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Too tall or too short - my dilemma

Rtowne

New member
I've had my GSA for almost a year and still not comfortable around town and/or a slow speeds. I'm 5'11" tall but I only have a 30" inseam. I'm on my tip toes when I stop and really struggle when trying to move the bike while sitting on it. I've been told not to worry about it and that I'll get use to it over time. But that's yet to happen.

I have a KLR that has a seat height that's about the same as th GS but it's weighs significantly less and a lot easier to handle around town. I know people have lowered standard GS bikes but not aware of anyone doing it to an Adventure. My question is that if it can be done what are the pros and cons and approx should I expect to spend?
 
A friend had a GSA-P and he is like 5'7" He was pretty short with it. He put a low seat on it and adjusted to it. He one footed it at stops. Just got off and walked it if he needed to back it up and loved it. It was totaled when a 90 year old without a license driving a dually pulling a 30" trailer came up a ramp going the wrong way. My friend survived just fine. The bike went into a field however where it did many wonderful aerial displays until it collasped in peices.

Buy a low seat. See if it works. Sell it if not so you won't be out much cash.

NCS
 
I also have the GSA and a 30" inseam. I just had Bill Mayer fixup my extra low sat to make it wider so it is more comfortable on long trips. Now I feel a bit too short. So I'm going to put lower shocks on it. I have ESA. So I'm going with the Wilburs. They can drop the GSA by as much as 3". Let me know if your interested.
 
I had a GSA and lowered it with lower wilber shocks, a low sargent seat, and gs side and center stand. It worked but ultimately I still found it too heavy and intimidateing. I am not a novice rider but I decided that I just was not enjoying like I should. I traded recently for a 2012 R1200R and I am really enjoying it short and much lighter, gives me more confidence. I have ridden a KLR and DR650 and their lighter weight with height is easier than GSA. I wish you luck and if you look hard there are people willing to swap shorter parts to gain your taller stuff that is how I did it.
 
Hey Andy:
Thanks for the advice. What prompted you to buy a 1200 R vs a RT? Most of my riding is around town with one or two over-night trips a year. Do you ever take your bike on the road? What about wind pressure and/or protection on the road.

I've been looking at and thinking about trading for an R1200RT. With the liquid cooled engine coming out in '13 I'm going to wait and see if it's what I want or go for a '12.

The Wilbur's are an interesting thought and something I'll consider if I decide to keep the GS.
 
for around town, and rare short trips, a naked (R) or sport-tour (RS or S) is a very good alternative. you get all the performance of the RT, minus the weight/size/bulkiness. yeah, you get some wind buffeting above 80 or so, but its really not that much of an issue (this, rated from my F8GS. The R11S is fine up to stupid fast speeds; that minimal fairing does an outstanding job of deflecting most of the air around you).
those of us that grew up riding naked bikes (about all that existed in the 70's) do not seem to be so worried about experiencing nature as part of the ride.
 
Even with no seat on the GSA, I could not flat foot the sucker. Tried this at a dealer. The solution is to lower the suspension front and rear. The price of doing this is reduced ground clearance if you're actually gonna take it off road.
 
Flat footing a bike at stops is over rated. I'm 5'-6" with almost a 30" inseam and I have no trouble riding anything lower than a R1200GS Adventure. Left foot always gets flat to ground and its enough for me. I ride a 94 R1100Rs with stock height Wilbers shocks. Wouldn't want it lowered.
 
I looked at a RT also, but then saw that it was much higher priced than I needed. My R1200R was around 17,000 with all three bmw bags and a z technik windscreen, all the RT s they had were 22,000 plus more to add the top box, more weight and heavier. I use my bike for local commuting and several trips a year, the R1200R just seemed to appeal to me , for the money the weight and it seems sportier than my GSA was. I have not put the windscreen on yet but I could live with the clean air for a long distance trip if we had no bugs flying through the air LOL. I really enjoyed my GSA this is just a different style and it seems to fit my life at this time and place. Hope this helps you and does not confuse you :wave
 
I also have the GSA and a 30" inseam. I just had Bill Mayer fixup my extra low sat to make it wider so it is more comfortable on long trips. Now I feel a bit too short. So I'm going to put lower shocks on it. I have ESA. So I'm going with the Wilburs. They can drop the GSA by as much as 3". Let me know if your interested.

With the lowered suspension what do you do about the side and center stands? It seems that the center stand may then be too tall and hard to get it up without breaking your back or at least needing help.

Have any of you who've lowered your bike had any problems?
 
With lowered suspension you'd have to shorten the centerstand and sidestand. At Nick's BMW (Wilbers dealer) they have done a number of lowered bikes and each time they shortened both stands by cutting the tubing of the legs and then re-welding them.
 
I put a 20mm shorter shock on my 1985 R80 .

To make it easier to put on the center stand in the garage I took two pieces of 3/4" thick plywood about 12" wide and 18" long, put a 45 degree bevel on the ends and sides.

Simply roll the bike up on the planks and deploy the center stand as normal.

I am considering looking for another stock center stand and having it cut down and re-welded, or maybe a ride off stand if i can find one for a mono shock bike.
 
Flat footing a bike at stops is over rated.

I tip them over even when I can flat foot, but the incidence is a lot less. The ground also has a habit of not being level.

The problem is ripping my shoulders when trying to save them from the fall. I know it's too heavy once it starts to go, but the reaction is too strong.
 
I agree that being able to put your feet both flat on the ground is nice and may be overated.
BUT !!
Having a 28" inseam and riding has always been a problem on anything but a cruiser styled M/C.
Cruisers make my back hurt so I stopped riding them.

As I get older ( 68 yesterday) I find my balance is not what it used to be , so getting as close to flat foot as possible at stops is a good thing, for me at least.

I deal with the center stand issue as best as I can, and usually only park the bike up that way if i am not going to ride for a few days or maintenance.
 
With the lowered suspension what do you do about the side and center stands? It seems that the center stand may then be too tall and hard to get it up without breaking your back or at least needing help.

Have any of you who've lowered your bike had any problems?

I've done absolutely nothing. My R1200R is lowered about 15-20mm or so.. and it really isn't a problem putting it on the centerstand due to the excellent design of the centerstand. Put weight on the centerstand tang, pull up on the frame and UP it goes. It usually only is on the centerstand in my garage, just for better space utilization. When touring/riding/whatever-else, it stays on the sidestand.

The only time the sidestand might trouble me is when I try using it in a spot where the road/parking/whatever slopes down from port to starboard (left and right for landlubbers..) In those cases the stand actually is pretty useless.. but typically by maneuvering the bike around a bit I can find an orientation that works. At least so far (or I'd be stuck on the bike eh?)

For those people lucky enough to have a 30" inseam - don't go dissing' people who want a lower bike. Some of us are old, short of inseam (27" on a tall day), rotund in shape, and tired of fighting their bikes. It's better the bike is modified to make US comfortable, rather then trying to always overcome what can be a real problem.

For the OP - I'd suggest an R1200R test ride. Take your checkbook. It's very quickly becoming the most popular bike in our local club. Out of about 65 members, we now have at least 6 people riding R12Rs.. more R12R riders then GS riders easily now. And almost everyone bought one because they were tired of the weight and bulk of the other bikes.

The R12R works just fine for touring, easy to farkle up for touring, and equally easy to strip down for fun. It's the swiss-army knife of BMW bikes IMHO.. does all things quite well actually.

BTW - if the side/center-stands really concern you, BMW sells shorter ones for their factory lowered R12R.. and it's not a big deal to swap them.
 
I agree about the R models, best value in the line IMHO.
Only thing I wish they would make an option would be electronic cruise control.
 
Sorry, didn't mean to be dissing on anyone regarding flat-footing a bike. Just that I hear it soo much, even from a lot of riders who are clearly not inseam-challenged. My perspective is a bit biased for sure, being a long term MSF instructor I have lived the MSF guidelines for many years and get lots of practice at it regularly.

To some riders on the flat-foot issue, I first suggest taking a rider course that builds more confidence in the rider, rather than first modifying the bike, or in some cases, compromising the bike for those moments of slow speed/stopped riding. I feel that a rider with more slow speed confidence/ability is less dependent on flat-footing a bike.

Perhaps a bit more understanding of the rider's perspective is better, such as age, leg/knee/hip issues, training background, etc. Kind of like when riders talk about mods/service to their bike, we have to know the model/age/service issues, etc.
 
Perhaps a bit more understanding of the rider's perspective is better, such as age, leg/knee/hip issues, training background, etc. Kind of like when riders talk about mods/service to their bike, we have to know the model/age/service issues, etc.

I'm 6 feet tall, but the height comes from my torso, not my legs. I get it about the training, have 100k+ miles under my wheels and I can do a ride on a "tippy toe bike", just would rather not -- I will drop it. I'd add shoulders, ankles, and sciatica to your worn out/damaged body parts list. :stick
 
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