[Christina Godfretsen]

Hey y'all, I have been riding on and off for most of my life. I had to take two years off for medical reasons, but I'm finally ready to get back in the saddle!! I own a 2003 Harley Sportster Sport 1200 which I've had for about 10 years. It sat for 2 years and cost more to repair than to replace. I opted to go shopping and finally decided on a larger bike ( I wanted something more comfortable). I bought the 2017 Harley Heritage Softail Classic. I am able to pick her up and barely flat foot while holding her. I tried to take her for a ride, but was so nervous I could barely power walk her. While doing that, my boot slipped on some gravel and I realized she's alot heavier than I thought and my feet don't reach as well as they should. I was afraid that if I took off and tried to stop that I wouldn't be able to stop her from tipping I had the salesman that was assisting me take me back to the dealer ( I was overwhelmed with emotions - mad, embarrassed, upset and scared ). The service tech that had done the walk around with me brought out a drop kit simulator that gave me an inch. Once that happened I was able to maneuver the bike side to side and front to back with a little more confidence. So, needless to say, my new bike is in the shop getting lowered. I am 5'3", 130 Lbs. I did sign up for the rider edge course, but they don't have any openings until end of June. I am in need of advice for a couple of things. Are there boots out there to help with my reach (or other suggestions), and are their tips for getting back on a bike after a few years break. I appreciate any and all comments, I really need to build my confidence back up!

 

[mike721]

I took a short? hiatus of 30 years from riding, when I got back on 2 wheels it took me about a week of riding local streets before I felt like I was back to a reasonable level of competency. I was going to a slightly bigger bike than before (a light 400 to a heavier 650)too but not as big a step as you are. The lowering should help a lot, after that it's all a mental game as I'm sure you know..once you trust yourself you'll be fine. You just have to get over that first step and start riding it..you said you duck walked it, well if you can duck walk you can ride it, it's actually easier.

I took my big step up when I went from the 650 Vstar to a 900 pound 1800cc touring bike, I bought it 400 miles away, was very nervous on that first ride, but I knew I had to ride her home so I went twice around the parking lot then out onto I81 and accelerated to warp speed. I had no problems on the interstate, it rode like a dream but it took me a few weeks until I felt confident making Uturns, parking lot maneuvers, etc. I was very careful for quite a while, and I still managed to drop it once in a gas station. It took a while but now I'm confident and will ride the big bikes anywhere.

I'm height challenged too with very short legs for a guy, I found a set of boots with thick soles and higher than average heels and they gave me about 3/4 inch, which does give me a more solid feel to my footing.

 

[DGS65]

I'm in the same boat as well I sold my last bike 4 years ago and now I'm having a Honda Valkyrie shipped from CA. I rode this bike about 10 years ago back when I was riding as a regular thing and I felt comfortable but not having rode in several years I'm concerned that I may not have the confidence on this large bike until I get some saddle time in. I'm only 5'6" if I hadn't rode the bike before there is no way I would have agreed to it sight unseen now even still I'm a little concerned.
I think once they lower it and you get some seat time in you will be fine!
Enjoy the bike I wish I could afford to go buy a new bike but I have too many hobbies and not enough money

 

[Christina Godfretsen]

Can I ask where is a good place to buy boots with thicker soles

 

[WintrSol]

If all else fails, there's always these: https://pro.landingear.com/

 

[Critter]

Mike, you never told us you wore high heels!

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

 

[WintrSol]

I'm in the same boat as well I sold my last bike 4 years ago and now I'm having a Honda Valkyrie shipped from CA. I rode this bike about 10 years ago back when I was riding as a regular thing and I felt comfortable but not having rode in several years I'm concerned that I may not have the confidence on this large bike until I get some saddle time in. I'm only 5'6" if I hadn't rode the bike before there is no way I would have agreed to it sight unseen now even still I'm a little concerned.
I think once they lower it and you get some seat time in you will be fine!
Enjoy the bike I wish I could afford to go buy a new bike but I have too many hobbies and not enough money

Just a tip for getting that beast off the side stand: put your right foot on the peg, not the ground, and your weight helps, a LOT. Once you're up and rolling, it handles as well as any other bike, though you're not going to steer it with your knees.:wink2: I've got a 30" inseam, and it works fine for me, now that I know that tip.

 

[soupy1957]

Find a tall biker, and be his passenger. No stress, no hassle!

 

[Dodsfall]

Find a tall biker, and be his passenger. No stress, no hassle!

How's that working out for you?

 

[Critter]

How's that working out for you?

:coffeescreen::coffeescreen:

Dobs 1, Soup 0

 

[Guest]

My daughter is having the same problem, at barely 5 ft, there are not too many machines she can fit on. I know it probably wasn't the right thing but I taught her how to get on and off the bike while moving. It works great while around the house but not in traffic. It is rather entertaining to watch her. She will stand beside the bike, get it in gear and as she lets the clutch out, steps on the peg and swings a leg over. She will stop the same way, over on one peg just as the bike is coming to a stop, on the ground and holding it up. She can handle the bike quite well when it is moving, she is just too damn short.

 

[RonK]

--

I should think it unsafe for anyone to not be able to straddle the seat enough to hold their bike up when stopped. It may be that one cannot flatfoot both sides, but that is normal as it's what's done by everyone when on a side hill or holding the foot brake with the right foot and only the left foot down. The bike may be leaning slightly to the left while stopped then, but that's okay.

As to jumping off, that's for clowns and trick demos, not for safety. That said, for anyone who is just too short for a particular bike needs to sit on many bikes, or lower one, until some confidence is felt. You cannot ride well if you're constantly worried that you're going to drop the bike every time you stop. You'll just hate riding.

I think some of the problem is that we all have some perception of what 'perfect bike' we want to have without considering the negatives. So you can't get a certain category of bike maybe, like a touring, or sport racer, or a large cruiser, but there are still many other rides out there. Those bikes in the 'under 1,000 cc' field have many models that weight half as much, are much smaller, and still will take you on all the highways.

So don't give up on a proper feeling bike search. If higher boot soles will help, go for that too.

--

 

[SemiFast]

My daughter is having the same problem, at barely 5 ft, there are not too many machines she can fit on. I know it probably wasn't the right thing but I taught her how to get on and off the bike while moving. It works great while around the house but not in traffic. It is rather entertaining to watch her. She will stand beside the bike, get it in gear and as she lets the clutch out, steps on the peg and swings a leg over. She will stop the same way, over on one peg just as the bike is coming to a stop, on the ground and holding it up. She can handle the bike quite well when it is moving, she is just too damn short.

Now that takes good balance. She could win the slow race at the bike games. :wink2:

 

[soupy1957]

I’ve seen one or two people that are fairly short, jumping up on big bikes that should be, for all intents and purposes, WAY too big for them to ride; but they do!

It isn’t the safest mounting and dismounting and it does look sort of comical, but they get it done! If somebody really wants to be a driver, and not a rider, they’ll figure out a way.

 

[perl]

about short females my wife is 1.62m so she is small but there is 2 bikes she can control one is a kids bike on batterys "she will kill me if she read that"
and the other she can use is a ninja r 600 there she can have the food down on start and stop. but it is much heavy when she only are 52kg big but she do it.
but how can you say no to a girl there like to drive.

 

[mike721]

My secret is out!!

Mike, you never told us you wore high heels!

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

 

[mike721]

They are just standard Milwaukee Leather harness boots, they make some with average soles and some with thicker, heavier soles with bigger tread and a slightly higher heel. You can tell from the pictures, or go to a motorcycle bike week or weekend , someone will be selling them. That little bit of extra sole is just enough to make a noticeable difference, and I really like the heavier tread when the ground is wet or slippery.

Another tip, my wife found that she likes Men's motorcycle boots better than women's, more selection, better construction, more tread and she likes the extra width to wear heavy socks in the winter.

Where..I think they came from Revzilla, or maybe Jafrum or Leather up.

Can I ask where is a good place to buy boots with thicker soles

 

[Guest]

Semifast, She is actually quite good. Plenty of experience on the small machines and can handle her mom's 900 vulcan quite well. That bike she can ride almost like a normal person, holding it up safely. She rides my KTM 1290 mounting like like a horse just for fun and so she can play on dad's bike.

 

[soupy1957]

I don’t know how many times I’ve talked with new riders who, when looking for a bike, ask about the safest height to consider purchasing.

The advice I always give them, is that they should (imho) be able to “flat foot” it, when they sit on the bike.

Those folks who choose to buy bikes that are bigger than their ability to do that, take a risk in my opinion. It’s not to say that they can’t handle it, but I don’t think it’s the safest option.

If I’m on a bike where I can’t “flat foot it” when I come to a stop, (especially when tired), I run the risk that I’m not gonna be able to control it, and I’m likely to dump it.

 

[Offcenter]

Flat foot it??
I've had 14 bikes over the years.
My current fleet includes a 99 Goldwing, a 76 Goldwing, and a 77 Honda Trail 90.
The only one I can flat foot is the 90.
If I used "flat footing" as my limiting factor, I'd have a very small number of bikes from which to choose.
For a beginner, flat footing may be important. But once you gain experience, I don't think it matters nearly as much.