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"I’ve heard so many times. I’m only five foot nuffin and I’ll never be
able to ride a bike. Well girls, I’m five foot two and a little bit, size
10 and quite weak but haven’t found a bike yet I can’t ride."
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What
do we class as short?
Generally 5’ 7” and under is consider short and 5’ 2” or under is quite short.
However, no one is so short that they can’t ride a motorbike. Vertically
challenged newbies just don’t have the experience that’s all. The few basic
tips here might help out.
If you’re vertically challenged you will be surprised to know that you have
more options than you think and can eventually ride all but the tallest
motorcycles.
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It’s
not just rider height and motorcycle seat height that contribute to difficulty in
managing motorcycles. There are other factors to consider, for example, the
motorcycle's height, weight, centre of gravity, weight distribution, seat
width, steering head angle, reach to the handlebars and many other things
count just as much. I could almost flat-foot my old Triumph Thunderbird but
try dragging it through a gravel drive; my ZX 10R is much easier, because
it’s lighter. Try pushing my Pan-European though.
Also, different bikes will fit
different people in different ways items like foot-peg placement and seating
position vary a lot from one rider to another. Your inside leg measurements
and general strength, don’t forget, short men may have an easier time than us
petite women because they are generally stronger than us.
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The most important factor in
controlling a motorcycle is your experience, skill and determination. By
careful planning and some skill we can overcome many problems that taller
riders haven’t even considered. With experience, you can overcome most
obstacles. Trust me on this. We must make up for what we lack in height with
skill and planning and in time, you may own a motorcycle you once thought
you'd never even be able to sit on without someone holding it. I’m serious.
A bike that works for one rider may be out of the question for another of the
same height. It is very individual and there are no formulas to follow.
Except: experience, skill, practice, planning.
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What
is Flat-footing?
Flatfooting is nice but it’s not mandatory.
A lot people will tell you that you must be able to flatfoot a bike to ride
safely. This is not correct. For a new rider your confidence level is the
highest priority, and the confidence that comes with being able to get both
feet on the floor takes on greater importance than it need to. Anyone can
overcome the need to flatfoot, especially when they get tired of having few
motorcycles to chose from.
Just learn accept that your heels
will never, ever, touch the ground and will never be part of your riding.
Learn to live with it and compensate for it. I’m often seen riding around
town on my ZX10 wearing my motorcycle boots which have 3” heels (builts up). Even then I
can’t get both heels down but it does help. I’m not advocating using high
heels or heel lifters, you have to have a lot more experience for that.
A usefull tipe would be to
purchase boots a size too big for you and then buy some heel lifters.These are gel-filled
wedges that fit inside your boots. They can make you up to 3" taller.
I haven’t yet found a situation when I needed to get both feet down. For any
given situation, there are always other ways to handle it. Us shorties simply
have to come up with other ways.
The golden rule is to keep yourself out of situations where you need to
flatfoot:
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Parking
Parking your bike is the classic example. It’s all very well trying to look
cool by paddling your bike in and out of parking spaces with ease like the
taller ladies and most blokes do but it doesn’t look cool when your toe slips
and you fall over. Get off the bike and wheel it into the space. I do this
all the time, yes I get some looks from the blokes and I know what they are
thinking “silly tart, she shouldn’t be riding a ZX10R, she can’t even
park it” So what, this happened at a recent meeting at the ACE, I didn’t
care. Do not feel pressurized to paddle the bike, it’s not the law.
Have a good look at the parking area, select your spot well before hand and
go for it. I normally ride into a spot then wheel my bike out when I leave.
This allows me to warm up my engine and put my helmet on. It looks a lot
cooler than getting all hot and bothered trying to paddle a bike out. Before
you leave have a walk around to see what is your best exit route, if in any
doubt whatsoever push it out. The last thing you want to do is crash into
another biker.
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Stopping
We have to be more observant than taller riders and learn how to read the
road and general condition in greater detail.
At junctions:
If it’s on a busy road you will notice that your lane will be worn into a “W”
pattern where HGV’s have worn the road with their wheels. Aim to be at the
lowest part of the “W” this make it more comfortable for you to get your foot
down. Some of these troughs can be a few inches. If you stop at the high part
of the “W” you have to find these extra inches.
In windy conditions:
When you can only just get a toe down the wind becomes an important factor,
turn the bars to the right this will lean the bike towards your left. Your
foot will then be closer to the ground and you and your bike will become more
stable so side winds shouldn’t affect you as much than if you were standing
upright.
Generally:
Look out for anything that can cause your foot to slip, for example:
White lines
Gravel
Mud
Water
Any debris
Drunk blokes (only kidding)
Also, it’s not against the law to put your foot on the kerb.
Braking practice
Plan well ahead and brake slowly using only the back brake to finally stop.
The best technique is:
Use your brakes to slow down and change down
Just before you reach the spot where you need to stop engage first gear, this
will alleviate the need to fumble for it when you’re ready to pull off.
By now you should be going very slow so use your back brake only to come to a
complete stop. If you used your front brake the bike will dip forward and may
unbalance you.
Practice this on a quiet road.
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Pulling
off
Plenty of revs and lots of clutch control is the key. A lot of people drop
their bike when pulling off. Why? Because they stall the bike! The same
applies to taking slow corners. Plenty of revs, clutch control and use the
back brake to slow your speed.
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Reversing
It is possible to reverse a bit with one foot, depending on the slope. I do
this by pushing with my foot and holding the bike with the front brake while
I move my foot back for the next paddle. This is enough of a pain that next
time I try to stop in the right place!
Very few situations require two
feet flatly on the floor. Most situations are more conveniently handled with
two feet, but that doesn't preclude finding one-foot, or better yet,
one-brain ways of handling them. You will develop their own methods, and in
time, this will all be incorporated into your regular riding habits and you
won't even think about it.
Learn to swing your bottom off the
seat when needed, there might be times when you will get caught out and the
only way of saving it will be to get your bum off the seat.
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Choosing
your motorcycle
Get a bike you are comfortable with, even if everyone tells you it's too
small or too big. Don't worry about outgrowing a bike -- that's a great
milestone that most riders never experience. That means you have really
advanced and have experienced the limits of a motorcycle, and have found some
of your own.
Most people assume a short rider's
main priority in a motorcycle is always seat height. That may be true for
beginners, but we're motorcyclists just like everyone else, with our own
priorities and preferences.
It’s quite funny to see how
salesmen treat me when I walk into a dealership. First they look around for a
male partner (I’m single) then reluctantly they start to talk to me. If I’m
not wearing motorcycle clothing they usually guide me towards the scooters or
small cruisers. It takes a bit of convincing before they let me sit on the
big sportsbikes. If I’m wearing my leathers they usually notice that my
kneesliders are worn and I have no problems.
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Your new bike
Many dealers will advise you about fitting shorter shock absorbers or other
methods of making your bike fit better.
When you get your new bike ride it
to a quiet spot, an industrial estate on the weekend is a good place. Spend
an hour or so getting to know your bike. Practice stopping, pulling off, slow
speed control. Even practice just pushing the bike around on foot.
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The advantages of being a short rider
Yes, there are some! We tend to be lighter, and so can benefit from more
performance from less powerful motorcycles. We have a lot more room to
stretch out on our bikes than the six-footers do. People who are 6' and
taller have just as much trouble finding bikes to fit them, and there are
very few modifications they can make. We are also very cute.
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Take
care out there and have fun.
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