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What's your riding height?

35K views 35 replies 26 participants last post by  Pcervant136R 
#1 ·
I'm interested to see how people have their bike height setup.

Personally when just sat on the bike I can either have one foot on the floor with the other on the brake or both feet down on my tip toes.. All my bikes have been the same as I'm a short arse at 5'7. :devious

I Was debating on lowering my p8f but would there be a point/benefit apart from being able to have both feet down flat at a stand still.

Opinions / advice / experiences are welcome!
 
#2 ·
Personally I am the same as you. I'm 5'8 and when at a stop, I'm on the balls of my feet/tip toes. I also thought about lowering the bike, but haven't decided to do so.
 
#3 ·
Supposedly lowering an inch won't matter much but I ride stock height and I'm only 5'5". No need to mess with the geometry and my ZX6r has the highest stock height. As long as you can one foot, not even flat, you should be okay. But at the end of the day, it's about confidence so if you can't ride without it lower, then lower it. PS, the hardest part is backing the bike out or when parked up /down hill
 
#6 ·
The inseam of people is what matters most I've read.

I'm 5'4" and when I'm at the light I just put my right foot down (tip toes). I feel more comfortable on my bike than on my brothers R6.

I was also thinking about lowering it but not a huge issue, only when I'm backing out of a space.
 
#33 ·
It is the inseam that matters. I stand 165cm (5'4") tall with 30" inseam, yet being perfectly capable of controlling my bike in walking speeds (also tip toeing though). Even my old YZF125R felt a lot higher than the ZX6R, as Yamaha's seat was almost an inch higher and felt nearly as wide as the Kawa's.

Coolfact: Lowering a bike from either front or rear only will mess up its geometry. If you choose to lower your bike, don't. Unless you're a shorty and hopelessly in love with an R1 or such.
 
#8 ·
im about 5'6-5'7, I flat foot my left foot and have my right foot on the rear brake. Its a lot more comfortable than having both feet down on tip toes. Backing up is a pain though, I usually get off and walk it. I also have a corbin seat installed, helped me get an extra inch of reach.
 
#9 ·
Except for the corbin seat I do exactly the same what he said.


I'm barely 5'4 and never lowered my 600s.
Kick stand could end up being too long and if parked on the wrong side of a hill it would be that much more likely to tip over since the stock length of the stand will straighten it up more, less side lean due to the lowering.


I was never able to compare the performance of a slightly lowered bike to stock height. A friend of mine being 5'6 lowered her R6 by over an inch and also dropped the front forks with the rear. Her bike wouldn't not stay in a turn and was always a fight. Matching the front height is supposed to be the proper way of lowering, just didn't work with her bike (don't know what went wrong).

In general I just don't trust lowering and would be mad if it truly did compromise the handling after investing time and money.

Plus my fiancée would never lower his zx10 for me. So I better be used to riding a bike at stock height if I ever wanna take a friend's or his for a spin.

It's like people refusing to learn stick shift on a car cuz they'd never need that skill since there are so many automatics out there.
 
#10 ·
I'm in the club of left foot down and right covering rear brake too.

I typically have to walk my bike out of spots when I nose in. Looks ridiculous tip toeing it backwards half inch per step :p

If it's a short distance however I will lean in over a little and kick it back with one foot. Works good, but lots of added weight on that leg and gets tiring quick
 
#11 ·
If I can take up a whole car parking spot I spin it!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWWnf0niufk

turn handlebars all the way to the right, push down left hand, pull up right hand, put some of my way on the left arm to tip it up in the back and then pull backwards around me with my right foot not moving, pivoting the bike around it.
 
#12 ·
My feet both are flat on the ground at a stop. I'm 6'2" but I suspect my suspension needs to be set up for my weight as I'm a porky 275lbs...
 
#14 ·
I can only tiptoe with both feet. I put my left foot down and my right foot on the rear brake.

I almost always spin the bike around on the kickstand instead of backing out of spaces (it's much easier and quicker).
 
#15 ·
How tall are you Strider?

I need to work on spinning my bike around on the kick stand...better than backing it out
 
#20 · (Edited)
.............
I need to work on spinning my bike around on the kick stand...better than backing it out
Be careful when doing this....it is fun, and easy :)
But...it will most likely "ruin" whatever pavement you're on. In short, do not do it in your driveway lol

Yes...it makes you "look" cool when you do it, but if you mess up it will not be worth the humiliation :laugh

I used to do it alot when I learnt that new "Trick" but lately I just back the bike up, unless I have no choice then its good to know "how" to do this

Also...some of you fellas are making me feel tall-ish :laugh (im 5"8), with boots on I get close to Flat Footing both feet, with sneakers I can only get one foot down, one foot on tippy toes :O
 
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#18 ·
My bike is still on the stock suspension. I'm 5'8" and when I put both feet down I am usually on the balls of my feet. I most often just put down my left foot and cover the rear brake with my right.
 
#25 ·
Its cool, don't think a bike is ever a perfect fit. I can ballerina tiptoe on the 2nd gen 636 if my crotch is plowing the tank. My buddy who is shorter than I am can foot it but than again he has a funky walk since his legs are so long.

The taller people are envious I can hug the tank and streamline the bike a bit more at high speed so not everything is so doozy on the other end of the spectrum.

I was close to trading in my 636 for a gixxer because of seat height but eventually learned to just foot one side comfortably.
 
#26 ·
I had to lower mine a bit in the rear. I am 5'5 29 inseam. I did lower the front and the first round-about I hit back up the front went , it did not feel / handle good at all. I can easily one foot it now but looked like a fool when it was at stock height , more like a 4 year old on a 30" ten speed. lol
 
#29 ·
im 6 ft both feet hit the ground fine, my only complaint is my pant legs running up and exposing my ankles or just downright making my crotch uncomforable, due to pants riding up my thighs etc.
 
#30 ·
This spinning on the kickstand is safe? Seems like it would put an awful lot of pressure on the stand?
 
#31 ·
#32 ·
Just be careful if done on a slope/hill.

I almost lost it cuz the weight all over sudden came towards me as i was turning downhill.

I dug my kickstand into someone's driveway a few times. big oops.

Other than maybe a ducati or yamaha sidestand, the gixxer and kawi ones are very beefy. They won't brake. If you can sit on the bike leaning on the stand then it should also hold the bike's weight when turning.

I just had a few people jumping at me in shock thinking the bike was falling on me when i tipped it on the side for spinning.

It's probably safer and easier turning the bike with having one hand on the subframe but my arms barely reach so I'm lacking in leverage to make it happen. I like my 2 handlebar method but every bike is different in weight distribution compared to the handlebar position. Some are easier to spin for me than for example a gixxer1000.
 
#35 ·
I'm 5'7 or 5'8 (Everywhere I go measures me differently). I wear pretty flat leather boots so I put a 1" insole in them.

My 96' is *much* lower than all of my other bikes (13 cbr250, 11 zx6r). The person I bought it from said the previous owner was a female, so I can only assume that it's been lowered. I can't tell if it has a lowering link on it or not, or if the front suspension was let down.

But I'm completely flat foot on this bike; hell, I can even stand up (most of the way) and still hold on to her. On my 11, it was a bit of a struggle having to lean over to just one foot or stay on the balls. I *much* prefer being flat footed, and I think the lower height has probably saved me a couple of times from dropping it after a panic break, or misjudging the ground / stepping on a leaf / gravel etc when backing out.

I do have some worries about leaning her over, but I'm going to ask the mechanic this Tuesday when I go in for work if he thinks it's been lowered, and if it has a link / or if front should go up. Since I like to ride aggressive sometimes and go to the track, I'd want the balance to be optimal.

But for everyday riding, I really can't get over how much more I've loved having it lower. It also makes it easier / faster to launch, which is how I get most of my kicks nowadays >.>
 
#36 ·
I'm 5'9 and I can stand flat footed with both feet on the ground I did get my suspension tuned for my hight & weight by a shop. :)
 
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