bike. Ducati lists the 696 at 355, the 695 at 370, the S2R 800 at 381. For us chicks, the weight of the bike can make a big difference when trying to move it around and keeping it steady. I like my S2R but its a bit heavy.
There's also the Short Rider FAQ: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=1853.0
I hope that helps!
Thank you very much.
My little bundle of evil goodness has been riding for about 13 years starting with Vespas, then a Harley, then ..blah blah blah. Her last bike was a BMW F650GS that maybe 2" too tall (despite what she says, she didn't have to see her at stoplights ;D), so the weight is not really an issue.
Do you happen to remember the name of the lowering link? I think that and a lowered/cut seat might do the job.
Quote from: grandpa nate on December 11, 2008, 12:06:03 PM
Thank you very much.
My little bundle of evil goodness has been riding for about 13 years starting with Vespas, then a Harley, then ..blah blah blah. Her last bike was a BMW F650GS that maybe 2" too tall (despite what she says, she didn't have to see her at stoplights ;D), so the weight is not really an issue.
Do you happen to remember the name of the lowering link? I think that and a lowered/cut seat might do the job.
Here you go hon:
http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/EC-1004/Comfort-Touring/EC-1004.html (http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/EC-1004/Comfort-Touring/EC-1004.html)
The Ducati Seat I got was 20mm lower. A custom job that you do would prolly be cheaper.
ETA: Almost forgot. I got my preload adjusted as well since the spring is geared for dudes who weigh more than me. When I first got the bike, I barely moved it when I sat down. Now it seems to depress more.
Quote from: grandpa nate on December 11, 2008, 12:06:03 PM
Do you happen to remember the name of the lowering link? I think that and a lowered/cut seat might do the job.
It's just called a (rear suspension) lowering link. Any Duc shop worth it's salt should know what you're looking for. They pop up on ebay now and then. a search for 'Monster lowering link' should do pretty well.
Additionally, getting the spring rates and preload right will help as well, she's likely a good bit lighter than what most monsters are set up for.
5' is 5', but whats her inseam measurements? thats where it counts. The ex misses who was 5'5 could flat foot my bike. Shes all legs. Im 5'6 an im on the ball of my foot with boots on. Since i lowered the seat and threw on a gel pad, i can almost be at the middle of my foot.
Quote from: He Man on December 11, 2008, 12:24:54 PM
5' is 5', but whats her inseam measurements? thats where it counts. The ex misses who was 5'5 could flat foot my bike. Shes all legs. Im 5'6 an im on the ball of my foot with boots on. Since i lowered the seat and threw on a gel pad, i can almost be at the middle of my foot.
Just texted her and got the answer of 27". Another thing I have to take into account is peg placement, but A nice set of rear sets should take care of that one
the 696 starts with a seat height of 770 mm. add the new lowered seat available and take off another 20mm
pull the forks through a bit maybe get another 25mm and reduce the spring preload and soften the rear suspension.
so you have a new height of about 725 mm or 28.5"