Been seeing all these threads re: Sportster vs. Dyna and people "moving up". I've had a Sportster and in the process of buying a Streetbob. I'm a compact (but powerful!) 5'4" and plan on lowering the bike and putting on a slimmer seat but wanted to know how some of you smaller folks feel about your Dynas, how it handles for you and what modifications you've made because of your height, or lack thereof. Thanks

 

I'm 5'6" and have put on the Harley low shocks on the rear and have recently purchased a stock lowrider seat for around town. I also have a sundowner for the long trips but it is rather thick and makes me tippy toe at the lights. I would definitely check out the Progressive shocks over the Harley ones, more variety in length, and there is alot of info on here about it too.

 

Hi, I'm 5-4 have a 02 Lowrider that I put on 11" 412's on rear and lowered the front 1" with progressive kit added a Lepera solo seat and now is plenty low enough.

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I am 5' 3 1/2" (yes I count my 1/2 inch ) and ride a Wideglide. I haven't changed the shocks. A friend took a stock 03 Wideglide seat and pulled back the leather and cut down the foam for me (narrowed it, lowered it, and put the sweet spot a little further up to bring me closer to the bars). Then they adjusted the brake and shifter back further so I could reach. I had to put a bigger brake peddel on so I could reach it better. I think it was a road king break peddel. I would like to put lower shocks on but right now I just can't afford to do that.

 

Shorter shocks and a different seat can make all the difference you might need, for a couple of hundred bucks. How low and how much you want/need to spend it up to you. Just be sure you don't go too far and kill the quality of the ride over those big bumps and potholes though.

 

My ole lady rides an 03 lowrider with forward controls. She is 5'0'...The only change we made for her was to put on a corbin seat, which moved her a little more forward, and other than that, the scoot is stock with over 39,000 on it.

Respects,
Ed

 

I am 5'6" and have an 07 Low Rider. It's a perfect fit. The forward controls would be a bit of a reach so the mid mounts are great. Have highway pegs for the long trips.

 

Short but powerful. Sounds like the Old 45 Colt. Here's one for you; I've known several individuals over the years who have been in the height challenged class. They've all had large bikes and with your weight advantage, make the bikes scream. I just visited the Air & Space Museum in DC. What impressed me the most is that almost all of the pilots & war heroes during WWI and WWII were slim & short statured. Jockeys, Fomular One racers, acrobatic pilots, etc. excell in these areas just because of their size.

Just get the bike to fit you, the rest takes care of itself.

 

I'm 5'5" with 30" inseam. I changed from the stock seat to a badlander seat which I thought was a bit slimmer but really didnt feel any different.i also changed to 12" shocks from the stock 12.5" ones and have them on the lowest setting. (Btw, that lowers the bike more than 1/2 an inch, more like an inch because of the suspension geometry. there is a really good thread in here that explains it.) Anyway, probably would've been a bit happier with an 11.5" shock but I manage. Only difficulty I have is backing up on an incline, otherwise everything else feels great.

 

My wife is 5' 4" her problem with the street bob ain't the height but she can't pick the street bob up off the stand. Its the weight.
If you look at some of the older Wide glides they had 16" tires instead of 17" making them closer to the ground. They also have shocks and kits to make them closer.
Myself I need ground clearance so I can lean the bike into a curve.