[CDawg]

Colleague of mine is interested in taking the BRC. She is 5 feet with a 27 inch inseam and concernered that she is too short to take the class/ride a motorcycle. I believe they use 125 and 250 cc motorcycle for the class. What should I tell her?

Thanks!

 

[msincredible]

I can't imagine that she wouldn't fit a Kawasaki Eliminator. Those bikes are pretty small. I'd recommend calling up the course organizers and finding out what their smallest bikes are.

 

[Mostrobelle]

Most of the bikes used at those courses are made for children I think. Seriously, I'm not exactly scrapin' the ceilings with my head when I walk into a room and I felt cramped on those things. I think your friend will be fine.

 

[ro-monster]

I've seen a couple of really short people take the BRC. But they did have trouble balancing the bike at stops, and I recall one of them didn't make it through the class, as she kept falling over. If it proves too intimidating, another option for her is to first take MSF dirt school to gain a little experience and confidence, and then go take the BRC. Dirt school accepts kids as young as 7, so they'll definitely have a bike to fit. I took it last summer at Rich Oliver's Mystery School and had a great time!

 

[flighty]

I'm 5'2 and was alright on a 250 ninja- I did drop it though- but I think any of the small cruisers that many MSF courses use would be totally fine. A good pair of boots always helps too. May also help her just to go to a dealership and sit on bikes that are similar to what she'll be riding, just so she can arrive at the BRC knowing what to expect when she gets on the bike.

 

[kc4ag]

There are plenty of bikes at MSF that are pretty short. The Rebel 250 seems to be the most common. I think it has a whopping 27" seat height or something like that. It's several inches shorter than a stock Monster.

When she gets a bike, tell her to seriously consider NOT lowering it. A bike's stock geometry was made to work just the way it was built, so lowering it will make it MUCH harder to corner. It is best just getting used to it with tons and tons of saddle time. Ok, so she might drop it in parking lots. No biggie. Buy a bike that has been dropped before and be sure to keep a small stock of levers. [thumbsup]

 

[Sachica]

There are plenty of bikes at MSF that are pretty short. The Rebel 250 seems to be the most common. I think it has a whopping 27" seat height or something like that. It's several inches shorter than a stock Monster.

When she gets a bike, tell her to seriously consider NOT lowering it. A bike's stock geometry was made to work just the way it was built, so lowering it will make it MUCH harder to corner. It is best just getting used to it with tons and tons of saddle time. Ok, so she might drop it in parking lots. No biggie. Buy a bike that has been dropped before and be sure to keep a small stock of levers. [thumbsup]

Hmm, well, lowering bikes does change their geometry. This is true. The cornering can be a problem for bikes that already have low cornering capacity or if you lower them a lot. Having said that, having a tall bike is tough when you are just learning. Any little loss of balance can easily result in the bike lying in the parking lot. Dropping bikes, while generally not dangerous to the rider, does result in bike damage and even more damage to one's self esteem. My vote is if you are uber short, get a bike with low seat height and lower it if necessary to be more comfortable. The comfort of being able to touch more than your big toe outweighs the change in bike geometry and the slightly restricted cornering ability. When you get to the point where you are dragging parts in corners and are experienced enough to notice the shortcomings in the bike's geometry, take out your lowering links and put the bike back to stock.

 

[msincredible]

Shaving the seat is a good way to lower the bike without affecting handling.

 

[CDawg]

Much appreciated. I will forward this thread to her.

 

[msincredible]

Hi CDawg,

Also send her these links:
http://www.nebcom.com/noemi/moto/sbl.faq.html
http://www.nebcom.com/noemi/moto/sbl.sbl.html

 

[DuCaTiGiR]

when i took the BRC they had different bikes to choose from,
the shorty's in the group (i'm 5'1") got first dibs on the small bikes... i had no problem,
in fact i'll agree with mostrobelle, i felt tall on those dinky things [laugh]

 

[mcgalinmd]

I am a MSF instructor and you'll be fine on the kawasaki 250. That's what we use now at our range. We also have a rebel and it's a bit shorter. And just to make sure we can accommodate people (men or women) we also have two "shaved" seats for the vertically challenged, so we never have an issue getting anyone to touch. We used to use Honda nighthawks (over 10 years), i'd definitely have said yes, you would have an issue if the range you are considering used that model and make.

We have two instructors that are either over 280 lbs or are over 6'4" tall and they can ride them too.

Go sign up and take the course. Ask if they have a bike that is lowered some, or heck, come to Maryland and take it (Hagerstown to be specific) - we've already got it covered!! [clap]