shorter rider question

[CharlesFP]

My friend has short legs and he gets bucked of his 05 Wr450 constantly. It is funny to watch, but eventually he's going to get seriously injured.

What is the best way to reduce the distance between the seat and the footpegs? Are there footpegs out there that provide maybe a 1/2 inch rise? Who makes them?

[Jim_bo]

If he can't reach the footpegs, he must have a hell of a time reaching the ground!!

[flatnacker]

If he can't reach the footpegs, he must have a hell of a time reaching the ground!!

LMFAO!!! Thats what I was thinking too!!! Must be a midget

[clark4131]

I think your buddy's only options may be to shave his seat a bit or have some custom pegs made. I don't know of any pegs you can buy that raise up, only ones that lower like the Fastways...SC

[flatnacker]

I think he is confused and has the ground confused with the pegs??

[bomax]

i have lowered mine internally front and rear,1 inch.No problems as of yer with bottoming out.i had to cut the springs and also revavled it(you dont have to though)its great now.

[CharlesFP]

Some of these replies indicate to me that I may have phrased the question incorrectly. My friend is not a midget, he's about 5'8", but he has short legs. You ever see Ricky Carmicheal's bike? His seat has been lowered dramatically to decrease the distance between the pegs and the top of the seat, to allow Ricky to have better control over his bike in the whoops and elsewhere. Would Ricky ever want to lower his bike's suspension or lower the pegs so can touch the ground? No, of course not. That's not the issue. Ricky, or any other shorter rider with some skill, only needs to touch his feet to the ground at the start and finish of a race (or never), and lowering the bike would reduce the ground clearence and suspension travel, which a good rider needs every bit of.

I'm 6 feet tall, and I feel cramped on my bike occasionally, so I ordered those Fastway footpegs and installed them in the lowboy position, failing to recognize that my feeling cramped had nothing to do with footpeg height, as I have a very short inseam for my height. I did about 70 miles of high-speed riding in the desert with those pegs and I could not believe how much just dropping my pegs 1/2 inch (the also move the pegs about 1/3 inch rearward)affected my riding. I was forced to straighten my legs more than I had previously to avoid being bucked, and I hit my feet on several obstructions like rocks and ruts. I was squirrely all day long, and I never could get control the motorcyle. I felt like I was riding a totally different bike. I nearly killed my self going through several whoop sections. I have since raised the pegs back to the normal position, and the bike handles great. I can only imagine what it is like to try and control a stock WR with a much shorter inseam. Then again, you would only notice that kind of thing at really high speeds going over really bumpy terrain, however. I see my friend getting squirrely all the time and I bet if he could raise his pegs or lower the seat a little, no more than 1/2 inch, the difference would be huge.

[OldManInTheDesert]

Someone asked a similiar question recently you might try a search to see if there were any good replies. My reply was I have heard and read about notching the holes (or re drilling) where the sub frame attaches to the frame at the bottom. This supposedly will get up to an inch and a half of lowering.

I have not tried this so I cannot swear it. I do wonder about what effect this would have on other attachments (pipe).

Anyway best of luck,

[kevin nichols]

Ask Ricky Carmichael. He is another sawed off runt.undefined

[mcoulter]

My two cents as a fellow short rider - I'm about 5' 7"- is to just practice. I'm on a WR400 and yes the seat height can be an issue, but as other writers pointed out you have to compensate for the short inseam with better balance and clutch/throttle control!

[Birdie426]

I cut the seat on my WR and love it...both with respect to the footpegs AND the ground (off road riders DO need to put their feet down from time to time)