NJ609Eagle
Well-known member
At 5’2” with a 28” inseam, it’s just about impossible to find the bike that my girlfriend wants. With years of riding experience, and plenty of miles in the saddle, she has tried to find all of the features that she wants in a motorcycle that fits both her size and wallet. Features like Fuel-injections and color-matching hard saddle bags are at the top of the list. Of course there are Givi bags and alike, but that is not the look she really wants. Other would be nice features like a fuel gauge and shaft drive would also be ideal but not deal-breakers. Of course style is a must; it’s got to have some style, but it also has to be in her price range too. We all know that anything is possible with time and money.
Background
For a while she was riding a Yamaha V-Star Classic 750. This was almost the perfect bike for her as she rode it. It had all of the style she wanted minus the color matching hard bags. A very classic motorcycle look with the passing lamps, windshield, leather saddlebags with fringe. Of course being a cruiser, seat height and maneuverability was not an issue. She was easily able to stand up and move her bike around in and out of parking sports. Unfortunately, during one long trip she hit a bump or pothole and caused some serious discomfort with her tailbone. This discomfort became a major problem. Had a custom Cee Bailey’s seat made for her, but no relief was to be found. This eventually put her off the road for a whole riding “season”.
The season after, we went searching high and low for a bike that will allow her to be off of her tailbone while riding. We were able to determine that a standard riding position, or a sport riding position was what she needed to get back on the road. After sitting on many bikes, she was able to settle with the 2008 SV650.
Now this naked bike was not the style she was looking for, but the ability to ride took precedence over style. But even the SV right off the showroom floor was giving her some issues with ride stability. The bike was a little too high only allowing her to have some of the balls of her feet on the ground. A Suzuki Gel seat was bought but that didn’t lower the seat height enough because it was a little wider. Dog Bones to the rescue! And now the bike is manageable at a stop light but still gives her a little apprehension while backing it up, and since we didn’t cut the kickstand, she has a little anxiety when she dismounts the bike. We replaced the bug screen with a larger windshield, added some Cortech textile saddlebags, a Starcom1 unit with iPod, FRS Radio all connected and back on the road loving riding again.
The Search
So now she wants more. Stability on the bike is the first most important thing. So much so that we did demo rides on a trike. It wasn’t the ride she wanted, slow lumbering and big turns were a killer. The fun riding the SV now would be hard to walk away from. One of the first bikes she saw promise in was Honda’s NT700v.
Every feature she was looking for in a bike was there. So we found a dealer with one on the floor so she could check it out. Since the dealers are struggling to sell this bike the price was fairly low. Throw the leg over the bike and reach for the ground. But the ground wasn’t there, only the toes would touch. So we needed to find out what options were available to lower this bike. Did Honda offer a lower Seat option? No. What about a lowering kit? There is one on the market that will take the bike down 1.3 inches. So the dealer and I took off some plastic to make sure it was the right part. Unfortunately it wasn’t. The kit must be for the European model, and the only modification we could see was a shorter spring and maybe lowering the forks. Then we would have to send the seat out to have that trimmed down. Even with the dealer doing some of the modifications, there still wasn’t a warm and fuzzy feeling that she would be able to ride this bike home with comfort hoping for the seat to be the trick. The dealer tried to see if Yamaha’s FJR would fit, but we knew this wouldn’t since that is what I ride. Honda’s ST 1300 wasn’t considered at all because of the price. It also has the same seat issue though.
Leaving the dealer a little bummed, we rode to another dealer close to home. This dealer works with Suzuki, Kawasaki and Honda. I was hoping the parts guy would tell me that the color match bags from the V-Strom 650 would fit her bike, but they didn’t’. While I’m at the counter I turned around and asked her to throw her leg over another bike, Honda’s VFR1200.
She really didn’t want to because the bike looked too big, and the seat looked too high. The VFR1200 seat height is 32.4” compared to the NT700v 31.7”, but she did and WOW! She can touch with more of her foot on this bike than the NT700v. Just shows that the seat height numbers don’t tell the full story. But did the bike have all of the features? Yes it did. Did Honda offer a lower seat? Yes, and they specifically call it a low, narrower seat that will lower the seat height another .8”. With that much lower there probably isn’t a real need to lower the bike anymore, but that option is available with a lowering link. The 1200 gave her a little apprehension being much larger than she currently rides, but I told her that was easy to overcome. Then we get the price on the bike all totaled up with bags and seat changed, it was twice the price of what she wanted to spend. Before we walked out of the dealership we saw the 2008 and 2009 Honda Interceptor. Since it was a leftover, the price points were perfect. The chain-drive was easily overlooked. However, no lower seat option. Too many customizations needed to ride the bike home.
The one last bike we saw was Kawasaki’s Ninja 650R. Sharp bike that is very similar to her SV650. Good upright riding position with the handle bars instead of clip-on controls. It looked like it would fit the bill but there are no color matching hard bags for the bike.
The results
We feel that the manufactures are missing a segment of the market it what they produce, mid-sized sport-touring bike that offers a lower position for shorter legs to reach the ground with a decent price point. Honda almost hit it with the NT700v but they failed to do the right things for the shorter legs. They are close the VFR1200, but the price point is higher. The VFR1200 is a great competitor to the FJR1300 or a sportier ride than the Kawasaki C14. It can even compete with the ST1300 for those who want more sport than touring.
Background
For a while she was riding a Yamaha V-Star Classic 750. This was almost the perfect bike for her as she rode it. It had all of the style she wanted minus the color matching hard bags. A very classic motorcycle look with the passing lamps, windshield, leather saddlebags with fringe. Of course being a cruiser, seat height and maneuverability was not an issue. She was easily able to stand up and move her bike around in and out of parking sports. Unfortunately, during one long trip she hit a bump or pothole and caused some serious discomfort with her tailbone. This discomfort became a major problem. Had a custom Cee Bailey’s seat made for her, but no relief was to be found. This eventually put her off the road for a whole riding “season”.
The season after, we went searching high and low for a bike that will allow her to be off of her tailbone while riding. We were able to determine that a standard riding position, or a sport riding position was what she needed to get back on the road. After sitting on many bikes, she was able to settle with the 2008 SV650.
Now this naked bike was not the style she was looking for, but the ability to ride took precedence over style. But even the SV right off the showroom floor was giving her some issues with ride stability. The bike was a little too high only allowing her to have some of the balls of her feet on the ground. A Suzuki Gel seat was bought but that didn’t lower the seat height enough because it was a little wider. Dog Bones to the rescue! And now the bike is manageable at a stop light but still gives her a little apprehension while backing it up, and since we didn’t cut the kickstand, she has a little anxiety when she dismounts the bike. We replaced the bug screen with a larger windshield, added some Cortech textile saddlebags, a Starcom1 unit with iPod, FRS Radio all connected and back on the road loving riding again.
The Search
So now she wants more. Stability on the bike is the first most important thing. So much so that we did demo rides on a trike. It wasn’t the ride she wanted, slow lumbering and big turns were a killer. The fun riding the SV now would be hard to walk away from. One of the first bikes she saw promise in was Honda’s NT700v.
Every feature she was looking for in a bike was there. So we found a dealer with one on the floor so she could check it out. Since the dealers are struggling to sell this bike the price was fairly low. Throw the leg over the bike and reach for the ground. But the ground wasn’t there, only the toes would touch. So we needed to find out what options were available to lower this bike. Did Honda offer a lower Seat option? No. What about a lowering kit? There is one on the market that will take the bike down 1.3 inches. So the dealer and I took off some plastic to make sure it was the right part. Unfortunately it wasn’t. The kit must be for the European model, and the only modification we could see was a shorter spring and maybe lowering the forks. Then we would have to send the seat out to have that trimmed down. Even with the dealer doing some of the modifications, there still wasn’t a warm and fuzzy feeling that she would be able to ride this bike home with comfort hoping for the seat to be the trick. The dealer tried to see if Yamaha’s FJR would fit, but we knew this wouldn’t since that is what I ride. Honda’s ST 1300 wasn’t considered at all because of the price. It also has the same seat issue though.
Leaving the dealer a little bummed, we rode to another dealer close to home. This dealer works with Suzuki, Kawasaki and Honda. I was hoping the parts guy would tell me that the color match bags from the V-Strom 650 would fit her bike, but they didn’t’. While I’m at the counter I turned around and asked her to throw her leg over another bike, Honda’s VFR1200.
She really didn’t want to because the bike looked too big, and the seat looked too high. The VFR1200 seat height is 32.4” compared to the NT700v 31.7”, but she did and WOW! She can touch with more of her foot on this bike than the NT700v. Just shows that the seat height numbers don’t tell the full story. But did the bike have all of the features? Yes it did. Did Honda offer a lower seat? Yes, and they specifically call it a low, narrower seat that will lower the seat height another .8”. With that much lower there probably isn’t a real need to lower the bike anymore, but that option is available with a lowering link. The 1200 gave her a little apprehension being much larger than she currently rides, but I told her that was easy to overcome. Then we get the price on the bike all totaled up with bags and seat changed, it was twice the price of what she wanted to spend. Before we walked out of the dealership we saw the 2008 and 2009 Honda Interceptor. Since it was a leftover, the price points were perfect. The chain-drive was easily overlooked. However, no lower seat option. Too many customizations needed to ride the bike home.
The one last bike we saw was Kawasaki’s Ninja 650R. Sharp bike that is very similar to her SV650. Good upright riding position with the handle bars instead of clip-on controls. It looked like it would fit the bill but there are no color matching hard bags for the bike.
The results
We feel that the manufactures are missing a segment of the market it what they produce, mid-sized sport-touring bike that offers a lower position for shorter legs to reach the ground with a decent price point. Honda almost hit it with the NT700v but they failed to do the right things for the shorter legs. They are close the VFR1200, but the price point is higher. The VFR1200 is a great competitor to the FJR1300 or a sportier ride than the Kawasaki C14. It can even compete with the ST1300 for those who want more sport than touring.
