HELLO! I'M NEW HERE.

[TOAD]

JUST BROWSING THE INTERNET I CAME ACROSS THIS SITE.HAVING A SMALL SINGLE (bike not malt)I FELT THE URGE TO JOIN.
HOPE I,M NOT THE ONLY LADY ON HERE.
I'M SERIOUSLY VERTICALLY CHALLENGED AND RIDE A YAMAHA SR250 AT THE MOMENT BUT WOULD LIKE SOMETHING A BIT BIGGER.MAYBE A HONDA FT500 BUT I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE SEAT HEIGHT (I'm 4ft 10ins)
ANY SUGGESTIONS? (no manure jokes please)

[Steve H]

Welcome. The FT500 was based upon the XL500 which had a resonably strong motor, the FT does have a poor reputation when it comes to its electric start mechanism.
The SRX monoshock has a fairly low seat height
and has an electric start, removing the problem of tryiing to balance a tall bike when kickstarting it. Good handling as well, the only downside is availability, the 400's come up regulalry on Ebay but 600's are a bit harder to come by.
SZR660 is fairly low as well

(This one has a raised seat)

[Andy M]

 (no manure jokes please)

Hello and welcome.

Half the stuff in the jokes section could be described as "manure" (or words to that effect), but maybe that's just my sense of humour that's had a bypass (it is Monday)!

You don't mention what sort of bike you are looking for? From the stuff I've had my only suggestion would be the Bullet as the classics tend to be smaller in the frame.

If you are happy to play with the seat, don't discount some bikes with what seem like massive heights until you've tried. The width is half the batle. At 5'7"/1.7m, on paper I should really go buy a cruiser. Once you go do some sitting though I find the numbers don't make a huge amount of sense. I've owned BMW F650's and a Yamaha XT that are tall but have seats you can slide across and are narrow. I've had a BMW GS twin as a loaner and managed just fine (but wouldn't be able to ride it two up). I tried a Yamaha street fighter something or other (free ride offered by a dealer) that should have been lower than the lot and (amongst other things that wound me up) found that the wide seat made the whole show a pain in traffic. Low, wide and sticky IMHO is as bad as tall.

Andy

[GB500nz]

The GB500 has a reasonably low seat, electric start and excellent lifespan & reliability. The Euro version, XBR, should be similar.

[guest27]

Hi there and welcome.

Just out of interest - how long have you been riding for?  I have never had a problem with bike being too big - too small is more an issue, but some years ago I had a lot of contact with less tall people - OK I was a M/C instructor.  What we found was that most people have less and less problem the more time they spend on the bike, knew a lass of about 5 foot who had no troubles with a Tenere - but did look like Dani Pedrosa on the corners, when she was at a junction - almost totally off one side of the bike.  Just a thought.

Yes the humour here can become a little male - but in the main I think we are mostly harmless, apart from Onepots farting that is.

R

[squirrelciv]

Hello Toad, welcome to the site :-)
If your looking for something small but different and sporty, but not licience threatening, why not take a look at a Suzuki goose?? All here would agree, you'll be hard pressed to find a prettier bike, just a shame I can't find a piccie of one. (Mr Stringer, got any shots of yours before you started 'playing' with it??) engine is basically the DR350, but they've stuck it into a compact chassis.

[hondamichael]

hello toad
welcome
i found a suzuki goose on the web


but if you are a bit short why not going for a more modern bike ..ok only 250cc but with real
20bhp and topspeed up to 80mph   and so realy fast enough to ride points on your lisence , just a weekend ago had a rideout with some BIG bikes  above 600cc , and they`ve been surprised how well it did for  250 , we had a realy nasty gale force headwind and the little honda  cbf 250 was still managing a steady 70mph uphill on the motorway , and its light , and achieves amazing mileage ~90-100 mpg all the time
the honda cbf250 (no i dont get payed by honda`s promotion department ) here a picy of it

[MrFluffy]

Oooo a ft500. At risk of upsetting any ft500 owners on here , dont.  I had one for a few years after seeing one as a teen and thinking "cool a factory flat tracker" and although I love fourstroke singles, I hated the FT. In the end I fell off it and it hit a hidden treetrunk inside a hedgerow making its exit and suffered a bent frame and I was happy to saw it up and give my friend the engine for his XL. I never really had electric start problems but I used to take mine apart and maintain it and I didnt have 15:1 cr or a bigbore kit , but, it lacked all the charm and torque of a thumper, requiring to be buzzed along I think due to the cams and dual pipes? It certainly had less torque than my sp400 did.
 And the footrests were far too low and silly, and clutch life seemed rather short. And it was just so soul-less...
The one good thing about it was it was so bad and I disliked it so much I used to park it outside the railway station when I commuted into london without fear of it not being there after work. One night someone stole my gloves, but they left the ft there unlocked with a igntion you could turn on with a penny.
Oh, and to put it sucinctly, theyre all going to be a bit knackered by now arent they? They havent made them for years and I dont know of anyone who loved one enough to rebuild it thouroughly.

Srx sounds nice, not had one o them yet, put it on my to try one day list

[pigafetta]

Hiya Toad

My Missus finds my XBR a little too high for comfort and she's 5ft. I guess its all down to how confident you feel on a bike and as Rog said, experience is a factor there. The GB500 is prettier than the XBR anyway. A lot of the shorter folk I know prefer cruisers for height reasons but its down to taste really (I don't like em). That there Suzuki Goose is a lovely looking bike. I did my test on a Suzuki GS500 which is a wee bit taller than the Goose and saw a few shorter people training on them without any trouble. No shorty jokes from me, I'm only 5'7" myself and I'm the tallest of my clan.

Anyway, what do I know? I'm sure you'll sort it out.

Dave B

[steveD]

Welcome to the site.
Check out the pictures section of our site. You will get a good idea of the type of bikes that are prominent in the club (and the sad old gits that ride them!). The favourites are the SRX and XBR, both of which have low seat hights, have a good 'todays' performance and spares are still readily available. Also technical problems and spares are available within the club as well as contacts for services. In the club we get around to all parts of the country to meet up and also to events over at the Monoconnection in Holland.
We will be having our annual event at Dent (Check out the site) later this year as last year it was very good. One young chap came on a KH100 and easily kept up with the group on the rideout so any bike is more than welcome.

Keep in touch

SteveD

[Ian]

WELCOME!!!!!!!! TOAD ........................


Steve D,
              " Also technical problems and spares are available within the club "


That explains all my technical problems !!!!!!

[TOAD]

HI EVERYONE.THANKS FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS AND IDEAS.  I'VE GONE OFF THE FT500,IVE HEARD SEVERAL PEOPLE QUESTION ITS RELIABILITY.I LIKE THE CB250 BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GO BIGGER. SOME OF THE OTHER BIKES LOOK INTERESTING.I KNOW THE XBR IS OUT OF THE QUESTION THOUGH.
BEEN RIDING 30yrs. ALWAYS HAD TO HAVE SMALLISH BIKES,125s and 250s.BIGGEST BIKE I OWNED WAS A 1972 CB350K4.  ONCE BORROWED AN XJ650 BUT HAD TO GET ON AND OFF NEXT TO A KERB AND AVOID RED TRAFFIC LIGHTS.
NOT GOOD!
THIS IS A GREAT SITE,LOADS OF INTERESTING STUFF AND FRIENDLY PEOPLE.
CHEERS.
                                   TOAD...

[Bill Rutter]

Welcome aboard Toad. May I suggest you take a look at a Sachs Roadster. You should be able to pick one up cheaply enough (even a late model). Spares shouldn't be a problem (it has a Suzuki lump) and from what I remember from the 2005 Annual Rally at Hay it wasn't at all tall (at all, at all ;-)  ) Anyway, happy hunting...whereabouts are you?

[guest27]

Hi Again

Riding 30 years - well that puts me in my place!  he he he

And can I ask about the political correctness of suggesting a goose to a lady!

R

[TOAD]

I've been on Google to look at a goose.Looks like a possibility to me but not easy to get hold of.Theres none on e bay at the moment.
Had my first bike on the road in 1977. A Fizzy. Then progressed to a CB125. CD185. x5.  Loads of others.KH250 but I had to cut a big chunk out of the seat to manage that one.
Originaly an Essex girl,now living in Kent.
So how long have you all been on the road and what has been your best bike so far?

PS: How do I put a picture on the end of this post,cant work it out? Was going to show my kh with the chopped down seat,always good for a laugh.
                                              TOAD...