| Author | Message | ||
     Roysbuell |
What is the safest way to ride around on a bike thats a little too tall? My tippy toes touch the ground and I can balance the bike and I have also scooted left to get 1 foot firmly on the ground without the leaning the bike. I am pretty short for a guy but have never let that stop me from doing what I want. Any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated. | ||
| Froggy |
Thats what I would do, the tripod thing. Only time it sucks is when you come to a stop, and you step on gravel/ice/oil slick. Oh, I am a short guy managing a Uly. | ||
| Roysbuell |
Thanks Froggy, I do feel a bit more stable on 1 solid foot. I have been very careful on where I am setting my foot down. | ||
| Nextcorner |
Roy, I took a motorcycle safety course before buying my Buell several years back. They taught to shift down to 1st gear while coming to a stop. During "short" stops like stop signs, red lights, etc, to always use the 3-point stance with your left foot on the ground. | ||
| Sloppy |
Simple - don't ride a motorcycle that is not safe! Get the seat lowered. Lower the suspension. Any reputable motorbike shop can get you in contact with the right vendors to correct your problem. | ||
| Nik |
Lowering the suspension, decreasing the suspension travel and potentially screwing up the geometry makes a bike safe how? All you need is three points to constrain a plane... | ||
| Sloppy |
Tell me what happens when that 3rd point on your plane is on gravel, slick asphalt, debris, etc... It's only a unique plane IF those 3 points are fixed in space... Lowering ride height on bikes is a very common and accepted practice. By the way, you change the geometry of the suspension whenever you brake, accelerate or turn... | ||
| Midknyte |
Good boots with thick, no slip soles help. | ||
| Ourdee |
Riding safety involves balancing 2 points. No sitting, no standing. | ||
| Xl_cheese |
Lowering the suspension, decreasing the suspension travel and potentially screwing up the geometry makes a bike safe how? All you need is three points to constrain a plane... SCG suspension and a low seat... buell makes a lower xb. There have been lots of people that do a suspension swap to get what they want. | ||
| Nik |
Tell me what happens when that 3rd point on your plane is on gravel, slick asphalt, debris, etc... You pay attention to the environment around you and react appropriately, just as when riding in motion. Lowering ride height on bikes is a very common and accepted practice. And is also commonly done poorly without any engineering input, resulting in a poor handling unsafe bike. By the way, you change the geometry of the suspension whenever you brake, accelerate or turn... Yes, in ways that it was designed to. Just because it changes throughout its performance envelope does not mean its okay to just change it because it changes anyway. Altering the static geometry can make it go outside that performance envelope whenever you brake, accelerate or turn. Bikes are for riding, not standing still; that's why they are designed for riding, not standing still. Are the Ulysses, R1200GSA, nearly every dual sport ever made, etc..., inherently unsafe, just because at a stop the average human being can only get one foot down? | ||
| Firstfamily |
+1 on watching where you put your one foot down. I pulled into a parking space on my old 12r not looking where I was putting my foot...down she went. Didn't do any damage but talk about pissing your pants seeing it on its side. I'm 6' so I don't have any issues with reaching the ground, sorry fellas | ||
| Roysbuell |
Thanks for all the input guys. | ||
| Fast1075 |
I am "the guy" that everybody used to have ride their bikes at the dragstrip to see how fast it would run...at 5' 3" and as light as 115 pounds back in the day...I could find the outer edges of the acceleration envelope... I rode many, many bikes...and I dropped a few...not crashed...dropped sitting still or coming to a stop...all it takes is a smudge of loose sand or a bit of oil or whatever... My rule of thumb is...if I can't sit on the bike and get it up off the side stand...I won't ride it... Any bike can be lowered...but the EASY way to do it may destroy it's handling as a hard core sportbike...I have had several bikes that I lowered the seat frame rails and made do with virtually no seat padding to get the seat height where I wanted it to maintain good cornering ability...(my inseam is only 28" so there is very little problem with the seat to footpeg distance).. | ||
| Etennuly |
Not that big of a deal really. Just set up your levers with a break point, wear boots with a thicker sole. The good thing is when your foot is down you are stopped or at least nearly stopped. I have dropped mine twice, once left and once right. The one to the left, I was stopping with a passenger (270 lb son), putting my left foot down on marble like gravel. It slid out and allowed the bike to tip a bit. My passenger didn't expect it so he counter leaned to the right to the point all of his weight was transferring to my leg. Gravity won. The other time, I pulled up to a stop and the front tire rode up onto a 2" ridge that I didn't see, just as it stopped. I couldn't reach the ground in time. I believe the important thing is knowing how to fall without getting hurt. Trying to catch 450 pounds of top heavy bike when it is past the break point can cause serious injuries. Years of dirt bike crashing helped set me up to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. | ||
| Aptbldr |
Get your riding boots fitted with extra thick soles. | ||
| Toecutter |
I'm 5'9" tall and ride an '09 XB12Ss. It's a pretty tall bike for me, but I love it's height when riding. I have a 31" inseam, and the laden seat height is 30.6" (33.2") unladen. It just took me a little while to get used to it. The only time that I have trouble is when trying to walk the bike (especially backwards... like out of a parking spot). So I tend not to do that any more. When I am at the stop light I have no problem putting one foot flat on the ground or touching my toes with both. Either one does the trick. When backing out of a parking spot I push the bike back, hop on, and ride away (no big deal really). However, it does help that I can balance the bike pretty well without moving much at all. So the light tuns green, I simultaneously let off the clutch, give it some gas, put both feet up on the pegs, and away I go. I don't really have any fear of dropping the bike. Sure it could happen, but I'd just pick it back up and be on my way. | ||
| Teeps |
Roysbuell Posted on Wednesday, September 09, 2009 What is the safest way to ride around on a bike thats a little too tall? I haven't been able to flatfoot a dirt bike since the mid 70's a street bike is no different... It's called risk management and situational awareness. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation_awareness | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
You have a Blast? Do you have the low seat? If you don't it would be easy to trade your standard seat for a low. | ||
| Slaughter |
I'm also one recommending getting seat time and anticipating the stop in advance so you can put your foot down. TEND to put the left foot down, leaving in gear, right foot on the brake... especially stopping on hills (personal preference, YMMV) I can't tip-toe on my dirtbike - have to come to a stop leaning to one side. Easy to get used to. Maybe a bunch of parking lot practice. I'd recommend against lowering the suspension for all the obvious reasons. | ||
| Roysbuell |
I should have updated my profile to avoid confusion. I have a Blast but wanted a bit more. I am the proud new owner of an XB12scg. | ||
| Miami78 |
This kind of makes me chuckle...with my riding boots on I have a 39" inseam, I stand a good half foot over the seat of my xb12ss.  | ||
| Roysbuell |
How's the weather up there? :-) |
