SuzukiSavage.com - A good bike for a small person

MichPhil YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 8	A good bike for a small person 05/22/12 at 12:24:00 Well small in height. Actually Im average I believe. 5'4 What are good models? Not looking for some wild but something a 53 year young woman can ride. I miss riding!
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Re: A good bike for a small person
Reply #1 - 05/22/12 at 12:39:59

Well......that question has a lot of potential answers. The Suzuki Savage is a good bike for smallish people as the seat height is low, the center of gravity is low, and it does not feel overly heavy or cumbersome. A lot of these bikes are bought by new riders and resold as they get something bigger/faster - however there are a lot of us who still appreciate the simplicity, styling and torque of the LS650.

It is a bike that you can get into pretty cheaply, it has a few mechanical quirks that are well detailed on this site in the technical section, and it is fun to ride. There is a large selection of used bikes in most areas, and you should shop around for a while until you find a good deal. Where are you located?

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Re: A good bike for a small person
Reply #2 - 05/22/12 at 13:30:59

I chose to get the Savage precisely because it is a GREAT functional bike for a small framed person. I myself am 5'7" but only 150 lbs, and have a small frame. What is needed for folks like us is a bike that is not so top heavy so that we can throw IT around versus it throwing US around.

Add to that a very good torque band so we can start in the wrong gear and "lug" it too low when going slow .. and the savage seems to be a VERY good bike for us Bike noobletts.

The only other bike near to the Savage would be the Honda Rebel.. but that only comes as a 250, and it simply cant keep up with most traffic. Moving away from an actual "bike" one could go to scooters, which now can get REALLY big.. such as the Yamaha Silverwing (I guess they still make that). Scooters might just be the ticket for a lady, but it does not sit well with my image of myself riding a "bike".

I miss that no one is making the "old style" parallel bikes like the Honda 750-Fours, or in my case the Yamaha 550 Maxim. Wonderfully easy to ride, with pep and smooth as glass. A buddy has a Kawaski 500 LTD with a parralel twin, such a nice looking and riding bike.

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scannerzer YaBB Newbies Offline I love YaBB 1G - SP1! Posts: 31 northern ireland Gender:	Re: A good bike for a small person Reply #3 - 05/22/12 at 13:33:13 I am only 5'2" and i have no problem putting my feet flat on the ground so i would say good for short people for sure !
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Re: A good bike for a small person
Reply #4 - 05/22/12 at 14:08:13

Michelle, nice to see you finally got registered.

A couple months ago at Daytona, I went on some demo rides, some of which were Suzukis.
-- On both Suzuki trips, the Savages were ridden by smaller folks,... one must have been only about 5' tall and 90 lbs.
-- He looked to be about 14 (he was probably 25),.. and he was new to motorcycling.
-- His mount at the time was a Burgman 400 (a scooter) and he wanted to move up to something more motorcyclish, but,.. understandably so, he was intimidated by the machines that weighed five or six times what he did.
-- He liked the Savage a lot. I'll bet with someone that light, the bike would accelerate more entertainingly than with someone like me on it.

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BuckRYCA

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Re: A good bike for a small person
Reply #5 - 05/22/12 at 14:08:44

I've got two bikes that work for shorter types. My Savage worked for my daughter (5'3") and when I converted it to a Ryca it still worked for her. I also have a Suzuki TU250X which has about the same seat height as the Ryca (about 29 or 30"). Both bikes are narrow and light (less than 330 lbs wet). Width and weight are as important as the seat height for a smaller person.

I got rid of my Suzuki Bandit 1200S because it was a big, wide, top-heavy, and overall heavy (550 lbs wet) bike with a 32" seat height that was just too much for me (5'7") to be happy all the time on it. However, it was a rocket.

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'96 Savage - now a Ryca CS-1

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MichPhil YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 8	Re: A good bike for a small person Reply #6 - 05/22/12 at 15:19:15 scannerzer wrote on 05/22/12 at 13:33:13: I am only 5'2" and i have no problem putting my feet flat on the ground so i would say good for short people for sure ! Oh thats good to know. I actually Google some pictures. As soon as I stop drooling I'll post pics oh my favs. Then I have to rob a bank. LOL
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TossingLead YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 24 DFW, Tx	Re: A good bike for a small person Reply #7 - 05/22/12 at 15:40:51 http://cycle-ergo.com Choose a cycle fill in your height and inseam.
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MichPhil YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 8	Re: A good bike for a small person Reply #8 - 05/22/12 at 15:54:42 TossingLead wrote on 05/22/12 at 15:40:51: http://cycle-ergo.com Choose a cycle fill in your height and inseam. Thats was fun! I do like the Savage and the Van Van.
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Re: A good bike for a small person
Reply #9 - 05/22/12 at 16:56:09

Your best bet is to go out to a dealer of some sort and see what fits you the best. Almost like gun shopping... We can tell you what is the best, what we love, and what we have. But what fits and works for us may be off for you. The seat doesn't sit right, the handlebars make your arms go numb, what have you...

My S40 is my first bike and I love it. And I'm sure everyone here would recommend the bike, since we all at one point had one.

The only thing that sticks out in my mind as to a problem would be comfort level with the stock seat. I know it's a complaint of many... You can swap over various seats to help improve the feel, so maybe that's all it would take.

Good luck with your purchase, whatever route you decide to go.

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bess227

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Re: A good bike for a small person
Reply #10 - 05/23/12 at 06:57:09

Stock seat is definitely an issue for us bigger guys, but for that height and weight it may not be near the issue.

S40 was my "re-entry" bike after a 20 year hiatus. Great confidence bike, and the fine folks on here willing to share their knowledge is literally "priceless". You can get info here it would cost hundreds to get from a dealership.

Good luck choosing. Pick something that makes you feel confident you can handle it.

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15 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway. 07 S40, Black, stock, Slipstreamer shield, Saddleman bags, Routy FC's, Sissy Bar.....love this bike.

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Re: A good bike for a small person
Reply #11 - 05/23/12 at 08:12:20

Im 5'6 / ~160 Lbs. & wear a 30"inseam pant, I can stand up & have inches between me & the seat. I know of no other Full Sized engine powered bike that I can do that with. A 250 is a fine ride, a fun ride, for what it is,,but there "busy" always winding out to get anywhere,, the 650 lopes along easy like, its calming. Theres more to "fit" than strictly ergos,
Its gotta Fit your mood, if youre looking for a high rpm, steady in the shifter to maintain optimal gearing as speeds change, then a 250 will be fine, if youre looking for a relaxed ride, then, AFAIK, the Savage is the only bike with the brawn, low weight & low build out there,

Just being 5'4 doesnt mean ya got no legs, my wife is 2 inches taller than me, but when I take the wheel after she was driving, I move the seat a LOT more than 2 inches,, that girl is all leg,, inseam matters more than height, Of course, someone 6 feet tall who cant put their feet flat on the ground on this bike is gonna be one seriously funny lookin person,,

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bill67 Serious Thumper Offline old tired Posts: 8517 genoa city wisconsin Gender:	Re: A good bike for a small person Reply #12 - 05/23/12 at 09:19:02 We had a school teacher in town that had real short legs for the rest of his body,The joke around here was he sued the town for building the sideways to close to is ass.
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Re: A good bike for a small person
Reply #13 - 05/23/12 at 09:47:35

TossingLead wrote on 05/22/12 at 15:40:51:

http://cycle-ergo.com

Choose a cycle fill in your height and inseam.

That's fun, but I wouldn't base much on it. My husband has a C90 and I can get flat-footed if I scoot forward on the seat, but that thing shows me very well flat-footed, with some knee-bend room.

The seat height and your inseam isn't the only factor. The "width" of the seat matters too. The C90's seat is very wide, making it much harder to straddle. That representation may take the seat width into account, but it doesn't look like it to me. At least not on bikes that I have actually straddled.

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