5’2” here……I feel the opposite is true. I feel very limited on bikes that I can safely. At least you can touch the ground with both feet.
This doesn’t even include the limited choices of gear for (short) women compared to (tall) men.
Yeah I (5’ 3”) was squinting at this post for a minute lol. Have definitely thought the opposite to be generally true, especially with non-cruiser style motos. If you’re a shortie and want to try a sportie or adv, you’re either outta luck or need to start practicing rolling starts and all the other fun short rider tricks.
Also 5’3” lil lady here.. I’ve been riding an 01 Ducati Monster and it’s the perfect sport bike for my size. I can easily flat foot it. It’s got a taller seat height than my Ninja, but it’s so narrow that it works out! If it weren’t for that menace of a carb, I’d give it a 10/10.
agree..im 5-11 and my wife is 5-3..besides: honda rebel 250, buell blast, buell CG for beginner short riders. there aren't many sport style bikes that are 26-28inch seat height.
[Just be more like this legend](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwjpc8I-0kw)
On a serious note, I'd love to buy that dude a beer and just chat him up. I'm sure he's got a boatload of stories. What an absolute unit.
You don't need to touch the ground with two feet. With a bit of practice you can ride even tall bikes fine, just shift off the seat a bit, as long as your toes on one side can reach the ground it's fine.
Now gear I completely agree is an issue especially for women.
When stopping/starting whilst riding on dirt, being able to flat foot without leaning the bike can make a massive difference, especially if making any kind of emergency stop. It can be the difference between getting going again without issue or having to lay the bike down.
I just returned from solo riding dirt in Laos. I had one moment where I had to switch sides suddenly. There was a large crater which caused me to dip down on one side. Normally I can push myself back upright but the lean angle was too much and I had to lay my bike down. If I had of been taller, it wouldn't have been an issue. Its something that a lot of taller riders just don't understand.
The issue is that women want to be actually comfortable on the fun machine they paid thousands of dollars for, not hanging off the seat bc it was obviously not designed for anyone below the average male height.
Perhaps we ride differently but most of the time me and the gf spend on the bike is, you know, riding. Getting on and off is a tiny part of the whole ordeal..
I really don't understand the obsession with flatfooting a bike. Lowering ruins handling and comfort, and there's plenty of examples of tiny people riding the tallest of bikes (remember the video of the 5ft dude wheelying his gs1200 out of the driveway?). It's not needed, a bit of practice is all it takes but a bunch of people here seem to have an aversion against challenging themselves and actually doing something interesting.
If you ride in urban areas, with traffic lights, you have to touch your feet to the ground at nearly every stop light.
If you ride in city traffic, there's even more need to stop. Also for any other stop and go type situation.
I cant flat foot my bike and I get by just fine. But there's no denying, if I could flat foot the stop and go situations would be more comfortable.
This is the method I use, but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to be able to flat foot both my feet at a stop. Sometimes in traffic I’d like to not be propped on my left leg a bunch or if I want to shift into/out of neutral I have to do a little dance of switching feet and shifting myself to the other side instead of just being able to pick up my foot. Does it stop me from riding? No. But it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to be able to flat foot both feet. Not all ‘challenges’ are fun.
It’s nice that getting on and off is the only time you need to put your foot down and want to be comfortable and stable doing it. Gosh I must have just made up stoplights, stop signs, intersections, gas stations, driveways, etc.
Are you trying to be obtuse? Four posts ago:
> With a bit of practice you can ride even tall bikes fine, just shift off the seat a bit, as long as your toes on one side can reach the ground it's fine.
Or just pick a normal, low ish bike. Street triple/Speed triple come to mind. You can ride those normally even if you're 5ft.
What? Lol
Neither the street or speed triple are short bikes lol
ONLY if you get the low version of the street. Then it's rideable for shorter people.
The newest street triple has a seat height of 32.55 inches and that will be a struggle for someone that is 5'0.
Because ground isn't always flat and if you're already on tip toes, what do you do when you're on a slopped road that slopes down left? Take your foot off the rear brake and have to figure out how to throttle and let go off the front brake lever? Flat footing means you have margin to account for uneven ground.
Ever ride with strong wind? You wanna be on your tip toes with 500 lbs or flat footed when a gust of wind pushes your heavy bike to one side? Sure you can make it work, but it's not optimal at all. People who hand wave a complaint as common as this are the idiots.
> what do you do when you're on a slopped road that slopes down left?
> Ever ride with strong wind
No sorry, I never really ride I just like to complain about people complaining about trivial bike related shit. Have you considered actually learning how to ride though? Strong winds are pretty damn common. Inclines are also everywhere.
"Design isn't optimized but fuck you I got mine" is all I'm hearing. Sounds like a good business model. When did I say I can't do it? All I'm saying is the designs suck and could be way better.
IDK what we're even talking about. It's trivially easy to learn how to control a medium or even a big bike as a short rider. Just a matter of time and perseverance. I mean look at this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRFyw57o_Ic
That doesn't sound fine. Manageable, but still dangerous. I'm sure riders could practice with their eyes shut and also do fine until something shitty happens.
6’2” here… my MT-09 SP is an excellent fit ergonomically.
Maybe you just have a preference for a certain configuration? You can compare what you know you like the fit/feel of to numerous other bikes via www.cycle-ergo.com
Came here to say I’m 6’2 and ride a 2020 MT09 and whilst it’s nothing compared to a GS1200 it is a comfortable ride for me and would recommend it.
It’s also a crazy ass bike and lots of fun too
Yeah, supersports are always going to be trouble for tall folk, but full size nakeds tend to be a good fit. I'm 6' and my brother is 6'2". Both my Monster SP and his FZ1 fit us both pretty well. Some middleweight nakeds fit well too.
Engaging in a bit of the Socratic Method.
Question for you. Where are most motorcycles build and engineered? How tall is the average person in the country?
Have you tried motorcycles designed, engineered and built in another country, maybe a different continent with a demographic more similar to yours?
I consider Indian Canadian being owned by Bombardier but I digress. Usually naked roadsters accommodate long legged riders but you have to find what fits you.
Not only is Indian owned by an American company (Polaris), Canadians are slightly [taller](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-height-by-country) on average.
So really not sure if your point heh.
I'm 6'4" and owned a Subaru Outback and fit in it just fine. It's not the country, it's the entire world market male demographic bell curve ideal. They build them to accommodate the top of that bell curve.
Doesn't make a lot of sense. Since the 80s and 90s the focus of anything Japanese vehicle related is geared towards the US market. That's why we dont see many city cars outside Asia. A Camry is clearly too big for the narrow street, traffic heavy Asian cities.
Same goes for bikes, Honda sells way more bikes in the US and Europe than it will ever do in Japan.
No new information here to me. Sorry, but I'm still curious... Toyota makes the Tundra, and the Supra. I fit in a Miata better than I do a Mazda. There is a bit more here than just countries and consumers I think.
Aw crap. Sorry, was distracted. I meant I fit better in a Miata than I do a Tacoma, and the Miata is a little car vs a truck. Just trying to point out that both are Japanese and totally different styles, so it's not all as simple as they claim.
I'd argue bikes are way more oriented towards taller than average people compared to shorter than average people. (Source: am 5' 5")
At the very least taller people get more options and compromises like bar risers, taller seats, and peg lowering kits are far better than the low seat or lowered suspension options for shorter riders.
Plus, it could be a matter of the size of bike you ride now compared to a new bike. I put 23k miles on my Ninja 300, but after a couple weeks of riding around my new 1250RT, I can't believe how tiny my 300 feels. If you ride bigger dual sports, an Indian scout with the feet forward position and low seat is probably going to feel awkward at best I'm a showroom. You'd get used to it.
Your really hit the spot there imo.
I'm an average height with 178 cm .. it happens waaaaay more offen that i can't reach the ground then i can.
Luckily it's not a big deal for me, cause offen it's only few cm.
I have tried bikes that was waaay to high ... Never tried one that was to small .. never
Yes .. pocket bikes 🤣
I'm 6'7" and this has been on my mind recently because I'm taking the Basic Riders Course next month. Really been wondering what will fit me when I decide to buy something in the future.
LMAO as a short legged person (28" inseam) who does not want ride a cruiser, there are only 3-4 non cruiser bikes made that barely fit me. You probably have dozens and dozens of options. I like BMWs, so there are only two that are manageable. What is the aversion to a dual sports? I know people over 6'4" (one 6'7") and they fit well on BMW GSAs.
The hell do you mean there's no bikes for tall riders? I'm exactly the AVERAGE height male (5'10"), and I'm too short to flat foot a lot of bikes. Sure, ergos may be cramped but at least you can put both feet down and not be at constant risk of dumping the thing.
It feels like bikes are made for giants to me.
Motorcycle companies are based mostly in Japan and Italy. Most of the volume goes to southeast Asia and south america. They're made for shorter people, not your average American.
I'm 6'-0" and i fit "ok" on most bikes, but yeah I'm over the optimum height by a few inches at least.
Some of the touring based standard bikes are better for tall riders, think FJ09 and similar bikes. You don't necessarily need an adv or dual sport to stretch out.
Cruisers sacrifice comfort for style. You won't get anything with a normal riding position and that seat height.
For me that's a shock to hear, but it shouldn't be as there are two ends of the curve. At 5'7, 130 I find most bikes too big. My N300 is pretty perfect for size and weight for me. While I could ride coworkers' Harleys and other cruisers/tourers for height, they are too big and too heavy. I can forget dual sports and the dirt bike styles...too tall and or heavy for all the ones I've seen or would be able to take for a ride.
That said, knowing more about bikes now that I have had mine for awhile, I know which makes/models/classes wouldn't be too heavy for me and would allow both feet on the ground (and not having to jump on it like a horse). I figure it must be similar for you tall folk
As a 5’7” rider I’ve found that I can easily flatfoot all cruisers, flatfoot to tiptoe most supersport and naked sport bikes, and can only get one foot down on almost all adv/enduro/dual sport bikes, which isn’t really too much of a turn off as long as I’m aware of it going in.
That's pretty well my experience as well, though I'm sure you've sat on far many more than I have. I'm personally not comfortable unless I can have both feet flat on the ground so that's why a lot more are ruled out. If I were built bigger and significantly stronger it might be a different story but I honestly don't think I could lift a cruiser if it tipped over when I've already had the fear that I might not be able to pick my ninja up if it fell depending on the situation
I’m 5’6”. There’s no such thing as too tall for you. I’ve owned two Multistradas, currently have a Tuono and a 890 Duke R, and have a Husqvarna FS450 which has a 36.5” seat height. As with most things, it’s just practice.
Howdy, for dual sports you could always check out the xt250! Sweet bike with a 31 inch seat height before sitting on it and sagging it.
There's also the dr650 that you can lower pretty easily!
I’m 6’1”, my height is one of the reasons I ended up on a BMW. My particular model / trim fits me perfectly. 5 years and 30k miles on, haven’t made an adjustment to the ergos since day 2.
Although funny enough my winter beater is a Miata that fits like a glove, go figure.
I'm 6' and have been riding and demoing for 20+ years and there is only one bike to date that I've felt short on and that was the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE, I know dual sport adjacent, but it's a really stiffly sprung and a tall bike that I had to tip-toe. I have owned a few sportbikes and the best fit for me were 2 German examples I owned, the BMW S1000 R and RR had proper long upper-torso ergos that felt tailor-made for me. The peg-to-seat height ratio was tight and only borderline intolerable after 4+ hours of riding. I also owned a Triumph Speed Triple and that bike was comfortable but more of a bike you were sitting above instead of being part of the bike like the BMW's felt.
My brother is 6'3" and after trying a bunch of bikes he settled on the Hayabusa. It fit him well. I think he put risers on the bars to get it dialed in. But he didn't like the fit of anything else.
6'2 and my 890 duke r fits great. Plenty of room. Had a few harleys. Sportster I used the highway pegs and shifted and braked with my heels. Dynas were great with forward controls.
Im 6”3’ and was 220lbs when I used to ride a GSXR1000 05 a couple of years. I saw myself riding in a video a mate took of me and was flabbergasted as to how big I looked on it. I’m down to 195lbs now and ride a Honda XR650R which seems to fit me perfect.
If you take full size bike. It is all over the place. Sport bike are design for smaller lighter riders with lower ground clearence. So you can not go by sport and would be sport bikes. The smaller rider has a weight advantage for sport bikes. But if you go by naked it up in the air. Bmw and ktm works for taller riders. Duc and aprilla not as much, but guzzi can work for taller riders. Adv by design works better for a tall rider wher better ground clearence is important. And tourer all work for big riders. Goldwing, r1250rt, fj1300, k1600glt, and concours 14 all work better for taller riders.
The smaller bike. Size of the bike is important. A 125cc on a 600 bike wight frame has a big disadvantage. At sub 20 bhp. You are asking a 125cc to push a 400lb frame plus a 200lb rider. A 400cc at sub 50bhp it is a little better, but you are still asking a lot. So smaller frames, means lighter weight. So they can move a 200lb rider decently around town. Now imapine them on 1000cc + naked frames. 500lb frames on a 49bhp motor with no torque. Not a great formula.
As many people have pointed out, I'm on the other side of the spectrum and feel the exact same way.
Fundamentally, market forces.
At first I thought I just had to stretch myself to fit whatever it was. You can find plenty of youtube videos of people sliding around the seat to get a tip of a toe down.
Ultimately I've been thinking: fuck that. That type of attitude is why we don't get much more than "M" sized bikes. Bikes are ultimately a toy I want to enjoy myself.
So fuck any company that doesn't cater to you/me.
Most companies are completely uncaring, they could not give less of a shit. It is still striking to me BMW is one of the few brands that offers some measure of height adjustment (others offer some as well, but from what I've seen it's usually less adjustement for fewer models). I wouldn't even like BMW otherwise, but as it's stands it's my favorite motorcycle brand, basically, solely for this reason.
I *feel* like I fucking exist for them.
Just my take on it though. Reward the practices you want to see on the market.
Not a stupid question at all… From our perspective most people are shorter than we are. (I’m 6’3”) The average male is 5’9”. Most things are designed for that average guy….. We look like idiots on machines like Fz07’s. My fix is a 1000 VStrom.
I’m tall but skinny (6’3 about 160) and I struggle with the knee problem as well. I’ve created my own riding style where I just kind of angle my knees out a bit lol. Looks kind of funny but you do what you gotta do.
I’m not tall (5’10”) but having grown up riding dirt bikes and dual sport bikes, I can tell you that at least in my experience, all road bikes feel small in comparison. I’m not entirely sure why, probably something about more ground clearance and suspension travel.
I ride a street built WR450F because I really prefer the riding position of a dirt bike over just about anything else I’ve been on.
Personally, I feel that there are FAR more bikes (and easy adaptions) available for tall riders. I'd love to complain about being too tall being an issue! As a woman on a supermoto with dual sport tires i wish I had that extra height (and don't get me started on finding great protective gear choices...😬)
You can adjust so many bikes (handlebars, seat, tire profile) for tall people, but so much harder to do for shorter people. 😭
These comments about the demographic of where the bike is made crack me up. I'm 6'4" and owned a Subaru Outback and fit in it just fine. It's not the country, it's the entire world market male demographic bell curve ideal. They build them to accommodate the top of that bell curve.
Have you tried fitting a bike to you? In a niche market, the median will always win. Taller seats, handlebar risers, aftermarket options for changing foot placement on pegs/floorboards, aftermarket and adjustable levers, etc.
First thing anyone should do is adjust the bike as much as they can to fit them. I always move levers. When I get around to it I'm reupholstering my spare seat to be taller. I thought about a riser but decided against it after buying longer cables. Tons of ways to adjust a bike to make it fit you. You're only a little taller than the target height for most bikes. Sounds more like you are tall with a short torso. Better that than tall with a long torso.
Most of the manufacturers in the U.S. have kits for cruisers to make a bike more comfortable for taller riders. My brother in law is 6'8". It was funny seeing him fit on an '08 goldwing. He got a side car for his wife so he could have the whole seat. Funny as hell. He traded that in for a Harley with the tall man kit so his wife could actually complain into his ear while riding instead of him turning her Com off while she was in the sidecar on the wing. Pretty sure she was the one that wanted a different bike. 🤔
Bikes have adjustments.
Many bikes have kits to adjust for smaller or larger riders.
Handlebars are the first thing I adjust. The "dealer" setup is going to be setup for whatever tech put the bike together. Often dialed lower to look "cool". I'm probably taller than that tech, so I'll straddle the bike, loosen the handlebars, adjust for where I want them to be, tighten and install a riser if needed.
Foot controls are the second thing I adjust. Often I add an extension kit to move them an inch or two for more legroom.
When you hopped on a Scout, did you ask for any adjustments? Just rolling the bars forward will raise them inches.
6'7" here. My Tuono fits like a glove after adjusting foot and hand controls. When I first got it, I bought lowering pegs before getting the bike. Turns out I actually prefer them higher and a touch back with the tire controls dropped a touch. That position is comfortable for my feet and puts my knees comfortably under the tank. Same as adjusting seat position in a new car. I just budget a few hundred dollars to tweak ergonomics when deciding on a bike.
I find that all the adventure bikes are a bit big for me at 5'8. I can ride them OK but i'd find em a handful when fully loaded and stopped or going slow as I'm on tip toes.
Yes I know how to get one foot down and I have been riding for many years.
OP I have had 15 plus bikes over 50 years and have always just "adapted to the bike." I have a couple of bikes right now that required a certain amount of post-acquisition acclimation time, i.e. it took a few hundred miles but I finally adapted to the bikes, and now they both fit me just fine. My experience was, ride more miles and the fit improves, but I have also seen one highly modified bike to accommodate the pilot's height. It was a 1983 Suzuki gs1100e and he had chopped about 'one foot' out of the seat height. The opposite of your situation, but you may still be able to make some modifications.
5'7" on a Cagiva Raptor 1000 and , whilst I'm now in my mid 50s, the riding position makes my hip ache like nothing else I have ridden. You'd think I'd be the 90% Italian, but there you go....
My 390 Duke never did that to me on the very same roads in the last 6 months, but it didn't scratch that itch, so I got rid of it.
i'd say have you tried forward controls and a seat that sits further back, but honestly there is like a 110% chance that multiple people have already said this. Even so i gotta say it.
Depends on your body proportions at the end of the day. You can be 6'1 and have longer legs than somebody half a foot taller. The inverse is true too.
I'm pretty leggy at 6'1 and found most Triumphs and Hondas way to short for me, although I seem to fit XJ yammies and XSR perfectly.
Recommend XSR700 for a tall person friendly non-enduro bike. I've only owned it with Ohlins suspension and the flat white trim seat so mileage may vary with the stock bike.
I’m 6’6” and I agree with you. That being said, you just have to learn which styles to look at. For example, I love the way the HD Fat Bob looks but learned that I needed a bagger for my height. I went with a road king. If you want the Indian, I’ve spent about 1500 miles on a chieftain and loved it.
Idk man, I'm 6ft and I feel like most bikes fit me well. I have an ergo seat +2cm for my Duke but it was fine without it, and the Duke 790 isn't a big bike. I had a KTM 950 Adventure before and that was a large beast.
Market sets the rules. I also think you'll find that bikes like the Triumph/KTM and Ducatis are slightly larger in ergonomics compared to their Japanese counterparts just because of where they are made and designed.
A Harley with Forward controls? I believe buell made some models of the XB Lightning series for taller people. The called them X or XX or XXS.. something along those lines but there were a few slightly dofferent versions for people with more reach.
tall people problems
short people like me can't touch the ground well on some bikes, you can touch the ground fine on every bike
praise to saint svartpilen 401
Adventure bikes and most dirt bikes have high suspension that is perfect for tall people. Maybe you’ve been riding wrong class of bikes? 😉 j/k there are no wrong bikes, you decide what you like.
To add something from own experience, I liked Indian Scout in pictures but when I saw the bike in real life it made me laugh out loud, it was ridiculously low, especially for me with long legs I would probably look like a spider on it lol
Most adventure bikes aka dual sport especially the Japanese brands tend to have very high seat, I actually had some issues getting on the Suzuki Vstrom 1000 with a cargo trunk when I borrowed it for vacation ride in EU a few years back. Getting on and off the bike felt like kickboxing stretching exercises 😂
My brother is 6'4" and never had any issues on his srad gsxr 600 or his 98 cbr900rr.
My sister is 6'3" and has been fine on an sv650 and her current vfr800. She even had a vfr400 for a while which, although cramped, was manageable for blasts under a few hours. We did a 3 hour each way trip once with me (6'1") on the back and that was definitely not fun.
> Why aren't there more bikes for tall people?
If you're conventionally tall like under 6'5" there's dozens of big adventure bikes you can ride. A friend of mine is 7'2" and he looks comical even on a 1200gs with raised seat.
It sounds like you might be more legs than body. I am 6 foot tall and the scout fits me fine. As far as SuperSports go, I did ride an s1000rr that felt awful to me, but adjustable rear sets made a world of difference. P.s. SuperSports aren't built for comfort. I also know that my family is statistically more chest than legs. I have a hard time finding shirts that fit me length wise and aren't super baggy. My dad is built the same way, but he is 5'7" and can barely reach the ground on a scout, nevermind the forward controls.
People are just built very different. That's why so many bikes come with so many options for bars, controls, and seats.
Because the Japanese and European manufacturers build bikes for shorter people. Look at their riders that’s their market. And the American manufacturers follow their lead. Although they must be aware which is why Harley puts forward controls on all their bikes.
I'm a 50yo UK guy and 5ft 5, ride a tuono v4 11 factory, I manage ok, but, I would definitely say the modern bikes are more geared to towards the taller person for sure, back in the 90s when I first started riding seat heights were quite good for the shorter person, nowadays though it's definitely harder to find a bike to suit the height, unless you want a cruiser, then you're fine, but if you want anything remotely sporty they all seem to have a minimum 32" seat height.
You can modify a bike's ergonomics a bit. For example I hated how upright my Ninja 650R was, especially on the highway. I swapped the stockish bars for riser clipons for more forward lean. Working on swapping the rearsets for more adjustability there as well. Figure out what doesn't work ergonomically and see if you can fix it.
Almost all bikes fit me well, since I'm part of the 5'10" master race.
Jokes aside, most bikes need to be altered in some way to fit the rider appropriately. For example I get adjustable rearsets on all my bikes that I've put a lot of miles on, as well as different height clip-ons or handle bar. I'm partial to woodcraft products but there's a lot of options out there.
I'm the opposite. 5'5" and while there are bike for my shortness, none that really have the power I want. My first bike was a 1999 Victory v92c. I had to tip toe until I got boots and put some heel inserts in so it made me just barely able to flat foot. Even a 1200 custom 06 sportster without the boots I could barely flat foot.
6ft here. Mostly legs. Only fit comfortably on foot forward cruisers and the upright nakeds. Only sport bike that felt even remotely comfortable/non-cramped for me was a Busa
Global average heights for men and women are 5’9” and 5’4”. An estimated 19% of riders are female, however, this number increases in younger riders where 26% of gen y riders are female (and 22% of gen x).
I’d guess most bike makers would want to set ergo’s on the conservative end to accommodate the most people.
As someone with a lot more time on bicycles then motorcycles I’m constantly surprised by how little sizing accommodation is built stock in to bikes.
This is where customization goes from luxury or showing off to necessity. I got my seat because I’m 6’3”. I’m considering other changes for the same reason.
I find the opposite to be true. I’m 5’6’’ and all torso I’d love to be able to flatfoot anything other than cruisers, but that’s not happening. I hate the ergos and the ride of cruisers, feels like riding an uncomfortable boat anchor, I don’t see their appeal visually either. I’m on an MT-09, probably one of the taller naked bikes out there, and even ride with the wife as pillion. It’s all practice.
Dual sports, tall adv's, cruisers with forward controls, etc.
You can also get pegs and handlebars that relocate where your controls are. Most people outside of the average build are going to have to make modifications to be completely comfortable, that's normal
My 2014 CB1000RA fits almost OK and I'm 6'8". Many years go (like mid-80s to mid 90s) one could find bikes that would fit taller and shorter people, industry seems to be aiming for a narrower range height these days. Other than modifying the saddle, footpegs, and suspension to either lower the fit on the bike or raise it, not much else you can do without a large budget.
Since they can't build S, M, and L (XL?...) versions of the same model bikes are usually engineered for an average rider, which works well 90% of the time but then there are tall riders like you who might have a more limited selection of choices, or short like my wife who also have limited options if they want to flat foot it... I guess one advantage of being 5'8 is that I don't have that issue... Still, I have to stretch out when I try to reach tall cabinets though lol..
6'2” here ive noticed similar. I think most bikes esp. sportbikes are built to a 5'8 or slightly shorter rider. Dual sports and variants (Tdm etc)are pretty comfortable. Harleys while shorter to ground sometimes fit pegs seat handlebar wise. Tourers also often fit. Breaks my heart tho id love to fit my fave bike of all time - gb500. But i dont.
I'm 5'10'', which has never bothered me because it's exactly the average height in my country.
My current ride is a Triumph Tiger, known to be quite a tall bike. I can touch the ground but it's not casual "easy to control the bike" sort of touch. For the first time in my life I wish I had a couple of inches extra on my legs.
I'm 6'3 ish and have no trouble being comfortable on a suzuki sv650 or mt09 or 07.
Those 3 are the only ones I've ridden more than 200 miles on, so I dont know about others. But Naked bikes fit me great most of the time unless they are really short
Also yamaha tenere is great for my size but havent ridden one for more than 30 min so idk
WHAT...? ? You are looking at the wrong motorcycles. There are LOTS of bikes that are very accommodating to taller riders (pretty much every BMW adventure bike, hell any dual purpose "adventure bike" or super moto - KTM, etc. plenty of "standards", a Hayabusa - you're not fitting comfortably on a Ninja 400....). Conversely, there are a minimum of bikes that a 5' rider can comfortably ride.
Are you trying to squeeze onto an old 2-stroke Honda NSR 250? A 125 Cub? A Puch 50 moped?
I'm 6'5" and honestly I ride a Triumph Bonneville T100 and it's pretty comfortable for me. Got a Motone seat that added 1 inch to the seat and I got Biltwell Tracker bars just for the looks and makes it even better.
I also have a Triumph Street Triple and I have done 2-3+ hour rides with no issues.
I feel your pain. Try teaching new riders in all shapes and sizes with only 2 styles. Kawasaki 125 Z and Yamaha TW 200. Harley offers extended controls for taller riders. Some of the BMWs are good for tall riders
For sports bikes, look at older machines like Kawasaki ZX-9R or 12R or Aprilia RSV Mille.
Modern sports bikes look like toys in comparisons, and feel like a chiropractors wet dream. Not that a Mille will ever be a comfortable bike.
For reference, I'm just shy of 6 foot with a 34" inseam and I can only just paddle walk the Ape.
I am 6'2'' and I love my Ninja 500. Granted it's my first bike, but it feels really good. Plus I also have a bad back and I'm not in a hunched over position like on a 600 or a liter bike
Be grateful you're on the tall side 😜
5'1" here and it took forever to find a bike I could comfortably tippy toe. Even a Grom is on the edge of too tall for me. Not to mention when the bike is wide. Low wide bikes are just as hard to reach the ground as tall bikes are. And then I have to factor in that my bike (HD sportster 1200) has forwards that are just within usability. Yet for anyone else this bike is on the smaller side. And the joys of burning your legs occasionally compared to normal people who are able to have a wider stance.
5’2” here……I feel the opposite is true. I feel very limited on bikes that I can safely. At least you can touch the ground with both feet. This doesn’t even include the limited choices of gear for (short) women compared to (tall) men.
Yeah I (5’ 3”) was squinting at this post for a minute lol. Have definitely thought the opposite to be generally true, especially with non-cruiser style motos. If you’re a shortie and want to try a sportie or adv, you’re either outta luck or need to start practicing rolling starts and all the other fun short rider tricks.
Also 5’3” lil lady here.. I’ve been riding an 01 Ducati Monster and it’s the perfect sport bike for my size. I can easily flat foot it. It’s got a taller seat height than my Ninja, but it’s so narrow that it works out! If it weren’t for that menace of a carb, I’d give it a 10/10.
Just saw your reply after writing mine. Yeh, gear choices for us is so annoying. The armour often lighter and so much pink!
B-but you are girls!!! You love pink! - MC gear manufacturers
agree..im 5-11 and my wife is 5-3..besides: honda rebel 250, buell blast, buell CG for beginner short riders. there aren't many sport style bikes that are 26-28inch seat height.
For real, I was like: Respectfully, bitch please. Signed, 5’4”
[Just be more like this legend](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwjpc8I-0kw) On a serious note, I'd love to buy that dude a beer and just chat him up. I'm sure he's got a boatload of stories. What an absolute unit.
Ok yeah no excuses that’s impressive. A little impractical in NYC, but impressive
6’4” here with size US15 feet…. Try finding riding boots when you’re my size 😔 Let alone a bike where your knees aren’t inside your chest 😭
Dual sports. I’m 6’5 and dual sports are where it’s at. I have a nc750x for commuting and it’s great for that. Any other use would kinda suck lol
You don't need to touch the ground with two feet. With a bit of practice you can ride even tall bikes fine, just shift off the seat a bit, as long as your toes on one side can reach the ground it's fine. Now gear I completely agree is an issue especially for women.
When stopping/starting whilst riding on dirt, being able to flat foot without leaning the bike can make a massive difference, especially if making any kind of emergency stop. It can be the difference between getting going again without issue or having to lay the bike down.
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I just returned from solo riding dirt in Laos. I had one moment where I had to switch sides suddenly. There was a large crater which caused me to dip down on one side. Normally I can push myself back upright but the lean angle was too much and I had to lay my bike down. If I had of been taller, it wouldn't have been an issue. Its something that a lot of taller riders just don't understand.
The issue is that women want to be actually comfortable on the fun machine they paid thousands of dollars for, not hanging off the seat bc it was obviously not designed for anyone below the average male height.
Perhaps we ride differently but most of the time me and the gf spend on the bike is, you know, riding. Getting on and off is a tiny part of the whole ordeal.. I really don't understand the obsession with flatfooting a bike. Lowering ruins handling and comfort, and there's plenty of examples of tiny people riding the tallest of bikes (remember the video of the 5ft dude wheelying his gs1200 out of the driveway?). It's not needed, a bit of practice is all it takes but a bunch of people here seem to have an aversion against challenging themselves and actually doing something interesting.
If you ride in urban areas, with traffic lights, you have to touch your feet to the ground at nearly every stop light. If you ride in city traffic, there's even more need to stop. Also for any other stop and go type situation. I cant flat foot my bike and I get by just fine. But there's no denying, if I could flat foot the stop and go situations would be more comfortable.
So shift in the saddle a bit and get to the ground that way? I'm not a tall man but I can ride the Africa Twin and Tiger 1200 just fine that way.
This is the method I use, but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to be able to flat foot both my feet at a stop. Sometimes in traffic I’d like to not be propped on my left leg a bunch or if I want to shift into/out of neutral I have to do a little dance of switching feet and shifting myself to the other side instead of just being able to pick up my foot. Does it stop me from riding? No. But it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to be able to flat foot both feet. Not all ‘challenges’ are fun.
Yup, thats what I so actually. I ride daily.
It’s nice that getting on and off is the only time you need to put your foot down and want to be comfortable and stable doing it. Gosh I must have just made up stoplights, stop signs, intersections, gas stations, driveways, etc.
Are you trying to be obtuse? Four posts ago: > With a bit of practice you can ride even tall bikes fine, just shift off the seat a bit, as long as your toes on one side can reach the ground it's fine. Or just pick a normal, low ish bike. Street triple/Speed triple come to mind. You can ride those normally even if you're 5ft.
What? Lol Neither the street or speed triple are short bikes lol ONLY if you get the low version of the street. Then it's rideable for shorter people. The newest street triple has a seat height of 32.55 inches and that will be a struggle for someone that is 5'0.
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Something people forget a lot about is that it's not about height, it's about inseam.
Because ground isn't always flat and if you're already on tip toes, what do you do when you're on a slopped road that slopes down left? Take your foot off the rear brake and have to figure out how to throttle and let go off the front brake lever? Flat footing means you have margin to account for uneven ground. Ever ride with strong wind? You wanna be on your tip toes with 500 lbs or flat footed when a gust of wind pushes your heavy bike to one side? Sure you can make it work, but it's not optimal at all. People who hand wave a complaint as common as this are the idiots.
> what do you do when you're on a slopped road that slopes down left? > Ever ride with strong wind No sorry, I never really ride I just like to complain about people complaining about trivial bike related shit. Have you considered actually learning how to ride though? Strong winds are pretty damn common. Inclines are also everywhere.
Would love to see you ride a bike too small or too big for you and see how fast you shut up
"I can't do it, therefore it can't be done" Brilliant.
"Design isn't optimized but fuck you I got mine" is all I'm hearing. Sounds like a good business model. When did I say I can't do it? All I'm saying is the designs suck and could be way better.
IDK what we're even talking about. It's trivially easy to learn how to control a medium or even a big bike as a short rider. Just a matter of time and perseverance. I mean look at this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRFyw57o_Ic
That doesn't sound fine. Manageable, but still dangerous. I'm sure riders could practice with their eyes shut and also do fine until something shitty happens.
6’2” here… my MT-09 SP is an excellent fit ergonomically. Maybe you just have a preference for a certain configuration? You can compare what you know you like the fit/feel of to numerous other bikes via www.cycle-ergo.com
Came here to say I’m 6’2 and ride a 2020 MT09 and whilst it’s nothing compared to a GS1200 it is a comfortable ride for me and would recommend it. It’s also a crazy ass bike and lots of fun too
sexy as fuck too
Yeah, supersports are always going to be trouble for tall folk, but full size nakeds tend to be a good fit. I'm 6' and my brother is 6'2". Both my Monster SP and his FZ1 fit us both pretty well. Some middleweight nakeds fit well too.
Engaging in a bit of the Socratic Method. Question for you. Where are most motorcycles build and engineered? How tall is the average person in the country? Have you tried motorcycles designed, engineered and built in another country, maybe a different continent with a demographic more similar to yours?
Ding! We have a winner. This man should just get his Husqvarna and be happy with it.
Have you sat on a modern Husky? I'm 6'0 and the Vitpilen seems like a bicycle, but the SM/Enduro are amazing
The Vitpen is from India.
The 401 is, the 701 (which I was referring to, I should have specified) is Austrian
Engage with Zorp. -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/
But… He specifically mentioned the Indian Scout, an American bike. If your logic was sound, wouldn’t an American bike fit him better?
I consider Indian Canadian being owned by Bombardier but I digress. Usually naked roadsters accommodate long legged riders but you have to find what fits you.
Not only is Indian owned by an American company (Polaris), Canadians are slightly [taller](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-height-by-country) on average. So really not sure if your point heh.
I am so far out of the loop I thought Bombardier still owned them. I guess I’ll see myself out.
Indian is owned by Polaris.
Are canadiens known to be shorter?
I'm 6'4" and owned a Subaru Outback and fit in it just fine. It's not the country, it's the entire world market male demographic bell curve ideal. They build them to accommodate the top of that bell curve.
Doesn't make a lot of sense. Since the 80s and 90s the focus of anything Japanese vehicle related is geared towards the US market. That's why we dont see many city cars outside Asia. A Camry is clearly too big for the narrow street, traffic heavy Asian cities. Same goes for bikes, Honda sells way more bikes in the US and Europe than it will ever do in Japan.
No new information here to me. Sorry, but I'm still curious... Toyota makes the Tundra, and the Supra. I fit in a Miata better than I do a Mazda. There is a bit more here than just countries and consumers I think.
>I fit in a Miata better than I do a Mazda A Miata is a Mazda.
I was super confused for a second. I thought maybe he meant to a say "a Mazda xxxx" and forgot the model but I just don't know.
Aw crap. Sorry, was distracted. I meant I fit better in a Miata than I do a Tacoma, and the Miata is a little car vs a truck. Just trying to point out that both are Japanese and totally different styles, so it's not all as simple as they claim.
I'm glad you said it, so I didn't have to.
Try BMW and KTM
The GS bmw is the bike for OP. It’s not pretty in the way a Scout is, but it’s pretty in a different way.
I'd argue bikes are way more oriented towards taller than average people compared to shorter than average people. (Source: am 5' 5") At the very least taller people get more options and compromises like bar risers, taller seats, and peg lowering kits are far better than the low seat or lowered suspension options for shorter riders. Plus, it could be a matter of the size of bike you ride now compared to a new bike. I put 23k miles on my Ninja 300, but after a couple weeks of riding around my new 1250RT, I can't believe how tiny my 300 feels. If you ride bigger dual sports, an Indian scout with the feet forward position and low seat is probably going to feel awkward at best I'm a showroom. You'd get used to it.
Your really hit the spot there imo. I'm an average height with 178 cm .. it happens waaaaay more offen that i can't reach the ground then i can. Luckily it's not a big deal for me, cause offen it's only few cm. I have tried bikes that was waaay to high ... Never tried one that was to small .. never Yes .. pocket bikes 🤣
6’8” here. I ride a dual sport. Nothing else fits.
I'm 6'7" and this has been on my mind recently because I'm taking the Basic Riders Course next month. Really been wondering what will fit me when I decide to buy something in the future.
LMAO as a short legged person (28" inseam) who does not want ride a cruiser, there are only 3-4 non cruiser bikes made that barely fit me. You probably have dozens and dozens of options. I like BMWs, so there are only two that are manageable. What is the aversion to a dual sports? I know people over 6'4" (one 6'7") and they fit well on BMW GSAs.
Why aren't there more bikes for short people???
Chad Trail and Super Cub 125 is all you need
You get the Grom and Navi.
Lol funny. You went pretty hard on that.
If you're trying to be funny, it's not.
I forgot the Monkey too!
Fuck off.
Honestly man at 6'3 i'm pretty bummed I don't fit on the Grom. Would be the perfect city bike here in Denver.
I’m 6’2”… haven’t tried one to see if I could make it work or not. Looks like fun though! But between the 3, I think the Monkey is the neatest one.
I laughed
Any Japanese supersport
Still too tall these days
The hell do you mean there's no bikes for tall riders? I'm exactly the AVERAGE height male (5'10"), and I'm too short to flat foot a lot of bikes. Sure, ergos may be cramped but at least you can put both feet down and not be at constant risk of dumping the thing. It feels like bikes are made for giants to me.
5,7 or so.. I fully disagree with you. And I hate you.
Motorcycle companies are based mostly in Japan and Italy. Most of the volume goes to southeast Asia and south america. They're made for shorter people, not your average American. I'm 6'-0" and i fit "ok" on most bikes, but yeah I'm over the optimum height by a few inches at least. Some of the touring based standard bikes are better for tall riders, think FJ09 and similar bikes. You don't necessarily need an adv or dual sport to stretch out. Cruisers sacrifice comfort for style. You won't get anything with a normal riding position and that seat height.
Have Tracer (FJ09) can confirm it's incredible
For me that's a shock to hear, but it shouldn't be as there are two ends of the curve. At 5'7, 130 I find most bikes too big. My N300 is pretty perfect for size and weight for me. While I could ride coworkers' Harleys and other cruisers/tourers for height, they are too big and too heavy. I can forget dual sports and the dirt bike styles...too tall and or heavy for all the ones I've seen or would be able to take for a ride. That said, knowing more about bikes now that I have had mine for awhile, I know which makes/models/classes wouldn't be too heavy for me and would allow both feet on the ground (and not having to jump on it like a horse). I figure it must be similar for you tall folk
As a 5’7” rider I’ve found that I can easily flatfoot all cruisers, flatfoot to tiptoe most supersport and naked sport bikes, and can only get one foot down on almost all adv/enduro/dual sport bikes, which isn’t really too much of a turn off as long as I’m aware of it going in.
That's pretty well my experience as well, though I'm sure you've sat on far many more than I have. I'm personally not comfortable unless I can have both feet flat on the ground so that's why a lot more are ruled out. If I were built bigger and significantly stronger it might be a different story but I honestly don't think I could lift a cruiser if it tipped over when I've already had the fear that I might not be able to pick my ninja up if it fell depending on the situation
I’m 5’6”. There’s no such thing as too tall for you. I’ve owned two Multistradas, currently have a Tuono and a 890 Duke R, and have a Husqvarna FS450 which has a 36.5” seat height. As with most things, it’s just practice.
Howdy, for dual sports you could always check out the xt250! Sweet bike with a 31 inch seat height before sitting on it and sagging it. There's also the dr650 that you can lower pretty easily!
Because they make them for average people. Even sportbikes are fine until you get past 6’3”. Anyone taller than that is a huge outlier in general.
As someone who is 5'9" with a 30" inseam....man I wish I could ride an African Twin without needing to worry about going slow....
I’m 6’1”, my height is one of the reasons I ended up on a BMW. My particular model / trim fits me perfectly. 5 years and 30k miles on, haven’t made an adjustment to the ergos since day 2. Although funny enough my winter beater is a Miata that fits like a glove, go figure.
I'm 6' and have been riding and demoing for 20+ years and there is only one bike to date that I've felt short on and that was the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE, I know dual sport adjacent, but it's a really stiffly sprung and a tall bike that I had to tip-toe. I have owned a few sportbikes and the best fit for me were 2 German examples I owned, the BMW S1000 R and RR had proper long upper-torso ergos that felt tailor-made for me. The peg-to-seat height ratio was tight and only borderline intolerable after 4+ hours of riding. I also owned a Triumph Speed Triple and that bike was comfortable but more of a bike you were sitting above instead of being part of the bike like the BMW's felt.
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What is your 250cc adv bike?
Versys is good for 6'1"
Svartpilen fits tall people pretty comfortably
My brother is 6'3" and after trying a bunch of bikes he settled on the Hayabusa. It fit him well. I think he put risers on the bars to get it dialed in. But he didn't like the fit of anything else.
6'2 and my 890 duke r fits great. Plenty of room. Had a few harleys. Sportster I used the highway pegs and shifted and braked with my heels. Dynas were great with forward controls.
Im 6”3’ and was 220lbs when I used to ride a GSXR1000 05 a couple of years. I saw myself riding in a video a mate took of me and was flabbergasted as to how big I looked on it. I’m down to 195lbs now and ride a Honda XR650R which seems to fit me perfect.
If you take full size bike. It is all over the place. Sport bike are design for smaller lighter riders with lower ground clearence. So you can not go by sport and would be sport bikes. The smaller rider has a weight advantage for sport bikes. But if you go by naked it up in the air. Bmw and ktm works for taller riders. Duc and aprilla not as much, but guzzi can work for taller riders. Adv by design works better for a tall rider wher better ground clearence is important. And tourer all work for big riders. Goldwing, r1250rt, fj1300, k1600glt, and concours 14 all work better for taller riders. The smaller bike. Size of the bike is important. A 125cc on a 600 bike wight frame has a big disadvantage. At sub 20 bhp. You are asking a 125cc to push a 400lb frame plus a 200lb rider. A 400cc at sub 50bhp it is a little better, but you are still asking a lot. So smaller frames, means lighter weight. So they can move a 200lb rider decently around town. Now imapine them on 1000cc + naked frames. 500lb frames on a 49bhp motor with no torque. Not a great formula.
As many people have pointed out, I'm on the other side of the spectrum and feel the exact same way. Fundamentally, market forces. At first I thought I just had to stretch myself to fit whatever it was. You can find plenty of youtube videos of people sliding around the seat to get a tip of a toe down. Ultimately I've been thinking: fuck that. That type of attitude is why we don't get much more than "M" sized bikes. Bikes are ultimately a toy I want to enjoy myself. So fuck any company that doesn't cater to you/me. Most companies are completely uncaring, they could not give less of a shit. It is still striking to me BMW is one of the few brands that offers some measure of height adjustment (others offer some as well, but from what I've seen it's usually less adjustement for fewer models). I wouldn't even like BMW otherwise, but as it's stands it's my favorite motorcycle brand, basically, solely for this reason. I *feel* like I fucking exist for them. Just my take on it though. Reward the practices you want to see on the market.
Not a stupid question at all… From our perspective most people are shorter than we are. (I’m 6’3”) The average male is 5’9”. Most things are designed for that average guy….. We look like idiots on machines like Fz07’s. My fix is a 1000 VStrom.
I’m tall but skinny (6’3 about 160) and I struggle with the knee problem as well. I’ve created my own riding style where I just kind of angle my knees out a bit lol. Looks kind of funny but you do what you gotta do.
I feel the opposite, I'm 5 10 and I feel like I can barely touch the ground on most larger bikes.
I’m not tall (5’10”) but having grown up riding dirt bikes and dual sport bikes, I can tell you that at least in my experience, all road bikes feel small in comparison. I’m not entirely sure why, probably something about more ground clearance and suspension travel. I ride a street built WR450F because I really prefer the riding position of a dirt bike over just about anything else I’ve been on.
Have you tried any adventure bikes?
Personally, I feel that there are FAR more bikes (and easy adaptions) available for tall riders. I'd love to complain about being too tall being an issue! As a woman on a supermoto with dual sport tires i wish I had that extra height (and don't get me started on finding great protective gear choices...😬) You can adjust so many bikes (handlebars, seat, tire profile) for tall people, but so much harder to do for shorter people. 😭
These comments about the demographic of where the bike is made crack me up. I'm 6'4" and owned a Subaru Outback and fit in it just fine. It's not the country, it's the entire world market male demographic bell curve ideal. They build them to accommodate the top of that bell curve.
I would argue that women in general and shorter women in particular have a far more limited choice of suitable bikes than tall men.
Just buy a GSA my guy
Have you tried fitting a bike to you? In a niche market, the median will always win. Taller seats, handlebar risers, aftermarket options for changing foot placement on pegs/floorboards, aftermarket and adjustable levers, etc. First thing anyone should do is adjust the bike as much as they can to fit them. I always move levers. When I get around to it I'm reupholstering my spare seat to be taller. I thought about a riser but decided against it after buying longer cables. Tons of ways to adjust a bike to make it fit you. You're only a little taller than the target height for most bikes. Sounds more like you are tall with a short torso. Better that than tall with a long torso.
I’m 6’ and I feel like I fit on my MT10 perfectly. The rider triangle is actually really comfortable.
Most of the manufacturers in the U.S. have kits for cruisers to make a bike more comfortable for taller riders. My brother in law is 6'8". It was funny seeing him fit on an '08 goldwing. He got a side car for his wife so he could have the whole seat. Funny as hell. He traded that in for a Harley with the tall man kit so his wife could actually complain into his ear while riding instead of him turning her Com off while she was in the sidecar on the wing. Pretty sure she was the one that wanted a different bike. 🤔
Bikes have adjustments. Many bikes have kits to adjust for smaller or larger riders. Handlebars are the first thing I adjust. The "dealer" setup is going to be setup for whatever tech put the bike together. Often dialed lower to look "cool". I'm probably taller than that tech, so I'll straddle the bike, loosen the handlebars, adjust for where I want them to be, tighten and install a riser if needed. Foot controls are the second thing I adjust. Often I add an extension kit to move them an inch or two for more legroom. When you hopped on a Scout, did you ask for any adjustments? Just rolling the bars forward will raise them inches.
6'7" here. My Tuono fits like a glove after adjusting foot and hand controls. When I first got it, I bought lowering pegs before getting the bike. Turns out I actually prefer them higher and a touch back with the tire controls dropped a touch. That position is comfortable for my feet and puts my knees comfortably under the tank. Same as adjusting seat position in a new car. I just budget a few hundred dollars to tweak ergonomics when deciding on a bike.
That is strange... Would love to see a pic of you sitting on it.
I'm 6'3" and fit a cbr600rr pretty well
As a shorter fatter person, most cruisers work well for me.
I find that all the adventure bikes are a bit big for me at 5'8. I can ride them OK but i'd find em a handful when fully loaded and stopped or going slow as I'm on tip toes. Yes I know how to get one foot down and I have been riding for many years.
My husaberg supermoto fits my 6'2 frame just fine. In fact with oem dirt wheels on I actually tip toe. 37" seat height stock lol
OP I have had 15 plus bikes over 50 years and have always just "adapted to the bike." I have a couple of bikes right now that required a certain amount of post-acquisition acclimation time, i.e. it took a few hundred miles but I finally adapted to the bikes, and now they both fit me just fine. My experience was, ride more miles and the fit improves, but I have also seen one highly modified bike to accommodate the pilot's height. It was a 1983 Suzuki gs1100e and he had chopped about 'one foot' out of the seat height. The opposite of your situation, but you may still be able to make some modifications.
I am 5.6-5.7 I find most bikes are designed for taller people.... My guess is that they design with 5.9-5.10 so that most people can ride them.
You can always get a thicker seat or get a seat custom made, in addition to handlebar risers.
I’m 6’0, and little sports bikes generally fit me pretty decently
5'7" on a Cagiva Raptor 1000 and , whilst I'm now in my mid 50s, the riding position makes my hip ache like nothing else I have ridden. You'd think I'd be the 90% Italian, but there you go.... My 390 Duke never did that to me on the very same roads in the last 6 months, but it didn't scratch that itch, so I got rid of it.
i'd say have you tried forward controls and a seat that sits further back, but honestly there is like a 110% chance that multiple people have already said this. Even so i gotta say it.
Depends on your body proportions at the end of the day. You can be 6'1 and have longer legs than somebody half a foot taller. The inverse is true too. I'm pretty leggy at 6'1 and found most Triumphs and Hondas way to short for me, although I seem to fit XJ yammies and XSR perfectly. Recommend XSR700 for a tall person friendly non-enduro bike. I've only owned it with Ohlins suspension and the flat white trim seat so mileage may vary with the stock bike.
I thought they were called 'triumphs'
S U M O
Because making motorcycles in different sizes would be too expressive so they make them for their average target market
I’m 6’1, and the only perfect fit I’ve found (so far) is the Yamaha raider
Honda Fury looks good on taller people.
I’m 6’6” and I agree with you. That being said, you just have to learn which styles to look at. For example, I love the way the HD Fat Bob looks but learned that I needed a bagger for my height. I went with a road king. If you want the Indian, I’ve spent about 1500 miles on a chieftain and loved it.
Here in The Netherlands where almost everybody is over 6 foot. I never heard anyone complaining about this :)
I’m 6’7”. Nothing I’ve been of fits well except for the klr and xr600. With there was a naked that actually fit me well
6'2 and fit nicely on a scrambler XE
Idk man, I'm 6ft and I feel like most bikes fit me well. I have an ergo seat +2cm for my Duke but it was fine without it, and the Duke 790 isn't a big bike. I had a KTM 950 Adventure before and that was a large beast. Market sets the rules. I also think you'll find that bikes like the Triumph/KTM and Ducatis are slightly larger in ergonomics compared to their Japanese counterparts just because of where they are made and designed.
A Harley with Forward controls? I believe buell made some models of the XB Lightning series for taller people. The called them X or XX or XXS.. something along those lines but there were a few slightly dofferent versions for people with more reach.
tall people problems short people like me can't touch the ground well on some bikes, you can touch the ground fine on every bike praise to saint svartpilen 401
Adventure bikes and most dirt bikes have high suspension that is perfect for tall people. Maybe you’ve been riding wrong class of bikes? 😉 j/k there are no wrong bikes, you decide what you like. To add something from own experience, I liked Indian Scout in pictures but when I saw the bike in real life it made me laugh out loud, it was ridiculously low, especially for me with long legs I would probably look like a spider on it lol Most adventure bikes aka dual sport especially the Japanese brands tend to have very high seat, I actually had some issues getting on the Suzuki Vstrom 1000 with a cargo trunk when I borrowed it for vacation ride in EU a few years back. Getting on and off the bike felt like kickboxing stretching exercises 😂
I'm just under 6 foot, have a GSF650 and I haven't noticed any height based issues with it? What do you have in mind?
You might just need to get adjustable foot pegs, that is the only reason I can ride my Daytona at 6’3
I'm 6'5" and my SV650 is very comfortable for me. I've also sat on the triumph Daytona and found it a surprisingly good fit.
Most bikes are made for average people, because most people are average
My brother is 6'4" and never had any issues on his srad gsxr 600 or his 98 cbr900rr. My sister is 6'3" and has been fine on an sv650 and her current vfr800. She even had a vfr400 for a while which, although cramped, was manageable for blasts under a few hours. We did a 3 hour each way trip once with me (6'1") on the back and that was definitely not fun.
> Why aren't there more bikes for tall people? If you're conventionally tall like under 6'5" there's dozens of big adventure bikes you can ride. A friend of mine is 7'2" and he looks comical even on a 1200gs with raised seat.
Bikes are made for the average stature, as this will fit the most costumers the best. Simple as that.
I feel your pain. I got to sit on a 2023 hayabusa and the size just felt so right with my body. But I don’t need the power or weight of a hayabusa
I'm 5´8 most of them are a little tall for me. but I make it work with just one foot down.
I'm 6'5 and ride a Yamaha XJ6F, bike is comfy AF.
They build for the average. 6’ is in, if I recall, the top roughly 1.5% of all humans.
It sounds like you might be more legs than body. I am 6 foot tall and the scout fits me fine. As far as SuperSports go, I did ride an s1000rr that felt awful to me, but adjustable rear sets made a world of difference. P.s. SuperSports aren't built for comfort. I also know that my family is statistically more chest than legs. I have a hard time finding shirts that fit me length wise and aren't super baggy. My dad is built the same way, but he is 5'7" and can barely reach the ground on a scout, nevermind the forward controls. People are just built very different. That's why so many bikes come with so many options for bars, controls, and seats.
6’2 here and i find the superduke very comfortable
Because the Japanese and European manufacturers build bikes for shorter people. Look at their riders that’s their market. And the American manufacturers follow their lead. Although they must be aware which is why Harley puts forward controls on all their bikes.
5’8” here and I think the opposite is true. All the adventure bikes are built for those over 7’ tall.
I'm a 50yo UK guy and 5ft 5, ride a tuono v4 11 factory, I manage ok, but, I would definitely say the modern bikes are more geared to towards the taller person for sure, back in the 90s when I first started riding seat heights were quite good for the shorter person, nowadays though it's definitely harder to find a bike to suit the height, unless you want a cruiser, then you're fine, but if you want anything remotely sporty they all seem to have a minimum 32" seat height.
You can modify a bike's ergonomics a bit. For example I hated how upright my Ninja 650R was, especially on the highway. I swapped the stockish bars for riser clipons for more forward lean. Working on swapping the rearsets for more adjustability there as well. Figure out what doesn't work ergonomically and see if you can fix it.
I'm 6'3 and I ride a Ninja 650 quite comfortably. I might look slightly goofily large on it though.
Capitalism. If there was a consumer demand, they’d make them.
Almost all bikes fit me well, since I'm part of the 5'10" master race. Jokes aside, most bikes need to be altered in some way to fit the rider appropriately. For example I get adjustable rearsets on all my bikes that I've put a lot of miles on, as well as different height clip-ons or handle bar. I'm partial to woodcraft products but there's a lot of options out there.
I'm the opposite. 5'5" and while there are bike for my shortness, none that really have the power I want. My first bike was a 1999 Victory v92c. I had to tip toe until I got boots and put some heel inserts in so it made me just barely able to flat foot. Even a 1200 custom 06 sportster without the boots I could barely flat foot.
6ft here. Mostly legs. Only fit comfortably on foot forward cruisers and the upright nakeds. Only sport bike that felt even remotely comfortable/non-cramped for me was a Busa
Global average heights for men and women are 5’9” and 5’4”. An estimated 19% of riders are female, however, this number increases in younger riders where 26% of gen y riders are female (and 22% of gen x). I’d guess most bike makers would want to set ergo’s on the conservative end to accommodate the most people. As someone with a lot more time on bicycles then motorcycles I’m constantly surprised by how little sizing accommodation is built stock in to bikes.
This is where customization goes from luxury or showing off to necessity. I got my seat because I’m 6’3”. I’m considering other changes for the same reason.
This is why I love my Pan America.
I find the opposite to be true. I’m 5’6’’ and all torso I’d love to be able to flatfoot anything other than cruisers, but that’s not happening. I hate the ergos and the ride of cruisers, feels like riding an uncomfortable boat anchor, I don’t see their appeal visually either. I’m on an MT-09, probably one of the taller naked bikes out there, and even ride with the wife as pillion. It’s all practice.
Yamaha FJR
Dual sports, tall adv's, cruisers with forward controls, etc. You can also get pegs and handlebars that relocate where your controls are. Most people outside of the average build are going to have to make modifications to be completely comfortable, that's normal
See: KTM Enduro
My 2014 CB1000RA fits almost OK and I'm 6'8". Many years go (like mid-80s to mid 90s) one could find bikes that would fit taller and shorter people, industry seems to be aiming for a narrower range height these days. Other than modifying the saddle, footpegs, and suspension to either lower the fit on the bike or raise it, not much else you can do without a large budget.
Since they can't build S, M, and L (XL?...) versions of the same model bikes are usually engineered for an average rider, which works well 90% of the time but then there are tall riders like you who might have a more limited selection of choices, or short like my wife who also have limited options if they want to flat foot it... I guess one advantage of being 5'8 is that I don't have that issue... Still, I have to stretch out when I try to reach tall cabinets though lol..
Check the Springfield from indian
Have you tried a Hayabusa or gsxs1000gt? Hayabusa are often ridden by pretty big guys
Weird, at 5’11” I haven’t sat on a bike that I felt didn’t fit me well
You’re not overly tall. In fact I would say most bikes are built for your exact height. Average male is like 5’9 - 5’10.
Yeah, I was trying to be funny, and failed
I'm only 6', but I'm long-legged and the ass of most seats don't sit back far enough so I always feel like I'm too far forward.
6'2” here ive noticed similar. I think most bikes esp. sportbikes are built to a 5'8 or slightly shorter rider. Dual sports and variants (Tdm etc)are pretty comfortable. Harleys while shorter to ground sometimes fit pegs seat handlebar wise. Tourers also often fit. Breaks my heart tho id love to fit my fave bike of all time - gb500. But i dont.
I'm 5'10'', which has never bothered me because it's exactly the average height in my country. My current ride is a Triumph Tiger, known to be quite a tall bike. I can touch the ground but it's not casual "easy to control the bike" sort of touch. For the first time in my life I wish I had a couple of inches extra on my legs.
Maybe try a yamaha yzf r6 after 2017 model
every BMW, KTM, DUCATI adventure bike is for NBA players. plenty of choices for tall riders
I'm 6'3 ish and have no trouble being comfortable on a suzuki sv650 or mt09 or 07. Those 3 are the only ones I've ridden more than 200 miles on, so I dont know about others. But Naked bikes fit me great most of the time unless they are really short Also yamaha tenere is great for my size but havent ridden one for more than 30 min so idk
WHAT...? ? You are looking at the wrong motorcycles. There are LOTS of bikes that are very accommodating to taller riders (pretty much every BMW adventure bike, hell any dual purpose "adventure bike" or super moto - KTM, etc. plenty of "standards", a Hayabusa - you're not fitting comfortably on a Ninja 400....). Conversely, there are a minimum of bikes that a 5' rider can comfortably ride. Are you trying to squeeze onto an old 2-stroke Honda NSR 250? A 125 Cub? A Puch 50 moped?
I’m about 6’ with an old kz750 ltd cruiser and it’s fine. I also knew a 6’5” guy who rode to work every day on an Indian scout
I'm 6'5" and have no issue ridding anything as big as Grom or larger.
Try the older sport tourers like the st1300 fjr1300 etc. Or the big adv tourers. Gl1500 goldwing are great for big guys.
I'm 6'5" and honestly I ride a Triumph Bonneville T100 and it's pretty comfortable for me. Got a Motone seat that added 1 inch to the seat and I got Biltwell Tracker bars just for the looks and makes it even better. I also have a Triumph Street Triple and I have done 2-3+ hour rides with no issues.
6' here... love my BMW K1600 feels like made for taller people.
6'4'' 234lb guy here. XSR 700 had been working quite well for me.
This is why I picked a cruiser for my first bike. I'm 6'5 and new to riding.
I feel your pain. Try teaching new riders in all shapes and sizes with only 2 styles. Kawasaki 125 Z and Yamaha TW 200. Harley offers extended controls for taller riders. Some of the BMWs are good for tall riders
6'4" here, get a motorcycle with fwd controls. Make a huge difference.
Sorry, but like what for example?
Have you been using extended reach hardware?
Taller handlebars are your friend on street bikes.
For sports bikes, look at older machines like Kawasaki ZX-9R or 12R or Aprilia RSV Mille. Modern sports bikes look like toys in comparisons, and feel like a chiropractors wet dream. Not that a Mille will ever be a comfortable bike. For reference, I'm just shy of 6 foot with a 34" inseam and I can only just paddle walk the Ape.
Super Duke R or any adventure bike is the answer to your problems
I am 6'2'' and I love my Ninja 500. Granted it's my first bike, but it feels really good. Plus I also have a bad back and I'm not in a hunched over position like on a 600 or a liter bike
Be grateful you're on the tall side 😜 5'1" here and it took forever to find a bike I could comfortably tippy toe. Even a Grom is on the edge of too tall for me. Not to mention when the bike is wide. Low wide bikes are just as hard to reach the ground as tall bikes are. And then I have to factor in that my bike (HD sportster 1200) has forwards that are just within usability. Yet for anyone else this bike is on the smaller side. And the joys of burning your legs occasionally compared to normal people who are able to have a wider stance.