[BNAllen]

My wife is short. Her 2009 TW is too tall for her to reach the ground comfortably (I too am short but at 5"8" I easily flat-foot my 2008 TW). I would like to reduce the seat height on her 2009 such that she can place both feet firmly on the ground while on a level surface. She needs at least 2 inches of height reduction. One thought that I've had is to simply remove foam from the seat. I am looking for any thoughts or direction on this issue. Thank you, Brad

 

[boylstonrider]

My wife is short also. I put a VStar 1100 rear shock in and pushed the forks up a 1.5" and she loves the bike.I got all the info from this sight. Good luck

 

[lizrdbrth]

You can drill a second set of shock mount holes lower in the swingarm and keep the stock shock.. Search the old forum for pics. It's fairly easy to go overboard with this, so check the forum for hole placement first.



TW seats suck already. lol. She might hate you if you shave it.

 

[BNAllen]

My wife is short also. I put a VStar 1100 rear shock in and pushed the forks up a 1.5" and she loves the bike.I got all the info from this sight. Good luck

Not certain I understand pushing the forks up ... do you happen to have a photo of what you've done?



Thanks!

 

[qwerty]

Not certain I understand pushing the forks up ... do you happen to have a photo of what you've done?



Thanks!

Loosen the bolts on the triple trees and slide the forks up in the trees, then clamp the bolts down. This lowers the front of the bike to match the drop from the shorter shock in the back.

 

[lizrdbrth]

Loosen the bolts on the triple trees and slide the forks up in the trees, then clamp the bolts down. This lowers the front of the bike to match the drop from the shorter shock in the back.

You want this, whichever way you lower it.

So be sure to do a before and after measurement of the rear from the center of the axle to a reference point like the bottom edge of the seat so you'll know how much to lower the front.

 

[BNAllen]

You want this, whichever way you lower it.

So be sure to do a before and after measurement of the rear from the center of the axle to a reference point like the bottom edge of the seat so you'll know how much to lower the front.

Easy enough. Thanks for the advice. Looks like I can drill about 3/4" on the shock mount ... this will lower the seat by 2-3 inches??? Then, I'll lower the front by a similar amount.

 

[qwerty]

be careful not to lower to the point the tire hits the triple trees. Locking the front wheel on a big bump sucks.

 

[TW2007]

My wife is short. Her 2009 TW is too tall for her to reach the ground comfortably (I too am short but at 5"8" I easily flat-foot my 2008 TW). I would like to reduce the seat height on her 2009 such that she can place both feet firmly on the ground while on a level surface. She needs at least 2 inches of height reduction. One thought that I've had is to simply remove foam from the seat. I am looking for any thoughts or direction on this issue. Thank you, Brad

I gained 1/2 inch by going to the cobbler and adding 1/2 inch lift to the soles of my riding boots. It was easy to do and not that expensive.



Just a thought. PM me if you want a picture of my boots.



Mike

 

[DANGARLEPP]

I'd like to drill the holes in the swingarm and lower the rear shock to lower the seat height for my wife but I can't find any old posts with pictures or any details. Can anyone help me with this?



Thanks

Dan

 

[Justin5117]

My local shop did this. Since I'm short, I got it dropped two inches. They drilled a hole by the shock, and then chocked up the handlebars. Best thing I've done. I'm a hell of lot more confident, and Im now flat footed. It made the bike for me much more enjoyable and just all in all very happy, plus hey its safer.

 

[tickboy]

I installed a rear shock from a Vstar 1000 (1100?) from ebay (around $50). I'm 5'3" and can comfortably touch the ground but can't plant both feet flat. It's also the least permanent of these options. Also, I didn't lower the front and have not had any issues with handling.

 

[DANGARLEPP]

Justin, how far is the new hole in the swingarm rear shock mount from the old hole. Like an inch down? Can you take a pictuce and post it. I would really appreciate it.





Tickboy, So the Vstar 1100 rear shock will bolt right in tight with no mods needed?? I see 2 for sale on e-bay for $50 each. I can't believe they sell for that cheap. There not new are they?









Thanks guys,



Dan

 

[tickboy]

Justin, how far is the new hole in the swingarm rear shock mount from the old hole. Like an inch down? Can you take a pictuce and post it. I would really appreciate it.



Tickboy, So the Vstar 1100 rear shock will bolt right in tight with no mods needed?? I see 2 for sale on e-bay for $50 each. I can't believe they sell for that cheap. There not new are they?



Thanks guys,



Dan

Dan,

The vstar upper shock bolt is the same size as stock and the mount fits perfectly. The lower vstar shock bolt is also the same size but the mount is more narrow than on the stock shock so I added a pair of custom made washers made from delrin. You could also use a few plain washers. This just prevents any excessive lateral movement of the shock on the lower bolt.

You may have to adjust the preload on the shock. I found that big bumps would make the tire hit the underside of the seat (I weigh about 180lbs). Tightening the preload adjustment (compressing the spring) made for a stiffer ride but eliminated that problem.

I paid around $50.00 for a used, serviceable, shock.



Hope that helps

tIcKbOy

 

[Justin5117]

I installed a rear shock from a Vstar 1000 (1100?) from ebay (around $50). I'm 5'3" and can comfortably touch the ground but can't plant both feet flat. It's also the least permanent of these options. Also, I didn't lower the front and have not had any issues with handling.

tickboy,



sure I'll take some pictures today and post them. I'm 5'3 and I really suggest if you can afford it to do what I did. I used to ride a Honda CRF 100 . That bike was very easy for me to throw around due its height. With the lowering, I'm not almost flat footed. Coming to stops at red lights and trailriding is so much more improved and confidence in much more now.

 

[DANGARLEPP]

tickboy,



sure I'll take some pictures today and post them. I'm 5'3 and I really suggest if you can afford it to do what I did. I used to ride a Honda CRF 100 . That bike was very easy for me to throw around due its height. With the lowering, I'm not almost flat footed. Coming to stops at red lights and trailriding is so much more improved and confidence in much more now.

That would be great, thanks tickboy.

Dan

 

[Justin5117]

Please excuse the dirt, I had gone trail riding yesterday and hadn't cleaned the bike yet. You see the drilled hole, then the front bars are lowered as well.















Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[Akari.Blue]

My wife is short. Her 2009 TW is too tall for her to reach the ground comfortably (I too am short but at 5"8" I easily flat-foot my 2008 TW). I would like to reduce the seat height on her 2009 such that she can place both feet firmly on the ground while on a level surface. She needs at least 2 inches of height reduction. One thought that I've had is to simply remove foam from the seat. I am looking for any thoughts or direction on this issue. Thank you, Brad

I am 5ft, 2.5in tall, without my boots. My 2009 TW has the lowest seat height of any bike I've ridden, all of my bikes before it had much higher seats. My solution, instead of trying to modify my bikes, was to get Daytona "Lady Star" motorcycle boots. They add up to an entire inch of height to my legs, right where I need it. http://www.helimot.com/shopexd.asp?id=73



Good boots, worth the expensive price even without the added height.



Unless your wife plans to never ride any other bike besides her own TW, added height to her boots and her getting used to not being able to put her whole foot down flat is likely to serve her better in the long run. As someone else on this thread said, any boots can have height added to them by a good shoemaker. It might be worth a try before investing in anything expensive or doing serious modifications to the bike.

 

[DANGARLEPP]

Hey thats great, thanks Tickboy. Thats what I figured it would look like.



Dan

 

[Rhodetrip]

My wife is 5 feet even. I did the shock replacement with the the VStar 1100 shock. Cost me $40.00 delivered on Ebay. It was easy to replace - I used 2 M12 metric washers on the bottom mount to take up the play, otherwise it fit right in. I also cut the seat foam to lower the seat.

The seat height is now 28 inches. She is solidly on the balls of her feet, but not quite flat foot. Very happy with the results.