How about short riders on '12

[adv rider]

I see these threads about tall guys on '11 or '12/'13 and wondering about fit,well what about fit for us short guys
I am the new owner of '12 300, 5'5"tall,185lb.any body else set up their bike for lack of height?Tomorrow will be my 1st day with it,I plan to look into jetting,check air filter,check linkage,measure sag.
.Any other short guys make special.mods?

[Jakobi]

I'm 5'9" and just got to throw a leg over a 2013. Definitely noticably taller than the 2010/11 chasis.

[tonyraft]

I'm 5'8 and had a 2010 and was nice to have the low seat height , now have a 2012 the higher seat is not really an issue , makes me ride better knowing i can't put my feet down ,

[prk03]

I too am short at 5ft 3in and ride 07 250. I sent forks and shock to Les at LT Racing. He shorten both. Made a world of difference. I would suggest calling Les and talk to him.

[Jakobi]

I'm actually looking forward to the increased peg/chasis clearance. Previously was on Yamahas and they just took a little more commitment. Generally if I'm about to have a tumble it happens regardless of if I can get a leg out or not

[desertgasser300]

Great buy, but i'm curious what made you get a 13' so late in the season when the 14's are around the corner?

The increased clearence takes some getting used to. At first I cringed on the 12' going over the rocks I knew I would hit on the older chassis. But after awhile of not hitting them, it's good.

You have about an 1" on me. I think the 13' will do you good. I replaced my 12' linkage with the 13' to get it down some for me. The forks and the shock definately needed some love to make them work better.

[phoenix]

I am 5'6". Initially I set the sag (way off for me from the factory), raised the forks to the second line and ditched that bulbous stock tire and got it a little bit lower. On other bikes, I have cut the seat down, but as you know there is not much foam to remove on this bike and I didn't fancy sitting directly on the seat pan.

I have since had the suspension lowered 1/2". Several suspension people I talked to didn't want to do that little, but I wanted just enough to add some comfort without sacrificing too much travel since the bike already lacks ground clearance (compared to other bikes I have owned). I am not flat footed, but I can get my foot to the ground now before I hit that "point of no return" where I just fall over. lol. I'd never considered lowering it before, but since this bike is pretty weighty, I wanted to decrease the likelihood that I had to pick it up.

I think for the '12 you can also get the linkage arms from a '13 and that will bring it down to '13 height.

[adv rider]

I will look into 13 linkage. I am not a fan of lowering shock/forks themselves.For now I will get the sag setup and see how I feel on it. Have not ridden bike yet,so once I ride it. I will decide best course of action. The lower tire profile is a good idea,except for some loss of traction I'm sure.

[thebeav]

I had my 05 CRF250X lowered 1 inch. I'm 5'9" and had trouble putting both feet down when stopped.

What I learned is that there is only value when stopped.

What I gave up was suspension travel that is needed when moving!

I had to have the suspension reworked after a while because the first guy used "inexpensive" materials during the process which shed bits of plastic throughout the fork fluid. The next guy (MotoPro) used brass and solid PVC to shorten the travel.

After $1500 and time off the trail I have determined that shorter guys can ride just like tall guys when the bike is moving. Look at Ricky Carmichael, he's 5'6". Ryan Villapoto is 5'8".

IMHO "feet down" is a street bike habit I had to learn to break.

[desertgasser300]

Getting off the subject. Look at Jamie Lanza 5'4" 130lbs. I thought he was a kid when I was next to him. I felt pretty foolish when I saw who he was.