One of the worst things on a tall bike if you are a bit short in the legs is uneven road edges where the tarmac drops away to a drain grid . Just reaching a flat surface is bad enough . How about a pivotting stabiliser on either side that will operate near the brake pedal but will reach down to the surface when the foot presses it down a few inches , Spring retraction of course . Just enough to give stability before the wobble and trying to slide across the seat for a better reach . No need to have small wheels on the ends .That Would look silly on a Harley . The mechanism was probably designed in Victorian times . Did America have an era when so much basic mechanical knowledge was worked out ?
Short legs on a Tall Bike
- Thread starter Yohan
- Start date
CYYJ
Michael
There are a couple of attachments - one is called 'landing gear'. They are air powered casters on arms that drop down to stabilize a bike at speeds under a few mph - 6 sticks in my mind. They are mostly designed for larger bikes and tend to cost a few thou. There is an old saying that goes something like, 'there is nothing new under the sun'. It is really amazing to look at cars made in the early 1900's and note that they had some of the 'modern' features of much later cars. There were even electric cars back then.
edit: Michael beat me to it by less than a minute.
edit: Michael beat me to it by less than a minute.
You need one of these....
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The switch box isn't chrome, no Harley guy will install this.
Almost all of this is standard fare among the rangetopping adventure bikes from all the usual players except one thing: Adaptive Ride Height. That’s right – the Pan Am can raise and lower itself and make those red-light shuffles a thing of the past.
“The adaptive ride height is a concept that we’ve been dabbling with over time and now is the time when we have the right vehicle and right tech,” says Bjorn Christensen, Suspension Systems Manager at H-D.
When you come to get on the bike, the rear suspension will have backed off the preload entirely so the bike is at its lowest point with a seat height of 830mm. Once you fire it up and pull away, sensors measure how much weight is on the rear end and adjust the preload to suit.
“The adaptive ride height is a concept that we’ve been dabbling with over time and now is the time when we have the right vehicle and right tech,” says Bjorn Christensen, Suspension Systems Manager at H-D.
When you come to get on the bike, the rear suspension will have backed off the preload entirely so the bike is at its lowest point with a seat height of 830mm. Once you fire it up and pull away, sensors measure how much weight is on the rear end and adjust the preload to suit.
TPadden
Tom Padden
A plane is defined by 3 points, two wheels and one short leg will do it. That's why a side stand works. Sit on your bike, keep both feet on the ground and lean your bike as far as you can; then try it while straddling the bike with either foot on a peg. The lean should be comfortable and possible at a much greater angle with only ONE leg extended.
The answer to your question is: America had an era when seat height wasn't so much of a problem ... then mechanical knowledge worked out the electric starter and "flat footing", then extended suspensions. Get used to only putting one foot down and the other on a peg when stopping.
Tom
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They are available on Amazon for $4800
Very sophisticated and have been around for a while.
GoldWing Landing Gear
There are also a lot of DIY designs for disabled riders.
Some, like this one, disguises the gear as exhaust pipes.
Very sophisticated and have been around for a while.
GoldWing Landing Gear
There are also a lot of DIY designs for disabled riders.
Some, like this one, disguises the gear as exhaust pipes.
TPadden
Tom Padden
The preferred term is vertically challenged...
Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
Lowest height of 830mm is about 32 1/2 inches. Still pretty high for anyone who doesn't have long legs.
Hey Tom when did you become woke?The preferred term is vertically challenged...
The problem I have with one-leg stopping is the leaning weight. I either have to lean the bike so far that one leg has trouble with the weight, or so close to upright that it feels like it's going to fall the other way.
Both feet down is the only way to keep it upright enough that neither leg has trouble with the weight. I still have to rock it to the right to snick it into first gear from neutral, but that only lasts a second or two.
I will add that I have not tried riding yet since my left hip replacement, which was June 7th, and I have been going to physical torture, I mean therapy twice a week, so I may have an easier time of it in the future.
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Simple. You don't lean the bike over far enough to create much leaning weight. You slide over in the seat a little to the side you are going to use for a foot down. Then you don't have to lean the bike that far over to load up your leg and foot. If you mess up and the bike starts to go the other way you johnny on the spot slide over and get the new leg ready.
Honestly I think longer legged riders have more trouble getting their head around one leg stopping or life without having to flatfoot. If you were short and wanted to ride motorcycles taller than low slung cruisers you would have already learned it's not that complicated.
TPadden
Tom Padden
When my cishet partner quit beating me!Hey Tom when did you become woke?
I understand, or at least I think, that you are just making a joke.The preferred term is vertically challenged...
I became involved with this stuff after a friend lost the use of his legs in a motorcycle crash.
So my comment was actually about a surprisingly large number of disabled folks who want to ride motorcycles.
My buddy lost the use of his legs but his soul is still in tact. There are some very interesting approaches to the "landing gear" solutions and it not just for the short (vertically challenged) or the disabled. As some riders get older they consider landing gear instead of a trike or smaller bike. If I ever get old I will consider the side gear approach.
TPadden
Tom Padden
Then the problem isn't that the seat is too tall it's that you can't hold the bike up. Anything close to upright leans more if you bend the extended leg's knee and if it leans too far you extend the bent leg more. Easier done than said. If both feet are on the ground you drop the bike.
Agreed, if you can't hold a two wheeler up you need more wheels, a younger body, or a lighter bike; if you are only comfortable flat footing both feet, you need a lower seat height.
Tom
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He was.
I think you only have two options. (Sadly, this is not a joke.)
I should add that I am a taller rider, at 6' 3", and I can stand with both feet flat on the ground and lift myself off of the seat by a few inches, even with my taller-than-stock RDL seat.
My problem is simple weight-bearing strength of either leg. If I tilt the bike far enough to either side to assure it won't go over the other way, that leg rapidly starts to hurt and weaken.
If I keep it close enough to vertical to avoid that pain and/or weakness, it feels like it's going to fall to the other side faster than I can get the other foot off the peg and to the ground.
Because of the limited range of motion my left hip had before, I couldn't step up or forward with my right leg, so my bad leg did more work and my right leg is now actually weaker.
As I said, this may all be moot now that I've had a new hip installed. I am duplicating the exercises they have me do with my operated leg with the other leg, so they both get stronger.
Yes, I agree with you. The problem is my legs, not the bike. It wasn't such a problem when I first got the ST. But, I disagree with you in that my legs are stronger when straight than with bent knees.Then the problem isn't that the seat is too tall it's that you can't hold the bike up. Anything close to upright leans more if you bend the extended leg's knee and if it leans too far you extend the bent leg more. Easier done than said. If both feet are on the ground you drop the bike.
Agreed, if you can't hold a two wheeler up you need more wheels, a younger body, or a lighter bike; if you are only comfortable flat footing both feet, you need a lower seat height.
I definitely do not need a lower seat. My hips and knees start burning after a much shorter time with OEM-height seats. I have to put both feet down every time I stop or I feel like I will fall over.
The RDL I have now lets me sit on the seat instead of feeling like I'm squatting on it. You can get an idea of my seating position by looking at the thickness of the seat and the handlebar height here:
Of course you are correct. With bent knees you are depending on muscle strength. With a straight leg, it is bone strength and less muscle is used keeping the leg straight.