I know what you meen, they also think that riders with extra muscly middles all have huge legs and not long and slender athletes legs like mine. I'm sick of my pants flapping.
I've just moved my forks through the stantions by 1cm on my Pikes Peak. Easy to do if you have the right tools but I bet it would be a sod of a job without because you would have to remove the front end plastics to get to the fork pinch bolts. Not had chance to test ride yet but someone earlier did suggest sliding the forks through by 2cm. Be careful because that is a lot and will certainly upset the handling of the bike. It will make the bike turn in quick but will also make the bike feel flighty at speed. I would try 1cm to start with and see how you get along with it. Also remember you will make the bike stand up more upright on the side stand. I'll try to remember to report back in a day or two when I've had chance to go out for a test ride.
It's all about confidence , years ago one of my ex's had a BMW gs1000 and she was 5'4" all she did was slide her arse off the seat and put one foot down , once your moving it doesn't matter . I learnt a bit about riding bigger bikes from watching her as I'm a tad lacking in leg length , if i need to move my bike backwards i climb off and never it . My CRM i had the rear shock would as tight as i could so it wouldn't sag and i could only get the tips of my toes on both feet down . It's nice to have both feet down but you don't need to just watch Jen on her hypermotard
My problem is a little different lol. I have a bit of a handicap and struggle getting on and off. I have to stand on the peg then get my leg over which can be dodgy at best. You are right Bradders, 10mm is a lot, when I used to race an R1 I dropped the forks through by 6mm and it certainly makes a big difference to handling. Beggars can't be choosers. I've had a few GS's in the past and bought -20mm front and rear shocks which transformed riding for me.
I fail to understand why modern bikes all have such high seats. At least BMW will lower all their bikes these days when buying one. I like my Mutley but I think I'll end up with a GS again. As I said, beggars can't be choosers unless you prefer a GS of course (which I don't but needs must).
I have the same issue getting on and off. And only ever put one foot down anyway, even tho the new DVT makes it easier than the last model
You've got the same problem as me bradders, your arse is to close to the floor The lower seat is an advantage on the DVT, but getting off is the same problem, not so much getting on though. Getting off I either have to struggle trying to swing my right leg (and sometimes failing, often) over the pillion seat, or put my left leg on the floor then do a sort of skipping dance backwards dragging my right leg across the seat.
No it's just as hard to get on and off. But it's quite a lot narrower, so I can use std seat in low position and just toe touch both sides where previously was low seat and tie touch one side.
Mine is similar except I normally adopt the running swing method. Top box makes it but more difficult and I've noticed it leans more too, so if the camber is wrong getting off the stand can be tough. It's as much that my legs are like oak trees as it is they are not supermodel length.
Apologies for egg-sucking exercise, but there are things you can do for free that help... For mounting and dismounting stand at the side of the bike and turn the handlebars away from you (ie, if standing on left side of bike then turn handlebars so wheel is pointing right) and the bike will lean a little more, making it easier to swing a leg over. For starting and stopping, don't try and put both feet on the floor. Plant your right foot on the right peg, scooch half your bum off the left side of the seat and plant your left foot on the ground, making a "tripod" with the two wheels and your foot. Very stable and you have control over the rear brake with your right foot (obvious gotcha here is getting it off the sidestand and that requires a bit of a shuffle around from left foot down to right foot down). Have a play with it, see if it helps. Might, might not. I did have a lowered seat on my GS for a bit but realised that on long runs I had compromised comfort as my distance from seat to pegs was also reduced and so the angle my knees were running at was tighter. This is though where running a previous or previous but one model bike is ace, as you can pick up all that guff from eBay really cheap inc. all the Touratech (not a fan) and Wunderlich (huge fan) farkles. People pull them off their bikes when they trade in... oops. Digression.
Anyone who has this challenge should know all of that and have been doing it for years. But no reason why someone shouldn't ask if anyone has lowered theirs
I was only told about the handlebar thing a few months back when I was whinging. I'm 42 and had a licence since I was 17... and possibly a bit slow to catch on
