New SV rider - help and advice please.

Originally Posted by muddi

Well Im 5ft 3" and mines standard.. Thought I might have to get the seat cut out or something but I can happily get both feet down - there not dead flat on the floor like they were on the SV but im not tottering on my tip toes either. I can get enough of my foot down for it to feel safe and secured etc.

Just take it out and see what you think before getting seat cut out or getting the bike lowered etc - you might be surprised!

What bike is it ? Maybe its lower than an SV to start with.
I can`t get my feet totally flat on the ground but their not far away, but it also depends on your inside leg measurement as well as height.

Its a 2000 SV. Sat on my mates 2009 SV thou and feet were pretty much same - but obviously bike was tad wider than 650.

Like you say though it depends on inside leg length not your height. I have tried sitting on bandits and there a bit too high for me.

My feet are on the floor but my heels hover about 1/2 inch above it - but its not enough for me to feel unsecure.

I think your best sitting on the bike first and having a ride round and see if you can cope/feel ok about how your feet are placed when stopped.

If I was on tip toes or just the balls of feet could fit on the ground I would get the seat cut out etc as its ok when on the flat but come across a camber and your gonna topple or not be as stable. And I wouldn't of felt comfortable riding like that

Oh I thought it was a different bike to an SV, the way you worded it.
Either way, I think I must have short legs even for my height, I need the SV lowered as much as poss for my feet to still not be flat on the floor, lol. On a standard SV i`m on tippy toes, no use that. I`ve seen bikers on tippy toes at junctions etc and thought sod that, youd be knackered if the road was on a camber.

Another thing that may help with some issues are your boots , Daytona do some boots that have a thicker heel/sole on them for stability issues when drawing to a halt , I think they are called Daytona Ladystar , expensive but eBay usually has a good haul of them going for decent prices .

Platform heels no good then ?

Originally Posted by Miss_Undaztood

Platform heels no good then ?

No Idea , I stopped wearing mine after Gary Glitter made them unfashionable

ahh no just a humble SV lol.

Yeah theres no way I would want to ride on tippy toes. Well stop on tippy toes Its all hills round here and cambers are part of life.

My mate got some of those boots specially made for her - cost a freakin bomb!! Cheaper to lower the bike lol

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

No Idea , I stopped wearing mine after Gary Glitter made them unfashionable

When was this ! ?

Originally Posted by muddi

Yeah theres no way I would want to ride on tippy toes. Well stop on tippy toes Its all hills round here and cambers are part of life.

Same here. The end of my road joins the main road on a hill, and theres a dip at the right of the lane, so whether you turn left or right, you have to stop on a weird camber to see over the hedges, nightmare, lol.

[bobw1985]

A few weeks ago I was in a similar position. I passed my test on a 125 and having no big bike experience bought an SV off another forum member.

In the first 20 minutes of riding I stalled trying to turn right into a petrol station and dropped the bike. I was not deterred! On the next day I embarked on a ride and managed to drop the bike again, in a car park, and broke the shifter peg off.

I sorted it out and as much as I wanted to get back on, I was pretty nervous about it. Thankfully a mate offered to ride with me from berkshire to my parents house in the west midlands. It made it a lot easier not having to think about directions and by the end of I was a lot happier. I've since done the same journey by myself without issue.

For me persistence paid off, but having someone to guide me made it a lot easier.