Hey Daboo (aka Chris)
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I bought a leftover 2011 Honda NT700V on May 3rd. Still have the 2008 Burgman 400, but it isn't getting a lot of use.
Chris
I bought a leftover 2011 Honda NT700V on May 3rd. Still have the 2008 Burgman 400, but it isn't getting a lot of use.
Chris
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360 Posts
I noticed the change this morning but was not surprised, since I read about your NT700 purchase earlier. It is a sweet-looking bike, but goodness knows as short as I am, something like that would be totally out of my reach. :lol:
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Someone over on a CTX forum asked the same thing yesterday, after I posted a ride review of the CTX700. I'm only 5'6" with an inseam of 28 inches. Short. Yet it works fine.
There are a couple factors that make a difference, which is why you want to actually sit on a bike instead of taking everyone's opinion.
There are a couple factors that make a difference, which is why you want to actually sit on a bike instead of taking everyone's opinion.
1. Listed seat height. That obviously makes a difference. How tall is it?
2. How wide is the seat? The NT's seat is narrow, so my legs drop down without being spread out a lot.
3. Suspension compression. How much does the seat height go down as you get on it? Depending on where you have the preload set to, it can be a couple inches...which puts you in the ballpark.
4. Where do you stop? On a perfectly flat surface, I'm on tip toes. Many of our roads though, have troughs where the car tires have been at. The result is that the NT's tires are down in that trough or depression, and my feet are an inch or so higher on the unworn portion of the pavement.
5. How do you stop? It's easy to say you want to flatfoot the bike all the time. But the rear brake is on the right side and activated by your right foot. More often than not, I'll hold myself at the stop with that rear brake, which puts the left foot firmly planted on the ground.
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360 Posts
Thanks for the run-down Daboo. You definitely make some good points - especially the one regarding the narrow seat. The 250 Ninja I had after my first 400 had a listed seat height of 29 1/2 but I was practically flat-footed on it with my 26" inseam due to its narrow frame. I was also able to flatfoot my 05 400 (with boots of course), but it appears Suzuki widened the bottom front of the seat on the 2009 and up models, so even with boots, I can only get about 3/4 of the way down. Unfortunately, the way the seat is built, Cary said there is not enough extra foam to remove to get me closer to the ground - it would leave my legs pressing into the plastic frame which would not be comfortable! But I agree, flatfooting is not a requirement, especially with a foot brake. The only time I wish I could get both down is when needing to back up the Burgie - as it is, I cannot get enough leverage and end up just walking it to turn it if needed. Our temporary house has a single car garage at the top of an inclined driveway, so I have to drive into the garage and then walk the bike around to face the door since I cannot back down the driveway due to a very low spot where it meets the road.
You are also correct that you never know whether a bike will work for you until you sit on it yourself. I have looked at some cruisers online before with a very low seat height and thought they would fit me fine. But as soon as I hopped on, it became apparent that because of the width of the machine, my legs were pretty much useless to either reach the pegs or the ground. :lol:
You are also correct that you never know whether a bike will work for you until you sit on it yourself. I have looked at some cruisers online before with a very low seat height and thought they would fit me fine. But as soon as I hopped on, it became apparent that because of the width of the machine, my legs were pretty much useless to either reach the pegs or the ground. :lol:
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