Dual Sport and Adventure Motorcycles for Short Riders + Tips, Mods, and Tricks for Short Legs
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 มิ.ย. 2024
- Admittedly, most dual sport and adventure bikes are quite tall, but if you look hard enough, there are some great dual sport and adventure motorcycles for short riders out there. If you have short legs but still want to get out there and experience the joy of off road motorcycle riding, let me suggest a few dual sport short rider and adventure bike short rider options. While there aren't a ton of bikes out there with a seat height of less than 34 inches, you can find a few diamonds in the rough like the Yamaha XT250, Yamaha TW200, Suzuki DR200, Honda CRF250L, BMW 650GS, Royal Enfield Himalayan, Suzuki V-Strom 650, and the Triumph Tiger 800 XRX Low. If none of these great shorter dual sport or adv bikes suit your fancy, there are other options available to you, as well. Some useful tips for short dual sport or adventure riders include the use of lowering links, "short" aftermarket seats, and the most important advice of all: how to find a bike you're most comfortable with, regardless of your height.
Confidence is the key to off road motorcycle riding not matter if you are a short rider or a tall rider. Finding the right bike that fits you and that you're most comfortable on is the key. The selection may be limited, but if you keep looking you're sure to find the perfect dual sport bike for short rider that suits your needs. If you're looking for something more highway capable, there are also some great adventure bikes for short riders out there, as well.
Links to videos mentioned in this video:
Honda CB500X Test Ride Video: • The Best Adventure Mot...
Best Dual Sport Motorcycles for New Riders: • Top 5 Best First Dual ...
Best Small Adventure Bikes for New Riders: • The Six Best Small Adv...
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Very short rider here (164cm), and I recommend Versys x-300 as an adv bike. It's small 300cc engine, quite high revving, but you can get a lower seat for it, and you can adjust sag at the rear. I drive gravel roads a lot with it, and to my school and back, and it does fine on the highway (attleast here in Finland where max limit is 120km/h). It's my main form of transportation daily, when it's the driving season.
Ridden bikes for 40 years, have 4 kawasaki's and 1 honda. Just bought a Himalayan, what a peach of a machine. Watch Itchy Boots for the bike's capabilities. Has charm and purpusseness, many expensive bikes lack.
Only 4.9k views but knowledge goes beyond Millions. ❤️🇮🇳
Always appreciate tips for smol bois like me!
Hey dork in the road, you left out the best option for short inseeamed folks. It cost around $400 to $500 depending what adjustments a good suspension tech can do for you, but if you find a good tech they can add suspension lowering washers to both the fork & shock to have it lowered from 1 to up to 3 inches both ends & set it up for your riding abilities & weight all at the same time & your riding experience will be the best for you at all times. I know because I had it done to my 2005 KTM EXC 525 when I bought it new. My inseam is 30 inches. Now I am not flat footed when sitting still but I can get the ball of both feet on the ground at the same time. If I lean to either side I can easily flat foot that side at a stoplight with total confidence. I do not miss the 3 inches I had done at all & because it has lowered the center of gravity the bike & is way more balanced. I have friends over 6 feet tall ride my bike & they have had theirs lowered as well for the better balance it brings. I don’t race it I just ride it for fun so I have no need to jump 30 feet in air to beat the competition so no need for the extreme height. I have jumped as high as 10 feet with no bottoming yet so it has been nothing but a great modification. Totally worth the investment for any bike. Get it modified for you uniquely you. You won’t regret it.
I recently picked up a 2021 DR200s, as my first bike. I'm only 5.6" and 55 kg and this bike is ideal for me I can comfortably get balls of both feet down and can pick it up by myself when I drop it which, when alone and out in the forest is a must. Had the bike for about 6 weeks now and gotta say loving it so far, great little learner bike.
what inseam are you? im around your height with 30 inseam.
@@steve00alt70 about 27-28 I think.
Nailed the video with the Exerbike intro, jajaja, why i didnt think about that!
I’m 5’2”. Love my Himalayan. Haven’t lowered anything.
You are the most adorable dork I ever saw. Love your video. Hug and thumbs up from India.
I love my TDubs!! Great addition to my quiver!! Great vid and great advice!!
Thanks for watching!
Good video! Good info!
Thanks!
Thank you my friend for your videos and knowledge on these bikes
The sitting on a bike is huge! I thought I would love a bike I went to look at because it was smaller and I'm short. It was super squishy and couldn't handle my weight. Went with a large bike and I'm so happy I did!
Excellent video, thank you
My personal dual sport has proven to be the best for me I'm 5'3 135 pounds and I ride a old ke 100 and it works great for me can go most anywhere and I can ride most two lane roads at the speed of traffic
There is also the Honda crf 230 l. It's the air cooled one, before they made the 250. It's quite small and narrow. And a one inch lowering link is fine when you're a small lightweight anyway.
Great video.
Thanks. It helps to understand which motorcycle I need. It would be very interesting to hear how you characterize the Yamaha BW350 and BW200.
Great video! I’m a shorter guy, and I have the Tdub and the XT250. Both are great to get started riding, or like me, get back into riding after 30 years off. Another bike with a relatively low seat height is the Kawasaki Versys X300. Not intimidating at all with my 28” inseam. I also sat on a Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro this past week, and with the seat in the low position, it was quite comfortable for me. In fact, it may be my next bike. Thanks for the video. I always appreciate your insights.
Awesome. Thanks for the additional suggestions. That X300 looks like a super fun bike
The TW200 is a dual sport that looks right at home on the street or on the trail. It doesn't have the front fender floating high over the front wheel. It's also very portàble at only 278 lbs, easy to lift up, or roll or push. Alot of Harleys, btw, have seat heights of 27 inches.
Don't forget about Kawasaki! The KLX230 is super thin through the middle and squats a good but when you get on making it easier to reach the ground. Also the Versys X-300 is pretty short and both bikes are really affordable...
Thanks for what you do Dork! Your videos inspired me to finally get my license and get a bike! MSF in 3 weeks!
That's so awesome! Congrats! Do you mind if I share your comment on Insta to maybe inspire others?
What bike are you getting?
@@DorkintheRoad go right ahead
@@alabaster4263 I was looking at a buddy’s older klx400, price is right
I’m looking for my first bike and wanted the Crf300l which is super hard to get and the seat height is a lil lower but about to get my hands on a wr250r and just balance myself and start having fun
Good picks there Dork. My 2 cents: the Yamaha TW200 is a great starter and oddly enough, it works for folks who are shorter of leg and equally well for those just over 6 feet . At 278 lbs, easy to pick up when dropped on the trail & they last forever. Go XT 250 Yamaha if you plan to ride on the street more, more power & top speed & you get fuel injection and with air-cooling (vs the CRF), no rad to puncture on the trails. Don't mistake me for a Yamaha fan-boy, lol, (I agree Honda CRF 250 is a superior bike overall), just great choices for the beginner/shorter folks. Great video to get folks started & into the sport - there is a bike for everyone as you have shown. Cheers!
Thanks, man. Appreciate your insight!
TW200 for the win! Those a great bikes, even if you aren't short.
My Gs 700f 2014 model is a low bike
I almost dropped it the other day when I had to make an unexpected turn around
Being able to touch my feet helped me keep it on two wheels
Great video
In my opinion the heavier the bike is
The more important it is to be able to set your feet on the ground
So the lighter the bike
The taller you can go and get away with it
Drz400sm with the 17s, dirt tires, low concept seat is great for shorter people to ride on that has some power
A Dr650 factory low suspension setting takes over 1.5 inches off and a low seat concepts seat will take you down to 32". Sag will give you a bit also. You should still have 8.5" - 8.7" of ground clearance.👍 Raise it back up after you are skilled enough to do so. Good subject 👍
Great options and info. Following is my take as a shorter rider. Curious if you considered the BMW F700GS and F750GS or even the F800GS Low? I am a bit under 5' 9" 29ish inseam and can flat foot the just over 32" seat on the stock F700GS I own with knees bent due to slimness and my weight on the bike. The F750GS is about the same and in low version is 31" and still slim. The F850 is a stretch for me with the low seat and no suspension drop at 32.7" but doable. The low seat and suspension gets it down to 32". All three are pricey but I love my F700GS. Also please note the lower center of gravity some bikes have that help us lower to the dirt folks handle the weight of our bikes. F700Gs delivers for me on low CG with full fuel in my opinion. BTW this was a helpful review as I am looking for a bit more power and road ability. The triumphs look like good options so far.
My first bike was a KLX230 S, which had a 32.7 inch seat height and with a 30 inch inseam and flat street boots I was able to ride no problem. (Fun fact, my XSR700, which I replaced the KLX with, actually has a slightly taller seat!)
I’m interested in getting a KLR650 and I bet with the optional low seat and some taller ADV boots I’ll fit just fine. Yes, I know they’re coming out with a new S model with lowered suspension but I bet I can fit on the normal version with the regular suspension.
You can swap out removable seat saddle heights that dip lower.
You can get a BMW F850GS low suspension with a 32.1" seat height or F750GS low suspension with a 30.3" seat height factory installed from BMW. If you want to keep the normal clearance without the factory lowered suspension, you can just go with low seats that have heights of 32.9" for the F850GS and 31.3" for the G750GS. With more power comes more weight though... the F850GS weights 504lbs and the F750GS weighs 493lbs.
I'm 5'3 and I was set on the MT03, low seat height (30inch), and amazing looking bike. But I've recently been advised and been looking into dual sports and supermoto bikes and this was the video I was looking for. Thank u.
5'4 and I´m trying to find out if the CB500X would be a wise choise... I was also looking into bikes like the MT-03 or even BMW G310 at first... But tbh, if I´d go for a road bike, it´d probably be the CB500F or something like that, the MT-03 seems a bit too weak and small even for us :D
@@RSProduxx I wound up getting a kawasaki z400 lol perfect for my height I can almost flat foot it. And it's got a nice amount of power. I've only ridden it once since I got it like a week ago but I really like it so far. N The MT03 just wasn't as comfortable either lol. The cb500 would be a great bike also. But for what I was getting and for the price it was just a better deal to get the kawasaki lol
@@eriejpayne Oh, nice.. I quite like the Z400... It´s definately on my list :)
I wish you alot of fun with it. Be safe out there :)
@@RSProduxx Thanks! you too:)
my compromise from somebody who was looking at DRZ400 was a later model DR350. same weight and height roughly as most 250s but w 100 more cc
Drz sm wheels are 17s and with a low seat concept seat would make it feel even lower
I am 5’4” ride GSA1200LC standard. Yes it is tall but ok.. very stable bike to handle. Then again I ride bikes for the last 40 years.
Nice video! I actually went with the 650GS a few years ago, it still feels like a lot to handle off road. Kinda wish I went with a dual sports you listed. since they weighed around 100 pounds less than mine.
Yeah I think if you're new to off road riding, a dual sport is going to feel a lot more comfortable, in most cases.
I bought Versys x-300 last spring, and drove a bit over 6000km before taking it to hibernate over the winter. Light bike under 400 pounds(382 curb weight), and I feel it's very easy to handle. Haven't done much offroading (lots of gravel roads tough). But I feel like it can tackle that ok, when I get Pirelli Ralli Scorpions coming spring.
If you ever start to rethink you GS, go test-drive a Versys.
It has a bit small engine(might be just that I have owned bigger bikes like z750, sportster 1200, and loaned my friends Blackbird), but has been capable in everything I have thrown at it.
Fortnite had a good review about the x-300, and that made me buy mine, and I absolutely love it.
What other dual sport or adventure bikes would you recommend for a shorter rider?
In Indonesia, 250cc was maxed out for normal bikes that got a low yearly tax, if higher than 250cc, it got restricted by "Luxury Goods Tax", therefore the yearly tax quite expensive. that's why i only can recommended ; BMW GS310, Kawasaki Versys 250, Honda CRF 250 Rally DL ( DL = short version ), Benelli TRK 251. There's one more local product made in Indonesia (factory), its called Viar Vortex 250 that has been tested from Indonesia to Himalaya. :D
KTM 390 . EFI, 6th gear, other safety stuff, standard. My Neighbor has one. He Really likes it. Not as dirt capable as a DR. take care, Clark
Massimo baja 200cc 😂
Trail 125!!?!!??
I am 5'1 and 110lbs and i sat on a yamaha xt250 and rode it too i do recommend that one if you are tiny. In the end i bought a kawasaki z400 not an adventure bike beacause of the height and the confidence factor 🙈.
V-strom 650 has a super thick seat that you can cut down and reshape to reduce the seat height by a hell lot.
Cool video man. Great info for the shorter guys like myself. Question as a videographer though, what camera did you you use to shoot your a-roll(shots of yourself talking)? I see the Gopro listed in your description as your main cam, but my brain won't let me believe that it looks that good.
I use a Lumix G7 for the garage shots.
@@DorkintheRoad Thanks for the reply. Looks great. It's still a great camera obviously.
I'm 5'6" and can barely tippy toe the drz400e, the klx250s was borderline for me as was the crf250l, the xt250 was perfect but I have decided to just get the drz and fit the low seat and lowering links till I get used to it
Lowering links ? I’m thinking about getting one am also 5’6
Don’t know much
Did an all gravel group ride this summer, one short statured lady had a VanVan 200. Great little bike that kept up fine. She loved it, was great for her.
For more highway friendly, rode with another short-statured rider with a lowered GS750...that lady could ride.
Short riders (I'm one myself) will most likely also be light riders. This means we can set the sag to be even lower, giving us a better reach to the ground once we sit on the bike. Any by weighing less, we can also get away with a thinner seat because we'll have less weight pressing down. Less weight also means we tax the suspension less, so unless we're going to be doing big jumps, we can lower the bike an inch without any problems. Add these all up and hey presto, suddenly we have a bike that fits without noticeable compromises!
For trail riding and enduro (especially extreme enduro), it also makes the sense to have the bike lowered a bit (from front and back). For starters, it lowers the centre of gravity, makes it easier to dab a foot down, and also makes the bike more stable on downhills due to increased rake and trail. Graham Jarvis is known for running a very saggy bike at the back and uses soft springs which by their nature, sag more. And having watched enduro set-up videos and researched about the topic, I was surprised to learn that many other riders also run a low set-up!
One important caveat here is that the nature of their riding is very slow and technical. If you don't care about slow and technical riding and will be slamming through dessert whoops or jumping around a motocross track, then don' lower the bike! At those speeds, you need as much ground clearance as you can get and you definitely won't be willingly getting a foot down. :)
Just my 2c. Before I used to think "Leave the bike as stock because that's how the engineers intended it to run!" But nowadays, I think more along the lines of "set the bike up for your type of riding and for what fits you." After all, it's what the pros do anyway!
The KTM 390 Adventure is slightly taller than the Himalayan, but is narrower and lighter. Both bikes are a blast.
S
I’m not sure why these motorcycle manufacturers only offer certain models to certain countries around the world, but a good example of an all around “ do it all “ bike is the recent Suzuki DRZ400E Cape York Edition that is only sold in Australia 🇦🇺 ... it has a bit hotter cam than DRZ400S , upgrades in suspension with adjustability, a shorter seat height , upgraded knobby tires , standard bark busters , skid plate , larger 12.8 Liter fuel tank and a few other nice features. And the same goes for the new Honda CRF300L model sold in Asia that comes standard with a 32” seat height as well as LED headlight/ taillight and turn signals . And you can only scratch your head and ask yourself WHY !?
That DRZ400E sounds pretty nice . I went with the big brother 650 because 1 it was shorter and 2 I felt I would grow into more and it would be a bit more steady on the highway . Now I have a Tenere 700 but I did have to have the lowering linkage installed . Just a little too tippy when making tighter slow parking lot turns . After 3 drops I thought that's it just get it lowered . The 20mm does help . I am 6' tall but have a shorter inseam and longer torso . Later when my skills improve I will get it back up to factory height . Really like that bike and the 2019 DR650 will be for sale soon with goodies thrown in .
I’m 5ft4 and I’m currently on a varadero 125 and when I pass my A2(UK) I want to progress to a Honda CB500x. Do you think I will manage on that bike? 😂
oh nice enduro bikes who aren't that high , so I can now have an enduro and turn it into a supermot !
Yamaha xt250. You should throw in some prices with your reviews.
Totally off topic. But clearly the DRZ is the right bike for you now. In the future I see you on a Beta 500 RRS.
I feel like it fits me pretty well right now, for sure
I have a 30 inch inseam
How about the CRF 230L or the new 2021 KLX 230.? How tall & wide are the seats on them.?
Or how about the many many different models of small Enduro's made in the 1970s & 1980's.
Call me crazy but what about the Yamaha DT 50.... Just saying. LoL (smiles)
Why no mention of the BMW G310 GS?
We are looking for a bike for my wife for trails. Looking at the tw200 Yamaha and even the Honda CT125.
Which one did you buy? I have the TW200 and thought of buying the CT125 for my daughter that's only 5' 1"
I can't get my leg over the seat on tall bikes, I've had to bring the bike to a curb to get on them and I'm 6'0" but I'm almost 60 years old too.
Try standing on the peg first.
In time and after doing it so many times your body will prob "memorize" the moves and it will get easier. But shouldn't be a struggle. (I once had a bicycle with a frame that was too big, always tried to mount it from a curb, but eventually I could run with it a bit, so the fwd momentum would keep the bike up, put by left foot on the peddle and swing my right leg over. It took some practice but I got there.)
I have a 27" inseam. I can manage 29" on my tiptoes. Can you do a video of how to ride a bike that is too tall for you?
So I guess I should never have ridden my Yamaha 175 Enduro off road, eh. Lucky I never crashed once in the 4 years I rode it.
its not the seat hight its the highback to swing your leg over...in the 1960-70's the seats were flat
you forgot about KTM 390 adventure for actul adventures theay are the also consideraed as short adventure motorcycle
How tall are you ? I’m about the same size as you but trying to figure out how I’d fit
Phew, my girlfriend friend is 5’3” and wants to ride to India ive been steering her toward the Himalayan I thought you were going to ignore it…. We can buy two of those for the price of the triumph that caught her imagination
👍
I totally know what it's like to be on the shorter side.
I have ducks disease, my arse is to close to the ground !
KLX230.
Remove the seat and just fit a small piece of yoga mat, possibly more comfortable than my klx stock seat!
Is such a shame that the USA does not get the Beta Alp 4.0
that looks like a sick bike, hope it comes to canada!
@@212driller the Alp 4.0 has sadly been dropped worldwide now
@@HippoDrones that sucks!
@@212driller Yup, I was hoping that with the Alp 4.0 going they would replace it with a liquid cooled 4T with sensible servicing intervals
Interesting coincidence I watched a Cycle Cruza video today showing a little person with a full size street bike. "Size matters not. Judge me by my size do you?"- Yoda. At 5 min th-cam.com/video/cHCN_sT4udg/w-d-xo.html the DR650 stock seat is about 34 inches and there is a low seat and you can also lower the linkage.
Vstrom or cb500x guys i need help lolll
BMW 850 with factory lower kit along with a low seat from Sargent. 31” and its a beast of a bike - giving up nothing.
Kawasaki klx 300
30" 🐕
Yellow laight small😔
Yellow laight No big😥
Why did i get this recommended?? 😤😤
That's offensive!