Cycle height

manofallseasons · Post by **manofallseasons** » Fri May 01, 2015 9:05 am

Hi. I have really short legs and have had trouble with my toes sliding away from me while stopped on gravel. (This was with my old 1983 1100.) I just am picking up a 1987 1200 Aspencade and wonder if anyone out there knows of any good ways to lower the bike so my feet actually touch the ground! Thanks! Dean

52wingnut · Post by **52wingnut** » Fri May 01, 2015 3:56 pm

Dean I've got 28" inseams so I have the same problem. What I do is when I come to a stop I keep my right foot on the brake and set my left foot flat on the ground. It does mean I have a slight lean to the left for the bike but not enough to let it get away from me. I also have a nice pair or Red Wing Motorcycle boots with a Vibram sole on them. The sole helps with my height deficiency. Perhaps you can find a good pair of boots with some built up soles. Lots of guys have this same problem and we all have different ways of dealing with it. Lowering the bike would be the last thing I would want to do though. Good luck!

manofallseasons · Post by **manofallseasons** » Fri May 01, 2015 8:36 pm

28" here too! I like the boots idea. I'll check them out! Thanks!

Aussie81Interstate · Post by **Aussie81Interstate** » Fri May 01, 2015 8:43 pm

As mentioned,

some thicker soled boots,

you could always get a modified seat and have it reupholstered to suit - like carving an inch or two from the foam. then if you sell - put the original seat back on?

manofallseasons · Post by **manofallseasons** » Fri May 01, 2015 8:50 pm

Great idea with the seat! Thanks! Dean

tom84std · Post by **tom84std** » Sat May 02, 2015 5:45 am

This is a problem I've had to deal with too. Not me, my wife. She's got the stature of an elementary school girl. We shopped for bikes for her with seat height being a major concern. The guys are spot-on with shoe sole suggestions. A pair of boots with a thick sole helped a lot. I lowered the front of the bike by lowering the triple clamps 1" on the fork tubes. This made no noticeable difference in trail or handling but she said it made all the difference in the world for stopping or backing the bike.

manofallseasons · Post by **manofallseasons** » Sat May 02, 2015 7:21 am

Sometimes it's just not easy being short. haha Thanks!

YouTube · Post by **WingAdmin** » Mon May 04, 2015 11:11 am

Keep in mind that when modifying the seat, it's often the width (especially on the larger bikes) that is as much of a problem. On the seat I had Corbin make for my wife's bike, I had them narrow the front of it quite a bit. It makes no difference when she's riding, as she's farther back, but when at a stop, she slides forward to the narrower portion, which lets her legs reach the ground easier.

manofallseasons · Post by **manofallseasons** » Mon May 04, 2015 3:36 pm

Great idea! Thanks! My seat is quite wide.

52wingnut · Post by **52wingnut** » Mon May 04, 2015 4:04 pm

WingAdmin wrote:Keep in mind that when modifying the seat, it's often the width (especially on the larger bikes) that is as much of a problem. On the seat I had Corbin make for my wife's bike, I had them narrow the front of it quite a bit. It makes no difference when she's riding, as she's farther back, but when at a stop, she slides forward to the narrower portion, which lets her legs reach the ground easier.

Excellent point. I've got a Mustang seat on the Wing now but am seriously thinking about changing to a Corbin seat. Have a Corbin on my Road Star and it is very comfortable and makes it much easier for me when it comes time to stop.

manofallseasons · Post by **manofallseasons** » Mon May 04, 2015 4:41 pm

I went online to Corbin- http://corbin.com/honda/8487wing.shtml . The seats look great. Can't figure out how to tell if they are narrower than the seat on my cycle.

52wingnut · Post by **52wingnut** » Mon May 04, 2015 7:13 pm

manofallseasons wrote:I went online to Corbin- http://corbin.com/honda/8487wing.shtml . The seats look great. Can't figure out how to tell if they are narrower than the seat on my cycle.

I guess you could call Customer Service and ask them for the measurement at the nose of the saddle. I do know that Corbin's move you back and down some from a stock seat's point of view. Just know that I was able to do 500 mile days on a v twin when I wanted to. And still be able to repeat day after day. Anymore than that was too much for me and my riding style.

manofallseasons · Post by **manofallseasons** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:33 pm

I'm waiting for a reply from them.

redial · Post by **redial** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:45 pm

Edited and replaced.

redial · Post by **redial** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:46 pm

The Australian agent for Corbin, (there is only one), wants AU$1100 for unheated one, and AU$1900 for a heated on, plus freight. That could be a little out of my budget. The AU$ is approximately AU$1.00 = US$0.75 at present, so that would have an impact, but I cannot see how that would impact it so much.

I guess they have to cover their "R&D" costs

And delivery time is 8 to 12 weeks

52wingnut · Post by **52wingnut** » Mon May 04, 2015 9:13 pm

redial wrote:The Australian agent for Corbin, (there is only one), wants AU$1100 for unheated one, and AU$1900 for a heated on, plus freight. That could be a little out of my budget. The AU$ is approximately AU$1.00 = US$0.75 at present, so that would have an impact, but I cannot see how that would impact it so much.

I guess they have to cover their "R&D" costs And delivery time is 8 to 12 weeks

They are expensive even in the US. I had to have my Road Star saddle recovered after it split a seam. It was 7 yrs old when it happened. Cost me $400 US to have it recovered.

but was still worth every penny. What can I say, I like Corbin saddles.

manofallseasons · Post by **manofallseasons** » Mon May 04, 2015 9:22 pm

Good to know. Corbin has some seats between $200-$300 that I saw online today.

Lowrider1 · Post by **Lowrider1** » Mon May 04, 2015 10:00 pm

I have a Corbin on one of my DRZ 400's and I got it on Ebay for $125 used but I could not tell it had ever been mounted on a bike...might try looking there.

I have semi-short legs, wear thick sole boots and my 81 GL1100 is a bit too high for me too. I'm thinking of dropping the front some...can that be done easily and without any side effects? I have a gel seat and really don't want to start hacking on it.

YouTube · Post by **WingAdmin** » Tue May 05, 2015 9:57 am

Corbin will custom make you a seat to your specifications - if you want it narrower in front, just tell them. They did this for me when making the PC800 seat, at no charge.

manofallseasons · Post by **manofallseasons** » Tue May 05, 2015 10:18 am

Thanks. Still waiting to hear back from them.

Lowrider1 · Post by **Lowrider1** » Tue May 05, 2015 11:19 am

Question was: Can you lower the front on the GL1100 without adverse handling?

manofallseasons · Post by **manofallseasons** » Tue May 05, 2015 11:59 am

Check out about the 6th post above. He lowered his front without trouble.

YouTube · Post by **WingAdmin** » Tue May 05, 2015 12:40 pm

When a motorcycle is lowered, it should ideally always have the front and rear lowered the same amount. The reason for this is that due to the angle of the front forks, lowering just the front (which is relatively easy) alters the angle of the forks relative to the ground, which reduces trail and caster on the front wheel. This has the effect of making the front wheel less dynamically stable, lessening its natural resistance to oscillation. The Honda engineers spent a lot of time designing the front end of the GL1100 to make it stable - which is why you have the heavy weight on the front of the forks (to lower the resonant oscillation frequency of the steering). Lowering the front end only changes all of this.

The problem is, people go ahead and do it, go out and ride it, and say "hey, it works great, no problems at all!" That is, until they happen to hit a pothole or bump at the correct speed that displaces the handlebars at the correct frequency. This (now undamped) frequency just happens to be the new resonant frequency of the steering system, now that you have modified the caster and trail. With the energy from the bike's motion driving it, you enter the area of negative dynamic stability - which means in the blink of an eye you have an uncontrollable tank-slapper, and you will very shortly be getting up close and personal with the pavement.

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Lowrider1 · Post by **Lowrider1** » Tue May 05, 2015 2:42 pm

Is there a reasonably simple way to drop the rear along with the front? I've routinely done that with dirt bikes over the years but that's usually just a new dog bone which does change geometry but has always been manageable. I'm not that familiar with the 1100 yet.

YouTube · Post by **WingAdmin** » Tue May 05, 2015 3:00 pm

Lowrider1 wrote:Is there a reasonably simple way to drop the rear along with the front? I've routinely done that with dirt bikes over the years but that's usually just a new dog bone which does change geometry but has always been manageable. I'm not that familiar with the 1100 yet.

The way I did it with my wife's PC800 was to install shorter spacers in the front forks as well as raising them slightly in the triple tree, and to replace the rear shocks with custom Hagon shocks that dropped the rear end the same amount as the front end.

There are other methods, such as using lowering links that modify the geometry of the existing rear shocks, however the ride can suffer, and you risk stressing the swingarm in ways it was never designed to be stressed.

Cycle height

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