A Call to all Short Riders!

Good day!

Recently pulled the trigger on a 2006 Pearl White VFR 800 that had been kicking around Honda Canada, and was able to purchase with 0km on it. Can't wait to get out on what I commonly hear referred to as 'The Perfect Bike'.

My call goes out to all the short riders in particular, but I welcome input from all riders. My first bike was an 08 Ninja 250 which had a seat height of 30.5" and weighed approx 330lbs ready to howl. I am a little over 5' 6" with a 30" inseam and am able to comfortably balance the bike on the balls of my feet, especially with my boots on, but I'll never flat-foot it without serious modifications. I'm planning on getting the seat shaved focusing on making the seat narrower as well as lower. How did all you shorter riders find adjusting to the VFR in terms of weight and height? Do you think that my plans for making the bike more accessable to a rider my size are effective, and could you offer any other suggestions to make this bike better for a short rider such as myself? I'm not keen on lowering it, simply because it would affect the geometry of the design, and coming from a technical background, this can sometimes lead to issues. Lastly, does anyone have any 'Here's what I did and I'm telling you so you don't' stories?

Cheers to all you VFRs, and I'll ride with any of you any chance I get!
Rob

 

Welcome to the madness my friend. I bought an 07 in September of last year. I am 5'6" with a 29" inseam, and experience the same as you do. I am also hesitant to lower the bike for the same reasons. There is a thread here in the forum on how to do it by rotating the rear shock mounting plates, and apparently there are no issues afterwards.

As far as your planned seat mods, I'm not sure you'll gain too much that way, but it's probably worth a try. If you do mod the seat, let us know in a post.

Not sure any if this has been helpful in any way; perhaps someone else will have more.

Anyway, enjoy your new VFR and ride safe my friend.

 

Sneaky. Welcome and congrats to you on picking up your new/old VFR. Sorry,I'm fresh out of "Here's what I did and I'm telling you so you don't stories". However I do have a "Here's what I did and I'm telling you so you can make your own informed decision story". I can honestly tell you from experience that lowering your bike slightly will have the opposite effect of what you're thinking. I'm 5'9" with a 32" inseam,and I installed a set of Thurn Motorsport lowering triangles and raised the forks 10mm in the triple clamps on my '03. Aside from the fact that it'll bring your feet closer to the ground Sneaky,I've found that lowering the bike just a bit will negate some of the top-heavy feel that the bike has,especially with a full tank,and it makes the bike steer a bit quicker as well. Lowering the bike slightly doesn't negatively or adversely affect the bikes' handling characteristics or geometry either. Imho,my bikes' handling manners feel much more composed now compared to the stock set-up. I have absolutely no issues whatsoever when it comes to grinding hard parts,or bottoming the suspension components either. Although I've got to say,if you're a serious hell bent for leather back road burning knee dragger you might want to remove the centerstand. The 6th gen. VFR is a long,tall sport/touring machine with the emphasis placed decidedly more toward the touring end of that equation so it has good ground clearance to start with. I actually met a guy who was shorter than you,he had a '94 VFR750 equipped with a set of custom-made lowering links. He told me he had no problems associated with lowering his bike either. I made the lowering mods to my bike for my own personal reasons,but for shorter riders like you and MrDen it could be beneficial. It would get your heels down closer to being flat on the ground giving you more stability while handling your bike at a stop,without sacrificing any long distance touring comfort from yanking all that foam out of your seat. Trust me,stability with comfortability is always a good thing. Remember,you'd only be lowering the bike just a bit. Thurn Motorsport claims 35mm from the middle of the rear wheel,sounds like alot but it isn't. You wouldn't be going anywhere near as extreme as those chromed and slammed 'Busa's you see parked behind your local McDonalds. I can only say from my own personal experience that this is a good mod,I have it on my bike and it works for me. Hope this helps you.

 

Thanx a bunch for your input Stosh, it is greatly appreciated. Also serves as proof that we are a brotherhood; a wonderful thing no doubt.

Thanx again.

 

Hi Sneaky :smile:


As a short person myself (5'2 with maybe a 29" inseam) my VFR was pretty tricky to balance at first. I had an 87 so there were a lot fewer options (readily available anyways) for me to lower the bike. I took all of the original foam off my seat and replaced it with about 1/2" of new foam with none on the sides. This made all the difference in the world for me. The bike was still very tall for me, but I could balance it well since I was then able to get both feet on the ground at once or flat foot on one side with nothing touching on the other.

That being said, I think you will have a lot of success with just shaving the seat. Depending on your weight and the foam (not familiar with the newer seat's foam) you won't loose any comfort. That was true in my case at least for people close to my size.

 

Hi Sneaky,

I am the one who posted the triangle rotation how to thread. I think it is under Mods or how-to. The bike turns unbelievably better when the bike is lowered a little. I have seen no adverse effects. I am 5'10" but on 135lbs so I don't load the suspension much when I get on.

It doesn't seem like much when you lower it but in being able to move and support the bike. Big difference. Especially having to back the bike in or out.

I don't know how much riding you've gotten in yet but the bike is very top heavy. You'll need to get your feet down. It weighs almost double the bike you're used to. (almost 600lbs.) You can't tip the bike over too far to get on one foot. especially with a full gas tank. you may want to keep the tank half full till you get used to it.

I come from a technical background too and you would think everything the Honda engineers planned is the way it should be. Not true. We don't spend all this time and money modifying the bike because it is the best it can be. A lot of it is regulations. I'm sure a few engineers comitted suicide when they saw the final product. It has a lot of potential but you have to unlock some of it yourself.

I'm a Biomedical engineer and safety is my #1 concern in hospitals and medical equipment.

The triangle rotation works great. Just be sure to use a torq wrench and don't lower the front too much. All the info is here somewhere.

I am going to shave my seat a little this spring as well.

I think not being able to plant your feet good is less safe than the mod. Especially since you are a new rider. BTW, the VFR was my first street bike.

Good Luck.

 

How To - Triangle Flip

 

Hi Sneaky, I am 5'4" with a 29" inseam and I haven't done anything to my bike to compensate. At stops I have my right foot on the peg and the left foot on the ball or barely a flat foot. I have thought about either changing the seat or lowering the bike but I keep asking myself if it is really necessary. I will never be able to touch flat footed on both feet no matter how much I lower the bike and whether I am flat footed on the left foot or on the ball of my foot it doesn't seem to matter too much to me. If the bike is going to go "over" then it is going to do just that, whether I am touching flat footed or on the ball. If you change your set up and it works for you please repost and let us "challenged" riders hear what you have to say. Good luck.

 

Hi Sneaky, with regards to your post about your seat height, I can tell you that basicaly what you are saying is what I have done to mine, and that is.
I had the height of the seat rejuced and just as important the sides made narrower, this made a big difference to getting my feet on the floor, just one other point to make, when you have the top of the seat resculptured don't take too much out of the front of the seat, otherwise you will find like I did at first, you will be pushed onto your tank too much, I had to have my seat done twice to get it right. However it's well worth doing and will make you much more confident moving your bike around.

safe riding Plasma

 

SEEMS like your approach is well planned.

REMEMBER that the more miles you ride on any bike, the smaller the bike feels!

RANDYM has it right! I'm also 5'4" and was concerned that the '86 700 i bought (in 1990) would be too big, but 2day, after lots of miles, the same bike feels pretty small......even if i can't get both feet flat, i can always get one.

 

Footwear is an important part of the equation. I'm 5'6 w/ a 29 in. inseam and have always worn a logger/lineman type boot. The higher heel combined with a nice cushy insole lets me stand up off the seat on my 4th GEN VFR. I LIKE being able to flat-foot on both sides of the bike-especially when commuting through city traffic. (But that's just me)