My quest for a bike short enough to fit me but strong enough to keep up with my fellow riders has come to a standstill. My hubby tried to make several adjustments to his Honda Hawk 400 so I could reach the ground flat-footed when riding but nothing worked. Seems like the only thing that would work would be unreversible things like cutting it up and making it into a chopper lol.

Right now my plan is to just take the motorcycle safety course this spring/early summer, get my license to ride, and wait for the perfect bike to find me. Because I am having no luck finding her. I'm only 5 ft, 5'1ft if I cheat with taller boots so I need to find something SHORT lol. I'm going to be very dissapointed if the safety course (they provide the bikes to train on) I want to take doesn't have any bikes that will fit me.

Guess I'm just feeling like the odd lady out lately. Any other vertically challenged folks out there??

I'm 5'5" so not as challenged but my first bike had a super low seat height. I had a girlfriend ride it who is only 5' and she had no trouble getting her feet flat on ground. It was a Yamaha Virago 750. It was light weight and handled great.

We just sold our Yamaha Virago 1000. Come to think of it, I could roll that thing around the garage pretty easily...hmm maybe a Virago would be the way to go.

Hey Gina... My wife is only 5'1" and there are a few bikes out there that fit her. The Honda Shadow was a good fit. Suzuki makes a single-cylinder 650 that has a low seat height, a narrow body, is very light weight and has plenty of power but a better fit will probably be a Harley 883. That's what my wife has settled on. Good luck with your quest! Mike

 MIKE                   "I'm... a... high... way... STAR..."   

I have an 883 and the only reason it works for me is because it is lowered. That is always an option of course

Try a Yamaha v-star 950 at a dealership. They were made with seat height low in order to entice women riders. My wife is 5'5" and can flat foot with her legs bent very easy. You would need risers though in order to get the bars a bit closer.

We've still got our eyes on a Honda Silverwing. I think it'll still work, I just want her to have a chance to learn to ride before putting the money down and buying a bike of her own. The one that we're looking at is about 4 hours away, so I'd be riding it home anyhow, but it'll have to wait for spring to come around. If we get a bike that we KNOW is going to be HER bike, I've got some more lowering options, including aftermarket seats, which are a little more expensive, but worth it in the long run. I put a pair of 12" adjustable short travel shocks on my Hawk, (replacing the 13 1/2 inch non-adjustables), and the bike's so low the sidestand barely comes down. I could do more things, but I really don't want to modify my bike anymore just so she can learn. I think if she takes the course, learns to ride, or learns if she really wants to ride, then I'll have a better direction on building her something to fit. The great thing about a bike is that you can do ANYTHING to it, so I'm sure I can get her on that Honda with a few mods and aftermarket accessories. In the meanwhile, I gotta go re-assemble my bike tomorrow. It was almost low enough for her, I HATE the set up completely!! lol.

I'm just under 5'4" and I had to lower both my Suzuki sv650s and the sv1000s with lowering links in the back, had the forks pulled through the triple cams in the front, had to have the foam scooped out of the seats and wear a boot with the wedge heel before I could get both my feet on the ground. All of that is reversible...

OH almost forgot. I took the MSF course too, the kinds of bikes they used (my area: Honda NightHawk & Rebel, both 250s) were an easy fit. No tippy toes, or dangling feet issues at all.

Reversible, yes, but I'd rather do all that to her own bike and not mine lol. Like I said, endless possibilities!

Being able to control the bike at a stop is indeed important, but this thing about "I must be flat footed" is a mantra that sounds more important then it is. Being able to plant the balls of your feet so that you can balance the bike is all you need. The BALANCE of the bike itself is much more important. Where I work we not only sell Victory's, but we sell a large number of used bikes, and trade ins. Watching people hop on bikes that LOOK like they would fit; only to find they are awkward as hell to ride slow, or maneuver.
If you are looking now, and have little experience then the Shadow 650 is an excellent choice. Balanced, light, maneuverable, and low enough to get on the balls of your feet

My wife had trouble finding a bike that she was comfortable on because she is aonly5'1". The bike she got and very comfortable on was a Yamaha V-Star 650. It had plenty of power to run down the highway but, was short enough and the center of gravity was low enough, that she was able to handle with relatve ease.

i had the vstar 1100 for a while, had a 2" drop in the rear, made the seat height around 18" i'm 5'6" and could sit on the seat with my legs bent quite comfortably, the bike wasn't heavy, but yea, i put on the 4" up. 2" back risers with the stock bars and only hat to re-route the clutch cable, it was a comfortable ride.

The trouble that we've been having in the area of choosing a bike is that what's in her price range is typically 20-30 year old metrics, which are mostly built a little high. The metric bikes are trying a little harder to compete with Harley, and they're building low-slung, balanced, v-twin powered cruisers and touring bikes now. My friend has a 750 Shaddow, and I'm very familiar with the various models and options. Something like that would be perfect, but we can't pick one up for under a grand; I paid $600 for the Hawk and have "dressed" her with stuff that I had, stuff my folks had... I wish I could afford to hit craigslist or a dealership and pick up a used Shaddow, V-Star, or any other more modern model. Heck, I wouldn't mind pickin one up myself lol, I just can't. What really bites is that I HAD two Yamahas, a 650 and a 1000 that she COULD have handled, and if I'd have known that she would want to ride her own, I NEVER would have let go of that 650. (I wonder what the guy's doin with it.... hmm. that's a thought)

I never thought about the Maxim 650 after we let her go...maybe he'd be willing to give her back for the right price.

Anyhoo, you all have made me feel much better about the whole thing. I honestly never thought I'd be comfortable riding (though I was always willing to try it for him) on the back seat but now I'm so used to it I could sleep back there. I definitely zone out! We'll have to work on that in my safety classes LOL.

OH............... Didn't realize this post was about WOMEN being too short. Was gonna refer to hambone's business for suggestions but guess that's not necessary now !!!!! MY BAD!!!

Well Groupie it looks like you have a lot to sort through here. Adding from my experiences, my daughter is 5' 3" and rides a shadow quite well.

I will respectfully disagree with the comment made by "TheX" regarding being flat footed at a stop. When your feet are flat it gives the legs leverage thus much more strength to hold up in the event of too much lean or push the bike up small inclines. Don't even go on gravel if you can only reach the ground with the balls of your feet. At many intersections the road surfaces are crowned, or there are high spots, or they are not level. If on flat ground you are at the limit of your reach and you stop at one of the mentioned situations you will then be past your limits. This can result in an easy drop of the bike. I am not tall for a guy and I had to have my Road King lowered. There have been many times I am glad I did. I personally feel that being able to be flat footed when stopped on level ground is VERY  IMPORTANT.

Women's bodies are made different than men's we balances bikes with our thighs more than anything else, momma's have a great deal of strength in the lower back too (bending over for baby and carrying them on hips, haha)
What is important to a man in fit doesn't necessarily apply to women, just saying.
You can surely find a used Sportster cheaply (sad but true) and hell, dealerships around here have a lot of 'em, if you buy one privately you'd probably end up paying more. Do some online research , dealerships often work out shipping too!
Good luck!

I still am not willing to mess with a bike's design and it's dynamics so... boots with a tall, yet stable heel and oil resistant traction on the soles. I am around 63" so to this day, never have been flat-footed unless I am sitting on a lowered bike. Does feel good to be flat on the ground, biut i have managed and it hasn't bothered me enough to ever lower my FXDL or the Sporty. Someone has yet to thoroughly convince me that lowering my bike would not compromise the performance that it was intended and designed to have. LOVE those fast turns.  Have not scraped my pegs yet though...