Calling all short riders.

I'm considering getting an R however, I'm 5'2" and this is a BIG problem. I've been to a dealer who has a pre-owned 08 model and they allowed me to remove the seat to see how much it adds to the height of the bike. It could be possible if I made a custom seat that has a thin seat pan and little foam. I'm Just wondering what else others have done, besides the Yamalink and the stock lowering options. Are smaller diameter wheels and rims an option? I would do that mod if good dirt tires, Like Dunlop 606's, are available. I'm not concerned with losing a couples inches of ground clearance either. Any input is appreciated. Also, please don't tell me to consider something else; I already have an xt250 and would like a little more power and suspension.

akpatterson2000 wrote:

I'm considering getting an R however, I'm 5'2" and this is a BIG problem. I've been to a dealer who has a pre-owned 08 model and they allowed me to remove the seat to see how much it adds to the height of the bike. It could be possible if I made a custom seat that has a thin seat pan and little foam. I'm Just wondering what else others have done, besides the Yamalink and the stock lowering options. Are smaller diameter wheels and rims an option? I would do that mod if good dirt tires, Like Dunlop 606's, are available. I'm not concerned with losing a couples inches of ground clearance either. Any input is appreciated. Also, please don't tell me to consider something else; I already have an xt250 and would like a little more power and suspension.

What is your inseam? I have a 30" inseam and have done the factory lowering and the Yamalink and have no problem touching the ground. Of course my riding boots help some..

You also need to take a look at the rear shock and see how much pre load it is set to.

There is a thread on that other forum about bikes for short riders:

The Shortypants Thread: We are short women and this is what we ride

It's 41 pages long and talks about many bikes, but there are several posts about the WR250R.

Bonnie's post
See also post #12, further up the page.

Hayduke's post

Bonnie is actually Tami, our resident munchkin.

http://durelleracing.com/store/index.php?main_page=index

You can make anything as low as you want,what do you wish to spend. I have a yz450 lowered over 7in. My Mrs had Dave on speed dial as everything she has is lowered from her KTM to her DRZ. We have had Works build shocks,respoked wheels,shaved seats,suspensions lowered ect..

One short YZ https://2img.net/h/i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab259/shorttrack915/0421121626_0001.jpg

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses. Looks like I'll be getting that "R" after all>

I am 5' 5" w/31"-ish inseam. I have a lowering link on mine, plus the stock lowering. I carved my stock seat down to about 3/4" of foam.

I tried the low Seat Concepts seat, but it wasn't low enough for my taste.

=RT=

I'm a "normal" height (5-10) and I lowered mine and had a Corbin seat made.
The reason is, I like being able to put both my feet almost flat on the ground, because a lot of the riding I do is extremely technical single track, and when you're barely hanging on to the side of a cliff, ground clearance is not as important as being able to muscle the machine around with my legs.

akpatterson2000 wrote:

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses. Looks like I'll be getting that "R" after all>

Let us know how it goes and how you set up the bike. I'm 5'4" and ride an X. I lowered the front about 3/4" by raising the forks, and then I did the factory lowering at the shock for about the same amount. That allows me to get one foot down, well actually one toe. My inseam is about 30", so I have fairly long legs for my height. I'm light though, so I don't compress the forks/shock as much as some might. I've found that by the time I get proper sag, the bike actually sags too much under it's own weight, so I have to run it a bit firmer than I like. I may do R wheels in the future. I think that raises the bike by about 2", so I would probably have to get the Yamalink and cut the seat to compensate. I'd be interested to hear about your setup once you get it done.