I am 5'5" with 27" inseam and I am always tip toeing when I am stopped. I do allot of leg workout so I can keep my leg strength up to avoid converting to a trike. I am not interested in lowering kit, I believe it fixes one thing but creates other problems. I have already tried shoes with thick soles but they only add 1" or so however it makes it awkward to shift gear . The other day I sat on a Honda Shadow and I was flat footed, the seat height is only 25.9", boy that felt good. I've tried sitting on my buddy's Goldwing that are not OEM seat but so far I haven't found any that makes a big different for the price you have to pay. For now I thought myself what to do or not to do when I come to stop. I was wondering what other riders with the height problem done to overcome this problem?
Personally, I'm tall and don't have your problem. However, I do have customers with your problem. The other day, a customer came in and, to me her Wing was so low that I thought it had a rear lowering kit. But I was surprised that it handled normal. What it had was a Hartco seat that was custom worked a couple of times by them to get it just right. The owner of this Wing is a woman who used to always be tippy-tow at stops. Not so anymore. Her husband did say something about her having a special riding boot with a higher heel too.
Hartco is near Crescent City. It's not that far from Tampa.
If lower links are not what you want to do, then having a custom seat may help. Ultimate, Hartco, Russell day and a few others make seats and or modify the stock seat. Wingsoft also modifies a seat for shorter folks. I recently picked up a modifies stock seat from one of these fine folks to see how it is, been incredibly busy to swap and test it out. Also lowering the suspension some may help. Ask around, or google modifications and see what's out there. You're not the first person w this issue...
PS: let's ride soon.
Find a local upholstery shop and see if they can shave some foam out of the bottom and sides of the seat for your legs. I did it with mine. Be careful of the top part of the seat, that's where the heating wires are. YMMV
I'm 5"6" with 27" inseam and I purchased a Mustang seat which lowered seat one inch which provided a much more foot surface to ground, depending on what boot I wear I can be flat footed or slightly on balls of feet at stop. But I have never felt uncomfortable even with the OEM seat. What sold me on the Mustang seat was lowering seat height by inch. Not a cheap seat, but I love it and it also places you back one inch in the seat with back rest no problem. Hope you find a solution that gives you confidence with your GW.
Just a thought... You folks are fairly close to one another distance wise. Perhaps you both can get together at some point and Ali, you can see the mustang seat in person. Just an idea. Don't shoot the messenger...
I had that same problem before I went to a trike also have a 27" inseam. I had my seat done by Tom Simmons www.tscustomseats.com and put about 80K on it and it looked like new when I traded the bike. He lowered me over an inch and it was still much more comfortable than a stock seat. I'm a heavyweight and lost no comfort.
The Victory CCT is a nice bike and I believe the Victory Vision has a 26" seat height unless it was a typo that I was reading. Thats amazingly low for a touring cruiser.
Boots and customized seats are about your only other options. I'm on my tip toes as well and I dont like it. Sometimes at certain traffic lights if there is a strong wind I can feel the bike wanting to go over.
I am five foot four and have a 27" inseam. I also have an Ultimate seat on my wing that is slightly higher than the stock seat. I wear Daytona GTX boots that have a support in them and higher soles and heels that make me about an inch and a half taller than I really am.
The best thing that I can suggest to help you operate a Goldwing with short legs is PRACTICE. I don't use both of my legs when I am in stop and go traffic. I keep my right foot on the peg and extend my left foot to plant and support the bike when I come to a stop. Hint-No front brake and keep your head up.
Try this in a parking lot a thousand times and you will get what you really need to get it done. Practice will get you confidence. And confidence is better than a lower seat height, longer legs, or anything else that I can think of. If you have the confidence to do it having a short inseam will no longer be a problem.
First thing I would try is having a local seat shop remove the foam on the front sides of seat were inter legs this will help a lot.
The other thing is the f6 is lower and hopefully just a different set up made for the gl1800 . It's way lower than the wing. That should do it. Good luck
At 6'5", I have the opposite problem. I found the Wingsoft Large to be an excellent value relative to the higher priced custom alternatives, and John was great to work with. I've got about 20K on it and am very happy -- both overall seat comfort (cured butt pain from long day in stock saddle) and leg position (up and back for better knee angles, etc.).
I would be giving Wingsoft a call.
John is a great guy to work with and can surely come up with a solution for you without having to buy an expensive seat that may do nothing for you.
Papahoosh, I'm the same height and inseam as you and getting older my balance isn't as good as it once was. I can't ride as fast as I use to but I find that more enjoyable. I had John from WingSoft seats trim my seat and that helped quite a bit but I also put a 1" lowering link in and that made a lot of difference. The bike doesn't handle any different and when I want to ride twisties I just jack the suspension up to 25 and enjoy the ride. I would much rather run a link then walk around in platform shoes. What ever you do good luck to you.
5'6", 27" inseam, Lowered, Boots & Seat (local shop added gel pad, took about 1" from the height and narrowed the front for $500)
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Push Mountain Arkansas, no problem
Wow...I had my local upholsterer do the same. The seat is currently sitting in his shop for adding the Wal Mart seat pad under the outside skin of the seat....third time he will have seen the inside of my seat as I'm always changing what I want added or taken out. The most he has ever charged me was $80 and it really was money well spent.:grin2: Allen
Yes it does Papahoosh, I forgot to add that in. I put a Ride Off centerstand on and it works very well, the side stand works fine stock. I also raised my forks 5/8". I am very satisfied with this arrangement. The total installation took about 2 Hrs.. I placed an add in the WTB section of this site and found the lowering link, then I found the stand on Ebay. Total investment was under $400.00. Best money I spent on the bike. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. You can also purchase link and stand from Lower My Wing. They are really good people with a quality product.
I’m just 5’4”. Here is my first attempt to solve ‘tiptoeing’
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