Hello all, new member here.
Thinking of getting a VFR. I am 5' 7", I know I probably can not flat foot the VFR (I still need to sit on one). Would it be possible for me to flat foot the bike with a different seat? This is important for me, I need to back out the bike from my garage to street (slight downhill) backwards and good footing is necessary with a 500 lb bike.
I searched the forum and someone mentioned that he is 5' 8" and he could not flat foot it.
Thanks in advance.
Levo, I'm 5'8" with 29.5" inch inseam and about 32,000 miles of motorcycling under my belt. I can't flat foot the VFR, but haven't had any problems so far (9,000 miles). I do have a Corbin seat, and that is a bit higher than the stocker.
I have a friend with a 600 FI and I can't quite flat foot that one, either, but it is closer.
There is a member who sells rear suspension dogbones that lower the rear end by 1" (comes with shorter kickstand, too), and you can either lower the forks in the triple tree of change the fork spacers to lower the front end by an equivalent amount to keep the balanced handling the VFR is known for. I think his username is MCT54.
The VFR is a great all around bike, and if you buy one I think you'll like it. It can be set up for touring (like mine) or for knee dragging (see Das Bones video), and will do either one relatively well.
use the searchbox for Lowering link, seat lowering you will find lots of info
my blue jeans are 30" inseam, and of course I wear boots, which have thicker soles than tennies. I have a Sargent seat, which is a little lower than stock. No problems.
Hey, I'm 5'7" and could not flat foot with the stock seat. I ordered a Corbin and had them do a "nose job" in which they shave the front portion of the seat(where your thighs sit) decreasing your reach to the ground, and I can now flat foot.
You may also want to look for some boots that have a thicker sole to help fascilitate flat footing as well:idea3:
Levo, Apr 5 2005, 08:11 PMHello all, new member here.
Thinking of getting a VFR. I am 5' 7", I know I probably can not flat foot the VFR (I still need to sit on one). Would it be possible for me to flat foot the bike with a different seat? This is important for me, I need to back out the bike from my garage to street (slight downhill) backwards and good footing is necessary with a 500 lb bike.
I searched the forum and someone mentioned that he is 5' 8" and he could not flat foot it.
Thanks in advance.
I am just shy of 5'8" and got the lowering kit from MCT54 as well as the lower side stand and risers. I have no difficulty backing up from my garage, duckwalk turnarounds and flat footing. Great product.
Sargent seats are also purported to cut a bit off the seat height as well as getting some foam taken out of the front and width of the seat without sacrificing comfort.
Same here, Sargent seat and MCT54's lowering link.
I'm 5'7" with a 30" inseam and I have no problem flat footing it with this combo.
Damn, I must have some disproportionate legs. I'm 6' and I've got a 30" inseam too. :D
I can almost flat foot it. I've never had any problems with balancing it, though. Of course, I'm coming off years on my mountain bike where I literally couldn't touch the ground from the seat. So, being able to almost be flat footed is really like a luxury for me.
I realize the weight is nowhere close, but it's still got to do with balancing it.
I'm about 5'9" and I have no problems backing the bike up or anything like that. I'm not sure if I can flat foot or not, but I would never consider lowering the bike. It will reduce your cornering clearance a lot. I rode a lowered R1 one night and was scraping the pegs when I wasn't even leaning that hard. If I were you, I would just turn the bike around in the garage and ride it down to the street instead of lowering it. Just my $.02
Hey, I'm 5'8-9" (depending on who you ask) :goofy: with a 30" inseem. I've had my '02 VFR for over 3 years and could get one foot flat and the other toe down. I wanted a little lower ride also but didn't want to mess with the factory suspension bits. I took my stock seat off and took it to a local car interior repair shop. For $40 they took the cover off, shaved about an inch of foam off the seat and then put the stock cover back on. Solved the problem (cheap). You will sacrifice some butt comfort though.
I'm 5' 2", 28" inseam, size 37 feet (european) and can cope with surpirsingly big bikes. As a shortie finding any bike is a challenge so I changed my attitude and started looking for bikes I wanted instead of bikes I thought would fit!
See if you can live with it for a few weeks without modifying, plan ahead for parking, pulling up etc., and you'll find you don't need to flat foot - I speak as the queen of tiptoe!
BE CONFIDENT AND GOOD LUCK
Thanks all. After I put a few more miles on my GS500 I'll go get a VFR.
Don't let the seat hight of the VFR keep you from getting one. I'm 5-6" with a 29" inseam. I can't flat foot the VFR. And when its got new tires, I'm doing good to get both balls of my feet on the ground. In 24000 miles, I haven't dropped her yet (knock on wood). Is it possible for you to back into your drive way? That way, when its time to leave you just pull out. You'll be backing in down hill which won't be a problem, or much of one anyway.
BOBINOTTAWA, Apr 6 2005, 03:51 AMI am just shy of 5'8" and got the lowering kit from MCT54 as well as the lower side stand and risers. I have no difficulty backing up from my garage, duckwalk turnarounds and flat footing. Great product.
Sargent seats are also purported to cut a bit off the seat height as well as getting some foam taken out of the front and width of the seat without sacrificing comfort.
I also posted a free way to lower the VFR rear suspension. BTW where do I get a side stand for a lowered bike?
MCT54 sells 'em.
I have one and it works great!
Yeah....what everybody said....
I'm 5'4" with a 28" inseam, and am on my 3rd VFR ('86 750, '94 and '01).
I dropped the front end on the '86 and the '94 without lowering the back. I just put MCT54's kit on the '01 about a month ago.
Definitely the way to go.
Excellently made, easy to install and works great.
The only other thing to take into consideration is your weight and whether or not you ride two-up.
End of thread · 17 posts recovered Wayback Machine snapshot 1 May 2005