Am I too small for a Bonnieville?

R

ReggieC

moped
I'm 5' 8" but I've got short legs (29" inseam like you). With both feet down I'm on tippy toes, but if I slide off a bit to one side (normally my left side), I can get that foot fully down (and leave my right foot on the peg and brake).

I like MKNG TRX's seat swap idea, as I believe that the SE's seat is about 1.5" lower than the other Bonnies. I might try that if I can find a used SE seat.

Good luck, the Bonnie's weight is pretty low, and easy to handle.
 
benjamindickens

benjamindickens

Street Tracker
ReggieC said:
I'm 5' 8" but I've got short legs (29" inseam like you). With both feet down I'm on tippy toes, but if I slide off a bit to one side (normally my left side), I can get that foot fully down (and leave my right foot on the peg and brake).

I like MKNG TRX's seat swap idea, as I believe that the SE's seat is about 1.5" lower than the other Bonnies. I might try that if I can find a used SE seat.

Good luck, the Bonnie's weight is pretty low, and easy to handle.
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I am a small guy too so I decided on the Bonne SE it is a great bike and is a good 1 inch lower, you can also lower your suspension. Once you own a Triumph Bonne it is hard to look at other bikes they are awsome hope this helps mate Ben Dickens:flag::lol::cya:
 
sportyone

sportyone

Street Tracker
yeah man, get a Bonneville SE (short edition ) built for shorter people & girls so they say ? :lol3:

Hey Ben, been to Asian Charlie & got your bike sorted yet ? :ride:

or you could talk to Mike from triumph performance about his maps for EFI machines ?
 
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D

drlapo

Hooligan
I'm 5' 7", 140 lbs with a 30" inseam
I ride a Thruxton, 800 Tiger, Speed Triple with no difficulties
had a Sportster but it was too short
 
E

etak

moped
My Bonnie seat can't be lowered !!

So my 2010 Bonnie is my 1st motorcycle (been riding scooters for ~3 years) and I got it (in part - it's my dream bike) because of the lower height. I'm 5-3 w/28" inseam. When I bought it (this was a year ago), I thought I'd be ok with not being able to flatfoot it. However, a week after signing the papers (a day before picking it up - a friend did that), I broke my arm. Took a long time to heal and my shoulder is still not right, and I definitely don't have the strength I used to have. (I'm 54 so I'm no spring chicken.)
Anyway, after a few short trips down the block to work on shifting, etc., I decided I really want to be able to flatfoot it. (I also bought used engine guards - from here - thanks Joel! after almost tipping over a couple of times.)
I made an appointment to have the seat lowered at Pirate Upholstery, sent it in . . . and they just called me. Said there's only 1 inch of foam in the seat - that they've never seen a motorcycle seat that thin, and that maybe they could lower it by a 1/2 inch. Or they could send it back. I'm so bummed! I figure 1/2 isn't going to do much so I asked them to send it back.
They (and others) have suggested I have the suspension lowered. Can anyone give me more details/advice on this? Also, lady riders, any advice on tall boots that I can still walk in? (I don't "do" high heels, generally.)
Thanks!
Kate
 
C

Craigore

TT Racer
4Putt said:
I stopped today and my local harly shop Those pricks have run me off for good. I mayg et a moped. What a bunch of arrongant pricks. I will not buy another

The motor company can suck my dick. This is not my first rodeo. Triumph, here I come
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A bunch of my acquaintances have jumped on the motorcycle bandwagon and bought 883 sportsters. one of them has a new nightster. the nightster looks cool, I'm not saying that I woudn't ride it... but my stripped down Bonneville with clip-ons, rearsets, and low gauges, and D&D stainless system makes them drool. You'll ALWAYS be in the minority riding a Triumph, which I don't necessarily see as being a bad thing.

"Go your own way"
 
grumpy_1944

grumpy_1944

750cc
Craigore said:
... but my stripped down Bonneville with clip-ons, rearsets, and low gauges, and D&D stainless system makes them drool. You'll ALWAYS be in the minority riding a Triumph, which I don't necessarily see as being a bad thing.
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Whenever I stop where there are a bunch of riders, there is a massed exodus of them towards my 2008 Bonneville Black. I don't have enuff fingers and toes to count the times someone said "now there is a REAL motorcycle".

I'm 5' 11', 29.5 inseam and with service boots on, I have no trouble putting both feet flat on the ground when stopped. Pushing the bike backward requires a lot of "baby steps" but is no problem after getting used to it. O,BTW I installed a K&Q seat on my Bonnie, which raised the seat height some.
 
Kirkus51

Kirkus51

Hooligan
There's lots of places you can get 1 inch shorter shocks. The spacers in the forks can be cut down a bit. There ya go. Any bonnie will do.
 
A

Augsburg57

moped
etak said:
So my 2010 Bonnie is my 1st motorcycle (been riding scooters for ~3 years) and I got it (in part - it's my dream bike) because of the lower height. I'm 5-3 w/28" inseam. When I bought it (this was a year ago), I thought I'd be ok with not being able to flatfoot it. However, a week after signing the papers (a day before picking it up - a friend did that), I broke my arm. Took a long time to heal and my shoulder is still not right, and I definitely don't have the strength I used to have. (I'm 54 so I'm no spring chicken.)
Anyway, after a few short trips down the block to work on shifting, etc., I decided I really want to be able to flatfoot it. (I also bought used engine guards - from here - thanks Joel! after almost tipping over a couple of times.)
I made an appointment to have the seat lowered at Pirate Upholstery, sent it in . . . and they just called me. Said there's only 1 inch of foam in the seat - that they've never seen a motorcycle seat that thin, and that maybe they could lower it by a 1/2 inch. Or they could send it back. I'm so bummed! I figure 1/2 isn't going to do much so I asked them to send it back.
They (and others) have suggested I have the suspension lowered. Can anyone give me more details/advice on this? Also, lady riders, any advice on tall boots that I can still walk in? (I don't "do" high heels, generally.)
Thanks!
Kate
Click to expand...

Kate, lowering the suspension reduces the wheel's up and down travel and the ability of the bike to absorb big bumps. That is, the suspension might be more likely to bottom out if the bike is lowered and springs are shortened. This may not be much of an issue for someone like you, as I assume you are not nearly as heavy as a lot of big guys the bike was designed for. Since you are relatively small in stature, the bike won't have as much total weight (bike plus rider) to absorb over bumps. So you may not experience bottoming out on lowered suspension. Plus, with mid-controls on a Bonnie, you always have the option to place some weight on your feet when you go over the big bumps. This lets your legs absorb some of the bump and the bike's suspension does not need to take as much load. All told, lowering the suspension might be a good option for a lady.

Also, another solution: my girlfriend found some stylish boots with soles and heels a little thicker than street shoes. Heels were about an inch and a half high. This gave her a little more reach when astride her Sportster.
 
E

etak

moped
Augsburg57 said:
Kate, lowering the suspension reduces the wheel's up and down travel and the ability of the bike to absorb big bumps. That is, the suspension might be more likely to bottom out if the bike is lowered and springs are shortened. This may not be much of an issue for someone like you, as I assume you are not nearly as heavy as a lot of big guys the bike was designed for. Since you are relatively small in stature, the bike won't have as much total weight (bike plus rider) to absorb over bumps. So you may not experience bottoming out on lowered suspension. Plus, with mid-controls on a Bonnie, you always have the option to place some weight on your feet when you go over the big bumps. This lets your legs absorb some of the bump and the bike's suspension does not need to take as much load. All told, lowering the suspension might be a good option for a lady.

Also, another solution: my girlfriend found some stylish boots with soles and heels a little thicker than street shoes. Heels were about an inch and a half high. This gave her a little more reach when astride her Sportster.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Augsburg, I really appreciate the info. The boots I'm using (just good hiking boots) do give me a bit over an inch, but I'm still on the balls of my feet. I'm pretty lightweight, so I think lowering the suspension is the way to go. If all ground were level, I'd probably be fine. It's those inclines and dips, and that's just riding around Brooklyn!
I'm still bummed about my seat, though! I was going to get red racing stripes and post it on the "seat" thread!
 
LoVel

LoVel

Two Stroke
Some of the Bonneville seats are more narrow than others and that can also make a big difference. I did not like how low I was sititing on my wife's stock 2002 Bonneville seat while my 2010 Scrambler seat was being reworked.
The wider seat will take away a good bit of reach.

To the OP. No you are not too small.
 
T

Twodogs

Street Tracker
etak said:
So my 2010 Bonnie is my 1st motorcycle (been riding scooters for ~3 years) and I got it (in part - it's my dream bike) because of the lower height. I'm 5-3 w/28" inseam. When I bought it (this was a year ago), I thought I'd be ok with not being able to flatfoot it. However, a week after signing the papers (a day before picking it up - a friend did that), I broke my arm. Took a long time to heal and my shoulder is still not right, and I definitely don't have the strength I used to have. (I'm 54 so I'm no spring chicken.)
Anyway, after a few short trips down the block to work on shifting, etc., I decided I really want to be able to flatfoot it. (I also bought used engine guards - from here - thanks Joel! after almost tipping over a couple of times.)
I made an appointment to have the seat lowered at Pirate Upholstery, sent it in . . . and they just called me. Said there's only 1 inch of foam in the seat - that they've never seen a motorcycle seat that thin, and that maybe they could lower it by a 1/2 inch. Or they could send it back. I'm so bummed! I figure 1/2 isn't going to do much so I asked them to send it back.
They (and others) have suggested I have the suspension lowered. Can anyone give me more details/advice on this? Also, lady riders, any advice on tall boots that I can still walk in? (I don't "do" high heels, generally.)
Thanks!
Kate
Click to expand...

Keep your seat padding, get your fork tubes raised up a bit and get a suspension mob to set you up with some lowered rear shocks (Wouldn't set you back more then $300). Try not riding the bike like a scooter, riding it with both feet down, this really is not a good riding practice or habit to get into as you are only relying on your front brake and this can hinder your actual control and steering of the bike. When you are stopped you should really only have your left foot on the ground, either putting it there when you have stopped or dropping it slightly early before stopping for a bit of assisted balance and your right should always be on the rear brake, using it to slow yourself down to a dead stop. Having your foot on the rear brake is giving you control of the bike and assisting you with balance at slower speeds, stopping it from rolling out from under you on slopes and also has you ready for hill starts, not worrying about using the front brake and twisting the throttle at the same time. Just means you have to slide off slightly to the left when pulling up and if you ever have to reverse it just hop off and walk it back. Look at any one riding a dirt bike, half these things are a couple of stories high these days and they are not wearing high heels or platform shoes (Don't want to go around looking like Herman Munster). Lowering it both ends should solve your hassles and keep your suspension and steering geometry correct.
 
DandyDoug

DandyDoug

750cc
I'm 5' 8" with a 28" inseam, I replaced my rear shock's with a set 1" lower and dropped the front end a bit less than an inch, my feet were flat on the ground. Did not notice any handling issues, but I don't try and scrape the pegs on every corner either.

I tried a couple of different seat heights also, it did not make much difference except my knees would cramp faster on a lowered seat.

Over all I felt the bike was more stable an inch lower than stock, at least for me.
 
A

Augsburg57

moped
etak said:
Thanks, Augsburg, I really appreciate the info. The boots I'm using (just good hiking boots) do give me a bit over an inch, but I'm still on the balls of my feet. I'm pretty lightweight, so I think lowering the suspension is the way to go. If all ground were level, I'd probably be fine. It's those inclines and dips, and that's just riding around Brooklyn!
I'm still bummed about my seat, though! I was going to get red racing stripes and post it on the "seat" thread!
Click to expand...

A couple of caveats I should have mentioned, Kate. Lowering the bike reduces ground clearance, and scraping the foot pegs will be easier during aggressive cornering. May not be a problem, depending on your riding style.

Lowering could also affect the operation of the side stand or center stand, depending which your bike has. With a side stand, the bike will stand up straighter after being lowered, and will not sit as securely when parked. With a center stand, the bike will take more force to pop up on the stand after lowering. There are options for correcting these problems, including replacing the stand or modifying the stand by grinding off some metal or heat bending the metal. Both should be accomplished by someone experienced.
 
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