johnnyp1972 Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Hi Alli droppped my bike this morning after only buying it yesterday, gutted as i cracked and scratched the fairing. It was only while turning the bike around but this has really dented my confidence. As im on tip toes (yes im a shortarse) my instinct is to lower the bike so ii can flat foot it. i have already arranged to have seat scooped, and along with this i am looking at lowering the bike. So, will lowering it affect the handling? will i need to adjust the forks to compensate? ive already ordered some crash protectors as im so paranoid about dropping it again.im at abit of a crossroads at the moment and seriiously thinking of selling up and getting an er5, this was my training bike and ii could handle this confidently.Any advice would be much appreciated (especially from the shortarses )Bike is a 2002 600 fazer by the way.cheersJohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 1. how tall are you?2. Dropping the forks (to my knowledge) doesn't massively affect the handling... others may be able to affer better info than I on this.3. Can you swivel in the seat to get one foot down whilst holding bike upright?4. Considered getting a cobblers to add some extra sole to your boots? = extra height.5. Changing the dog bones can drop the bike a bit6. Something to do with rear shock .... 7. Don't worry about dropping it, it happens to us all, even those of us who can reach the floor ok! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammer5 Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 There are a few short arses on this forum who will be along to help you regarding lowering the bike, TC & Ruthie are the smallest i think Confidence grows, unlike short arses lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyp1972 Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 1. how tall are you?2. Dropping the forks (to my knowledge) doesn't massively affect the handling... others may be able to affer better info than I on this.3. Can you swivel in the seat to get one foot down whilst holding bike upright?4. Considered getting a cobblers to add some extra sole to your boots? = extra height.5. Changing the dog bones can drop the bike a bit6. Something to do with rear shock .... 7. Don't worry about dropping it, it happens to us all, even those of us who can reach the floor ok! 1. im 5'7 with a short inseam(29inch)2. sounds promising.3. i can. but if its awkward camber i struggle.4. my boots have quite a thick sole, but ill look into that cheers.5. have looked into this, hence my question about fork adjustment. ill probably need to alter the side stand as well yes?7. still gutted though thanks for the feedbackJohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Sidestand, depends how much you drop it, but yes would require shortening.29 inside leg doesn't sound tooo bad... Ruthie has a 25 inside leg You may find scooping the seat may be good enough ... see how you go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throttled Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Sounds like crash protectors are the answer. I don't think confidence has any real influence as we have all dropped our bikes at some point or another. I was lucky and mine tipped over onto some grass and had a nice soft landing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastanglianbiker Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 ive got stumps........i mean 29 inside leg and ive used links to lower my fireblade and had to modify sidestand but its not to hard to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Indeed I do have a 25" inside leg and at 4ft8, I manage! You have plenty of options, I have the SV lowered more than the 'standard' lowering kit. I have a few inches added to my boots at the cobblers, the seat scooped and the forks dropped just to even out the lowering process. I have bearly tip toes down and its all boot, I can't touch the floor at all in my trainers. i would say lower the bike.. scoop the seat and even out the lowering by dropping the forks a little and you'll be fine! But to be honest, it sounds like you have more foot down than me, confidence may have took a hit.. but all the above will help! Crash bungs help if you should dropped the bike, again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlecat Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 ok, i think im actually the shortest on here after ruthie ( unless any 10 yr olds have joined while ive been at work ) i'm 5' nothing,( 26 inside leg) and ride a thundercat... yes i have it fully lowered , but im still only on toes.trick is to make life as easy as possible for yourelf.... when your short it much easier to get off and push the bike.. if you dont have enough touchdown, dont even try to 'paddle' along. as for anything else... make big friends with the throttle, clutch and rear brake.... treat the front brake like your worst enemy, and make yourself supremely good at slow handling with plenty of throttle. also scan the road if you are coming to a stop, and if theres a camber, either use both feet, or the one that can plant the easiest.you will eventually get used to sliding your bum acros to plant the preffered foot.then again , if you have the option to lower it enough to flatfoot, then go for it if you think it will help your confidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyp1972 Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 really appreciate the advice so far, plenty of food for thought.im goin to invest in some crash bungs, scooped seat and install some dogbones to be sure:)is it imperative to adjust the front forks after i drop the back by two inch? also, can anyone advise on aquiring a shortened side stand?littlecat... good advice about the front brake, thats how it happened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlecat Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 yes you will need to dop the front to balance if your lowering the back.seriously tho, give it few more tries without grabbing handfuls of brake, and push the bike whenever possibl, always lean it onto your hip too, so your bodies taking some of the weight, and never let it lean away from you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyp1972 Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 cheers littlecat, will take everything on board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin the Bear Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Bikes fall over. It's always embarassing and sometimes expensive. Something to do with gravity I'm told Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megawatt Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 I can sort the sidestand for ya. Pm yer number for a chat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohmagain Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Bikes fall over. It's always embarassing and sometimes expensive. Something to do with gravity I'm told Hate gravity, it always puts you down Am a short arse as well 5,4 but after ready above fell quite tall, thanks. All lot of good points above, will also take on board as tippy toe on the gpz, not even sat on me vfr400 yet (needs repairs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlecat Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 hey megawatt, how comes we missed that option aat the rally, my stand needs shortening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megawatt Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Didn,t think your bike was too vertical? Buy another stand and post it to my place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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