Statistically speaking, most women on two wheels today ride cruisers. The motorcycles are gorgeous: chromed and painted and leathered and - most importantly - low to the ground. Many women find cruisers to be the perfect solution for the problem of short inseams, but what if you prefer the sportbike or standard style? Are we vertically challenged riders limited in our options due to our short limbs? Fortunately, no way.

First of all, let's get rid of the notion that you absolutely must flatfoot a bike in order to ride it. If anyone has ever told you that, forget it. Right now. Forgotten? Good. As long as you're comfortable on a motorcycle, you can ride it -- and you can be just as comfy on your tiptoes as you are with planted feet. I promise.

The reason behind this is passion. Just like in our human relationships, we can't always choose the object of our affections. Maybe it seems too tall, or too heavy. Our head says "no way", but our hearts flutter whenever we see the bike in the shop or in an ad. Who are we to argue with true love, especially when it applies to motorcycling? If sitting on that bike makes you smile, and riding it makes you sing, then it won't matter at all if it has a 27" or a 32" seat height. You'll spend most of your time riding it, with your feet on the pegs and (hopefully!) far away from the pavement anyway. You'll quickly get used to the tricks you have to do in order to balance it at stoplights and move it around in your garage.

Trick #1: Get off the bike to move it. You're far less likely to drop the bike while standing next to it than while trying to maneuver it on your tiptoes. Stand to the left of the bike, one hand on each handlebar grip. Use your right hip to stand the bike up; push and steer with your arms. To back it up, put your left hand on the left grip and push backwards on the pillion seat with your right arm. With some practice, this becomes very easy, and has the added benefit of giving you amazing bicep muscles.

Trick #2: When you stop, make sure that your feet touch smooth road. When you're on your tiptoes, it's easy to lose your footing, and it becomes nearly impossible to stop a toppling bike. Fortunately, you can avoid most tip-overs by paying attention to where you stop. If your taller friends stop along the road on a gravelly patch of the shoulder, continue up the road a little until it's clear. Don't come to a stop over a pothole or change in incline. Be extra careful for oil slicks or other slippery surfaces at toll plazas and stop lights.

Trick #3: Master your slow-speed maneuvers. Some people insist that riders flatfoot their bikes so that the rider can save the bike from a slow-speed tip-over. Wouldn't it be easier to prevent the tip-over in the first place? Obviously, sometimes life interferes with your best-laid plans, and you step right in that oil puddle at the gas station, or slip in a pothole in the parking lot (I'm guilty of both!). When you're on a moving bike, though, you should be in total control. Learn how to execute the world's best U-turn. Know how to ride for 10 miles of 5mph stop-and-go traffic without having to put your foot down once (hint: steady throttle, keep your eyes up, and feather the clutch if you have to). Being short just means that we have one less trick in our mental bag of emergency tools - we can't stick a foot down if we mess up. So, practice, practice, practice, and you'll be less likely to mess up in the first place.

Let's say that you've noted all of that, but would still like to use a little bit more of your inseam. The cheapest and easiest thing to do is to take your motorcycle seat to an automobile re-upholsterer and have them shave out some of the foam. If you're willing to spend a bit more money, companies like Corbin and Sargent specialize in creating custom seats for individual riders. You're not just looking for the seat to be shorter than stock; you want it to be thinner. A short, wide seat will be just as useless for a short rider as a tall seat. You want to make sure that you can get your legs straight down to the ground while sitting on the motorcycle -- this'll make the most of your inseam.

My favorite option for increasing inseam is the Daytona Ladystar boot. These plain black boots have a riser built right into the sole, so that you gain almost 2" of height without the look or feel of teetering on platform shoes. If that wasn't enough, they're also comfortable and waterproof. Helimot European Accessories in San Jose, CA is Daytona's American importer; they're a great shop to deal with.

Some people recommend lowering the suspension of a motorcycle. Personally, I don't like the risks. Using a shorter rear shock reduces the wheel clearance and amount of possible wheel travel. This makes it far more likely that you'll bottom out your rear wheel; many modern sportbikes house wiring systems underneath the pillion seat, so you don't want that. Ground clearance for cornering will also be impacted, increasing the chances of scraping parts of your bike along the ground.

Finally, if you're feeling alone in an inseam-challenged world, check out the Short Bikers' Home Page. There are some more tips and tricks for short riders there, as well as an excellent mailing list with friendly people and helpful advice.

As for our tragic heroine and her ill-fated love? That was me, of course. I did buy the bike, my 2001 SV650S, and have kept it unlowered. We just passed our 2-year and 20,000 mile anniversary, and the relationship is still going strong.

© June 2003
Originally published Women on Wheel magazine Sept/Oct 2003