Greetings!

I'm still a would-be rider, pre-learner course has been booked (twice now actually) and now that my car has exploded it seems like a better time than many to finally indulge in my desire for a bike. As my name suggests, I'm a short'n and would appreciate any thoughts on good LAMS for the height challenged - I sat comfortably on the Suzuki TU250X and love the reviews for it, but it ain't cheap or local from the looks of things

 

How soon before your L's ? I have an 83 gsx 250 that I may be selling soon.

 

welcome aboard - good choice of first bike - u can always buy a second hand one

 

Welcome Shorty. I started and continue to learn on mt tu250 and think it's great, sorry no plans to offload it, and not quite as expensive as it first appears. I got mine from CMC at about 10% less than the published ride away price along with a bit of a deal on riding gear, Dahlitz Motorcycles in Queanbeyan offered a similar deal too.

Good luck in your hunt.

 

Thanks for the welcomes!

I'm doing the pre-rider course in a week or so, looking to head off to get the license pretty much as soon as possible after confirmation of passing.

Gah everyone seems to love this bike, I just can't bring my head around the idea of buying a new bike (which I may very well drop) and used ones are a) at least $4000 atm and b) closest ones seem to be in Sydney... Will have to go back to CMC and look at what kind of deal they can offer though (will do some research on the GSX250 in the meantime)

 

Know of a Virago 250 which is loved by short people if that kind of thing interests you.

 

Hmmm after a quick Google, I'm definitely interested...

 

Welcome @ShortyMcGee . There are a couple of Honda Spada VT250s for sale locally. Pretty much bomb proof bike - they are old but great learners bike. Usually go around $1800 - $2000 and you are likely to be able to sell it at the same price in a year or so. I'm barely 164cm and it was fine for me.

 

Hmmm...the VTR250 that I sat on was slightly too big to be comfortable (I'm about 10cms shorter than you), but it's definitely worth hunting up the VT250 for a look (price tag is much nicer after all). Thanks for the welcome and the suggestion!

 

Welcome
+1 on the Virago 250, wicked little bikes to ride & a really low seat height

 

Welcome.
I'm about the same height as you and found the following helpful when choosing a bike that is manageable size-wise:
a) I could get the balls of my feet on the ground and can comfortably hold it up while stationary
b) My arms can reach the handlebars comfortably without being stretched out, dead-straight

I started on a CBR125 and that was good enough to get my riding confidence up, while only having the balls of my feet able to reach the ground. I'm now on a CB400 and still just have the balls of my feet touching the ground.

I think it might be handy getting comfortable with not having your whole foot flat on the ground on the bike, as that would broaden up your choice of bikes a bit more.

Parking the bike on a slight incline makes it a bit tricky as you wouldn't have enough leverage to manoeuvre it up a slight slope but that can easily be solved by getting off the bike and using the handlebars to pull the bike in.

 

Thanks for the welcome! I actually found a website dedicated specifically to short riders that made many of the same points, it's always good to hear from similar personal experience! Once I have my learners I'll definitely be trying out a few bikes, bearing in mind not having to flat-foot. I'm pretty sure the VTR250 could have been a manageable height like that, but I'm under the impression the handlebars were a bit of a stretch...

 

A wider seat has an effect on reaching the ground flat footed as you have to open your legs more to the sides which lengthens your leg distance to the ground. So it's possible to have a taller bike with a narrower seat and you can still touch the ground.
There are also mods like lowering links or shorter spring for the rear suspension to lower seat height.

 

Yup I definitely noticed that with the first cruiser I sat on - very low but so wide it felt like I was riding a horse! The VTR250 is only (just) conceivable due to the narrower seat, it proved your point nicely

 

Have a look here too - you can see how you would look seated on pretty much any bike you can think of! http://cycle-ergo.com/

 

Woah, that thing is awesome! The Internet really does have everything these days, thanks for the link

 

Welcome