short height

sunny malhotra

Joined
Nov 11, 2022
Messages
6
Age
54
Location
LAUREL,MS
looking for any suggestion to to lower my honda st1300 abs 2012 as i am like 3 inch short in touching feet to the ground
thank u all in advance
 
You should never have Both feet on the ground at the same time.
Your right foot should always remain on the peg (brake) that way you have a three point tripod, and better balance when stopped.
I don’t think you will find a way to get that much lower even trimming the seat etc.
 
Rode once with a group of guys,one Harley guy had his decker lowered.Noticed later what l thought was an adapted sole on his boot for one short leg.

Nope; BOTH his legs were short! Turns out 2 1/2 too short.Lot of coin spent there. Reminded me of the old KISS OUTFITS:rofl1:
 
Welcome Sunny from Northumberland, England.
Lowering? A few will chirp in I'm sure with what they have done.
The Big step would be to fit a shorter rear shock, lift the forks in the clamps, change both centre and side stands.....or buy another bike. None of this will be cheap or easy.
The best starting point is the seat, a remodel will gain you some lowering benefit, but not three inches. Wait for others to suggest seat options in the states but the likes of Sargent and Corbin etc would be a good start, they may even have a model on the shelf to suit or someone here may have one to sell.
Good luck.
Upt'North.
Oh yes, I forgot, leg surgery.
 

Lowering stock seat height | ST1300 Related

I just bought a 2005 ST1300A. I am switching from Vtwin Cruiser. I am 5'6" tall, with 29 -30 inch inseam. The stock seat is a little too high for me, I am on my toes when stopped. The seat is already sent on the lowest position. I do not want to put my wife on the back of the bike until I can...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
Put your seat in the lowest position. (there are 3 settings)
Have your current OEM seat modified, or buy a lowered modified seat from a seat manufacturer. Corbin , Sergeant etc,
Get some riding boots with thicker soles.
Have your rear shock lowered if possible.
Good luck....
 
Igofar said:
You should never have Both feet on the ground at the same time.
Your right foot should always remain on the peg (brake) that way you have a three point tripod, and better balance when stopped.
Click to expand...
I have tried to do that, but to keep the weight from overwhelming my left leg, I have to keep the bike so close to upright that I either feel like I'm about to fall to the right, or I actually do.

I've been riding for 49.5 years, and I've found that using both legs just works for me. Maybe I will try again, now that I'm riding again since my left hip replacement (June 7th).
 
I ended up selling my 1300 because it kept growing heavier and getting taller. Seriously, lowering will get you around an inch (PM @Woodchuck and ask him how much altitude he lost when he had his bike professionally lowered), you can save an inch by reworking the seat (unfortunately, Spenser is retired and no longer modifying seats), and guys have boosted their height by adding an inch of rubber soles to their boots. There is your 3+ inches.

I would not recommend gaining an extra 200 lbs, but that will also bring the bike down a bit :rofl1: .
 
This isn't really an easy thing to accomplish. I would suggest a shorter seat foam, as well as narrower, which would help a bit. Dropping the bike down on its own suspension .....must be done carefully to maintain steering geometry. Lowering will move the front wheel back ever so slightly, shortening the wheelbase which can cause problems on its own....twitchier ride. Lower profile tires?
I can certainly sympathize with the short folk. One of my high school friends was short and never found a comfortable solution. Once rolling he had no problems. He was also a competitive drag racer with his CB750's. He frequently joked that he hoped for someone to develop some screw-on leg extensions.
 
Larry Fine said:
I've been riding for 49.5 years, and I've found that using both legs just works for me.
Click to expand...
I've been riding longer but have pretty much the same experience. About 30% of the time my foot may remain in the right peg for some reason. That will often be on a slight incline or maybe the stop will be very brief and I just put my left foot down. When stopped facing uphill on said incline it's second nature and smoother for me to do the throttle on/brake off drill with my right hand right/foot than just my right hand on throttle and front brake.

In geometry and geography 3 fixed points form a plane. In geography 4 only work on reasonable level ground. But legs aren't fixed so 4 are fine for me.

To the OP's situation getting 3" reach is a tall order. Likely all of the above suggestions will be needed.

Getting a shorter shock will be pricey/labor intensive/reduce travel and very likely reduce ride comfort. No way will modding the seat get that reach. Maybe it's not in the lowest factory position. That and trimming the padding would get some of that goal. Take too much and comfort is compromised. Getting Pee Wee's big shoes would do it but then operating the foot levers could be a problem.

Since boots that protect the ankle at a minimum are a smart move maybe look for the thickest sole or see if a cobbler can add 1" or so with a second sole.

All that said there are riders here who can't flat foot the ST but have acclimated just fine gained with experience.
 
What happens when your on an incline left to right, do the legs stagger.
 
Very costly options to lower 3 inches and after all that you may still not feel comfortable or confident. Personally I would want to feel comfortable at all times with stock shock setting (not suggesting you cant change brands, just not lowering them as it affects the bike geometry and as such your handling experience). I honestly would get a lower bike given all the probabilities in play.
 
Maybe describe what 3" short from touching feet to the ground means?

Having the toes and balls of both feet on the ground with heels 3" off the ground is what many of us have or start with and we do just fine. With average balance and body strength the need to flat foot both feet is a mental obstacle in my opinion and can be overcome without changing anything on the ST1300.

If there is 3" from outstretched toes to the ground there is probably nothing that can be done short of choosing a 27" seat height motorcycle of the cruiser genre.
 
At one time i had the suspension modified lowered about 1"-1 1/2" at most. That was a mistake, why you ask, changed the the way the bike handled and loaded on a trip the bike did bottom out, 2 up was also a bit of an issue as well. I would not go this way. So I went back to OEM racetech suspension front and rear and I'm not saying you need to go racetech but at the time it was time re fresh.
This is what I did, used 55 profile rear tire, 3 turns on the pre load 2 up full, this was the game change use military or aggressive tread boot not motorcycle boot, the benefit to this is the 1/4-3/8" sole and better grip. Yes it take a little getting use to but after awhile it okay. I"m 5'4" 28" inseam 210lbs.
I'm riding the BMW1600GTL low seat and police issue duty boots and works for me. Yes you will not be flat footed but better then nothing, just be careful of your foot placement.
I hope this helps
Cheers
Lyle
 
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