Can't get a bike due to physical stature??

I am a petite female (5'1-5'2, 115 lbs), so the salesman at the shop told me I wouldn't be able to ride a sport bike because of my build, there weren't any bikes that would be low enough for me to ride safely. Is that really true? Not one single bike will accomodate me? Of course I am no expert, which is why I'm here asking you guys, but I'm pretty sure I have seen some small girls riding sport bikes before.
It would just be so great to hear this guy is wrong... And maybe recommend some bikes or suggestions?

Thanks,
Tracy  

We've seen plenty of shorter people on sportbikes. The Kawasaki Ninja 250R would be a good choice, and there are aftermarket parts for lowering it from stock if it's still too high.

AT  

Hi Tracy,

I'm the same height as you, and I ride a Ninja 250. I didn't have to lower the bike at all. However, I do wear riding boots that have somewhat of a heel to them. The heel probably adds one more inch.  

dont let anyone tell you that u cant do anything the ninja 250 is a good idea and some people have there bikes so low you could hit a ants butt hole so im sure u can find somthing and let us know what u find  

Tracy,

First of all, do not listen to a motorcycle dealer. If you really want a sport bike, find a professional specialist in your area that works on suspensions only - not a dealer. I know this is a contentious issue here, but I absolutely disagree with lowering kits. Many women buy sport bikes and put on lowering kits, only to remove them later on because they can’t ride the motorcycle with it lowered. Using a lowering kit can also be dangerous because it can adversely affect the geometry of the bike.

A professional motorcycle suspension specialist (NOT a dealer) might be able replace your rear spring and adjust your bike to fit as closely to your height and weight as possible without upsetting the design of the bike. At 5’2” that still might not be enough.

Some additional ideas you may want to explore would be to have a totally custom seat made for the bike. A new seat could reduce the seat height by ¾”to 1”, as well as letting your legs ride closer to the bike. You could even modify the seat pan itself to lower the seat even more.  Also, you could have an extra inch or two of rubber sole put on the bottom of your riding boots by give you some extra height.

My friend just purchased a new GSX R600 and she is 5’4”. The dealer recommended a lowering kit, which I advised against. A simple trip to a professional Ohlins suspension specialist, and now she not only fits the bike perfectly, but the bike is now set up to her exact height and weight.

A ninja 250 is a good choice for your height, but you may want to move up someday. If so, these ideas may help. Good luck. If this is your first bike, take some riding classes and make sure you wear all your gear all the time.  

Also, you might want to check out www.womenridersnow.com for some more ideas.  

Was that a dealership? (like what brand(s)if it was)?

But anyway...Salesmen as a rule are disgusting, excuses for human beings.

As the others have pointed out..there are Sports-ish bikes for noobies and noobs with shorter legs.

There are gobs of girls with your situation, that have done a series of things..a little seat shaving, a little butt shifting, a little techniques of getting away from the idea that both feet have to be planted, a little heal to the boot...it all adds up and you are just fine (along with the schooling to know what to do) and the dressing for what your doing..(then) you're fine.  

And when you go beyond the starter bike, and want to stay with the sport bike...getting rid of the clip-ons..replacing them with a street fighter conversion..is a huge assist in reaching the ground with your feet.  When the upper body is un-bent..the legs get the feet to the grond and back up on the pegs...way , way easier.  

"Salesman as rule are disgusting, excuses for human beings"?  Wow, not only can't you punctuate a sentence correctly, you're a "disgusting excuse" (no comma, genius) for a human being.  What do you do, jerk?  Whatever it is, how would you like it if some anonymous clown(just like yourself)lumped you into that category because he had a bad experience with whatever low-end job you have?  Let me answer that for you: you wouldn't like it.  I've sold over 3,000 powersports vehicles where I work, and I can (maybe) count on one hand the number of dissatisfied customers I've had. All of the suggestions made regarding shorter riders I, too, have made to customers.  Never have I told a customer that they could not ride a sport bike because they are too short.  Yes, I have told 5'3" riders that they SHOULD NOT ride any motorcycle that they could not sit astride with both feet flat on the ground.  No matter how adept you are at balancing, crap happens on the road where you have to get your feet down instantly.  I've been riding in LA traffic for nearly 30 years, so I know what I'm talking about.  If you think it's a good idea to roll to a stoplight with one foot dangling six inches off the ground while the other foot is on tiptoe, then you are as big an idiot as you presented yourself in your narrowminded post.  

WoW,  Such passion!  I would expect that type of response from someone who has somthing to hide?  The 'salesman as a rule are disgusting' comment is his/her opinion. I would surmise that MOST people would support some similar generalizations regarding motor sales people.  

Your response was to call her a jerk, idiot, narrowminded, low end job, clown-- nice. can't wait what you have to say about what I write, but I won't take it personally...flame away.

truth be told, like lawyers, auto/powersports/marine salespersons have a component to their jobs that involves deception.  The sales process itself is a game, that the consumer rarely wins.  All these tricks are used to squeeze the customer out of several hundred, often several thousand extra dollars each transaction, a portion of which goes directly into the pocket of the salesman.   AND YES there are some rare exceptions to this process.  So, you are suggesting that you've never overcharged someone unnecessarily, played with information, wording, phrasing of answers to questions, manipulating numbers, etc??  I don't believe you could answer that with a yes.  Many/most  would consider that behavior as unsavory.

It's your job to be like that, don't take it personally, if you want respect, and to be trusted, go into another field.  Otherwise, just know that although you've only had a handful of complaints, that probably most of those 3000 sales transactions later were not as satisfied as you believe them to be.

Just because they didn't say anything/complain formally, surely doesn't mean that they are walking around town telling everyone that their salesman walks on water.

Good riding, good topic.  hope the girl finds a nice bike.