Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

Hi :smt039

I passed my full unrestricted test last December but being a petite lady, most bikes are too tall for me.
We have the chance of a used gladius - my husband assures me it is a ‘nice bike’ but at the moment it is too tall for me to test ride. A lowering kit comes with it but the current owner says that he took it off due to poor handling.
My question is will I really know the difference at this stage, being a new biker?
My husband is considering spending £800 at Revs Racing in Halesowen on Wilber shocks and reworked forks and getting it set up specifically for me.
He feels we should do the suspension properly from the beginning but it makes the gladius not cheap anymore.
Has anyone done this to a bike ie tried the cheap kit then paid more to have it done.

Looking forward to any ideas thoughts regarding this dilemma

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

Welcome along.

Gladius is a bit of a Marmite bike. Personally I quite like them, as much for that lovely SV engine as anything else.

My inclination would be to get the bike properly sorted for you from the start. A poorly set up bike is more likely to put you off riding than anything else.

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

The lowering kit will slow the steering, which is probably why he didn't like it.

However, as a newbie that is probably a good thing, so dont worry about it, you wont notice unless you ride it back to back, even then as a newbie you may not even notice.

Never ridden a Gladius, but the SV engine is an absolute peach. Maybe not perfect for a newbie but you will get used to it and learn to love it.

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

My girlfriend had a K5 SVS that was lowered ( dog bones ) and it didnt feel any different to ride than my K1 SVS that wasnt.

If you arent comfortable with lowering the suspension then your other option is getting the seat re-sculptured and having some of the foam taken out of it.

Suzuki IIRC did a specific seat for the SV that was like this but I dont know if they do one for the Gladius.

Also you might find its not how much foam is in the seat but its more effected by the width of the seat itself.

Personally I'd try the seat re-sculpting first, rather than spending £800 on suspension parts.

How much lower did you need it to go for you to feel comfortable on it. As theres only so far you can go without it effecting the handling adversly

HTH

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

Make sure you lower the side stand too

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

I'd say use the lowering kit and give it a go - as you guessed, at least to start with you won't be too worried about the changes in handling. If you become a fast rider then you'll know what you want to change. If you enjoy taking in the scenery, you'll be less fussed anyway.

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

If you haven't bought the Gladius already go and have a look at the new SV and have a sit on it.
The seat is lower and the bike is narrower so you could be OK on a standard one.
There's a lowering kit available for it which I reckon you would be able to get thrown in free if you ordered am 18 reg one for delivery on March 1st.
Last year around this time I paid £4995 for a brand new one.
Prices haven't gone up by much, I've seen new ones advertised at £5300 and if you like a real bargain you can get a brand new pre-reg one for circa £4700 on a 3% PCP deal.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...01707187477016

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

As above Get the new SVAL7 very low and lighter and a peach to ride.

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

Sorry nothing to contribute - 6 foot 2" no idea what you're talking about.
I have the other issues to deal with.


Anyhow - Welcome.

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

My Mrs has a GSR750 which she can put both feet down comfortably on, moreso than the SV she had previously. She finds that it's the width of the bike rather than the height that causes issues.

I ride a V-Strom 1000 which is a bit too tall for me, however the more you ride the more confident you get and don't worry so much that you can't put your feet down flat.

I would suggest that before you spend thousands on a bike and hundreds on getting it altered you get a small, narrow bike for a couple of years just to get your confidence up. Maybe a ninja 300 or similar.

If you want more advice I'll put you in touch with the other half, she's sat on just about every bike there is to see what she can fit on.

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

welcome.

dont know what height you are but i'm 5ft fek all and can pretty much flat foot on my SV but it took a lot of work.

my advice would be buy a pair of ladystar boots (google it) 40mm lowering links and drop the forks through the yokes 20mm. dropping the forks through the yokes brings the front end in line with the lowered rear so keeps the handling of the bike more standard. if you are around 5'3'' then the above should have you pretty much flat footed.

buying the boots above is an investment and can transfer to other bikes and will serve you for a loooong time. spending £800 in parts on a bike you might change in a year or two is not.

you cant sculpt the seat of the galddy as there is fek all foam to start with so you will end up making it flatter which is not good for short people as it splays your legs wider.

there are other tactics you can learn like sliding your bum over to the left before coming to a stop at lights etc.etc. if you practice and learn it now it will become second nature. also instead of trying to swing your leg over the bike stand on the foot peg then mount the bike (like getting on a horse) stops you scratching the paint or falling over trying to do a karate kick to get on.

always park your bike in gear and never ever drive into a parking space with your front wheel on the kerb. never 'paddle' a bike around with yourself on the bike, get off and push it around, in/out of parking yada yada. being short requires a bit more effort and you learn from mistakes that tall people cant understand.

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

Thank you for all your replies. Lots of useful information and food for thought. Looking at engine bars too - at the moment we have seen S W Motec, Renntec or Hepco - anyone habve any experience in any of these?

Re: Newbie to group - advice needed!
 

BMW and Triumph do low seat options.
Straddling a bike is still a good option and I used that to good effect on my old Tiger 800.
Fortunately the Street triple is easier for some reason and very light.