short-arse friendly Big Trailie

[Elle]

Do they exist?
I have a F650GS twin & overall, it's a decent bike but there's quirks that I'm not happy about. Have ridden a couple of gravel tracks & it handled it better than I thought it would and my heart did. So something similar would be ideal.
Looking at what options I have but struggling because even the bikes that the average bloke says has a low seat height, they're just too tall - I'm 5'2" & need 800mm or lower.
So what bikes can be lowered to that height?
btw - I already own a Serow and a DR250 so I'm not interested in a small capacity bike - 400cc minimum, capable of motorway speeds

 

[Twickers]

Maybe have a look out for the occasional Honda NX400 Falcon which may crop up ? Or maybe an old Yam XT600E ?

Other than that, no idea I'm afraid - you've already ticked the 'obvious' boxes with the BMW and Serow . I have a Transalp with the short seat , but my inside leg is 29" which may still be a bit tall for you.

 

[Barftone]

U need theeze...

 

[Ian Porter]

CCM 450 Adventure?

Ruth's only 5' and found the height ok.

Not that she's had the chance to ride one yet.

Trouble is the lowered option for the bike is expensive

 

[Lowflyer]

U need theeze...

Ha ha ,

C'mon feel the noizeee
Nice one Tone

 

[africajim]

Did you try Fiona's G650GS? It's a really low bike which is very confidence inspiring. Worth a try, but remember Fiona's is a factory lowered model.

 

[Rubberchicken]

Dr650 is supposedly fairly trivial to lower a bit.

 

[Whealie]

Get a trials bike and gaffer tape a bathroom sponge on as a seat?

 

[Rubberchicken]

Dr650 is supposedly fairly trivial to lower a bit.

To expand on this a bit now that I've got a keyboard instead of a touchscreen...

We rented 2 DR650s on a NZ trip, where the rental people assumed from our names that we'd be two (regular sized for most of the world's population, aka short arse ) women so they'd lowered the bikes for us. Funny look on their faces when I turned up at 6'4"...

Anyway, they had mine back up to normal ride height in about 10 minutes, so it's fairly easy. The person I was traveling with was 5'3" and found the lowered bike easy to handle. If you look at the angles of the swingarms the difference is pretty clear:

 

[Elle]

CCM 450GP - I test rode a lowered version at the May BH. In short (ha!), I liked it but didn't. Here's my review: CCM 450GP

DR650 - wouldn't it be great if these were still imported! Whilst in NZ in Feb, I did a trail ride with a guy riding one. His seat looked low but I felt too shy to ask. Oh well.....

G650GS - Jim, I tried Fiona's bike & she mine. It was surprisingly different & we concluded the seat is wider on the G650 & Fiona must have longer (or slimmer) legs than me Maybe, if I got the standard bike but had a shorter Hyperpro shock spring or perhaps had one built to size that would work for me.

I've been browsing the web - the Triumph Tiger 800 seems to fit. But the price doesn't - must do more overtime!

 

[Rubberchicken]

Not imported anymore? Bugger. I really liked that bike... Huh. They haven't got any DRs anymore. Seems like a waste. Maybe a second hand one?

 

[Elle]

Not imported anymore? Bugger. I really liked that bike... Huh. They haven't got any DRs anymore. Seems like a waste. Maybe a second hand one?

Suzuki still produce them, just not imported into the UK. Dunno why, they're look great and I've never read a bad report of the older models. You can buy one in NZ, OZ and the USA - we just get the V-Strom

http://www.globalsuzuki.com/motorcycle/moto/dual_purpose/dr650se/99999-A1104-141.pdf

They also produce a DR200 for other countries. I almost bought one in NZ but my son-in-law found the Sherpa.