How low can an NC be lowered?

[superdedooperman]

I love the bolt! Will be a great bike

 

[TacomaJD]

I love the bolt! Will be a great bike

I just hope she is a sponge and soaks up all that I will try teaching her. She's usually pretty stubborn, which is why she is getting one against my suggestion that she just stick to riding with me. She catches on pretty fast to things like this, so maybe she will do alright. I just hope she doesn't drop it. *cringe*

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[DirtFlier]

It would be a great idea to get her into a riding safety course. A total stranger, who happens to be a professional instructor, does a 300% better job than a loved one who means well. There is also no emotional history/linkage between the instructor and student.

 

[Juan_Banjovy]

I plan on ordering lifts for my riding boots, probably 1". Sort of like heal cushions but thicker. Some over 2". I can almost flat foot now but maybe not after installing my SeatConcepts next weekend, we'll see. I just spent a lot of money on Soupy's lowering links & adjustable side stand for my Vstrom & didn't want to do that twice. Seen lifts on Amazon for about $8 & up, maybe another option.

 

[Jt105]

+1 on taking a rider safety course.

Also, the Bolt is a great bike!

JT

 

[melensdad]

I just hope she is a sponge and soaks up all that I will try teaching her. She's usually pretty stubborn, which is why she is getting one against my suggestion that she just stick to riding with me. She catches on pretty fast to things like this, so maybe she will do alright. I just hope she doesn't drop it. *cringe*

It would be a great idea to get her into a riding safety course. A total stranger, who happens to be a professional instructor, does a 300% better job than a loved one who means well. There is also no emotional history/linkage between the instructor and student.

Highly highly recommended!

After years of riding without a motorcycle endorsement (and never getting caught) I took a course and learned more than I can type. Have her take a course. Heck you may want to take one with her! Knowledge is a good thing. Skills are a good thing.

 

[Slo_Rider]

Boots...

Folks,

Although several people have mentioned taller boots I have not seen a specific reference to these boots. They are far from cheap but appear to indicate a 2.5 cm height increase.


Daytona M-Star GTX Boots - RevZilla



Slo_Rider

 

[superdedooperman]

I just hope she is a sponge and soaks up all that I will try teaching her. She's usually pretty stubborn, which is why she is getting one against my suggestion that she just stick to riding with me. She catches on pretty fast to things like this, so maybe she will do alright. I just hope she doesn't drop it. *cringe*

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It just seems inevitable to drop your first bike. The bolt has about the same amount of power as the NC, but weighs more. So, it may seem a little less powerful. That's always good for new riders. But the weight isn't necessarily good. I know it was for me when I started out on a Virago 250. Plenty enough power to ride around town on and just get used to everything. The 2 rebels are plenty lighter than the bolt.

All in all it's just comes down to what she's comfortable with doing. I do concur about getting her into a training course, though.

 

[TacomaJD]

It just seems inevitable to drop your first bike. The bolt has about the same amount of power as the NC, but weighs more. So, it may seem a little less powerful. That's always good for new riders. But the weight isn't necessarily good. I know it was for me when I started out on a Virago 250. Plenty enough power to ride around town on and just get used to everything. The 2 rebels are plenty lighter than the bolt.

All in all it's just comes down to what she's comfortable with doing. I do concur about getting her into a training course, though.

I would bet the Bolt will outrun the NC and probably even my Nomad 1600, or at least be as fast as it. It's only a 5 speed, probably geared lower, has over 50 ft lbs of tq, and that low end vtwin grunt would probably surprise a lot of people. I have ridden a few different Yamaha vtwin bikes in the Stryker 1300 and several Warrior 1700's (which are stupid fast for vtwin sportcruisers), they know how to build a good torquey vtwin.

I'm of the thought that power in bikes like these is negligible for a beginner, especially a female who does not have the need for speed like most of us. I wanted her to get a bike that wasn't new (already got most of the depreciation out of the way), a solid bike more marketable to a broader audience, for ease of sale when she gets tired of it. Or....if she likes it, becomes good at riding, she has one that doesn't struggle to keep up with everybody at highway speeds and doesn't sound retarded if we put on an aftermarket exhaust. The Bolt sounds wicked with a good exhaust. Rebel 500 not so much.

I may look into the rider course for her, just to see what's offered, but I doubt she will do it. I 100% have no interest in it for myself. My rider's course consisted of riding dirtbikes since I was old enough to walk and then up to sportbikes walking several-mile-long wheelies down the interstate, to trackdays involving classroom time in between Novice track sessions on track technique, and then on through riding in Intermediate and Advance groups. Also consisted of crashing on the MX track back in my teens a few times, crashing dirtbikes in the woods and on street, had a sweet lowside crash at my first trackday on a sportbike, and then the big freak crash back in 2010 that resulted in my left leg amputation. I haven't crashed since March 7th, 2010 so I am on a 9 year hot streak! LOL.

We are going to go through everything in a parking lot and let her get a feel for how to brake hard in a straight line, countersteering, not being scared of the front brake and knowing when and how to use it in conjunction with the rear brake, how to predict the way the bike will handle at low speed over different types of ground (like parking lot with potholes/asphalt shoulders/off camber/etc.) The biggest key to safely riding a motorcycle, in my opinion, is knowing how to predict feel/handling. I think most accidents occur when the rider is caught by surprise, the rider needs to be able to assess the elements in front of him/her and understand how that will affect the bike and what to do to in regards to it. There's no way to be prepared for everything, but if she can get the basics down and learn to not freak out when she encounters something in a curve and stand the bike up (go straight), or do any weird things during low speed maneuvers like grab front brake with wheel turned, etc, I think she may catch on and be alright.

Either way, I am going to confine her to a controlled environment for a long time before letting her go to the next level like busier, curvier, or faster roads. I am pretty good about assessing what a rider is doing wrong and how to correct it, taught several of my friends how to ride over the years with great success, some even surprising me and becoming very skilled riders. Weather is supposed to suck this weekend so I don't even know if she will get to try it out until next weekend.

 

[DirtFlier]

I would not recommend anyone who already rides to attend a riding class with a loved one who is a beginner.

And yes, I've heard all the stories about "I want to support her," but I found from personal experience that it just puts that person under a lot more pressure. And too often, you'll be there to inject your own ideas about riding into her head - sometimes contrary to what they are trying to teach! She (and could be a he!) will make lots of mistakes and perhaps even drop the training bike so let them do it among total strangers they'll never see again after the class is over.

In a previous life, I ran a Honda Rider Ed Ctr and was also an MSF instructor for 16 years. Whenever I saw a male at the rest/viewing area, I would ask them what they were doing and if the reply was to watch a girlfriend/wife in class, I would politely ask them to leave.

 

[TacomaJD]

Well it's home. Let her try getting on it and familiarizing herself with the clutch. It needs lowered, she cant touch well enough to catch herself taking off from a stop before it gets going good enough to balance itself. It is going to be a long road. Lol

3 deep now. Lol. 71 yr old guy we bought it from had 4 bikes, one was a Ducati XDiavel S that he let me sit on. 41° lean angle with feet forward pegs, might have to get one of those one day! First one I have seen in person.

The diavel

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[TacomaJD]

I rode the Bolt down the road and back. It will probably outrun the NC, but probably close to same power (feel) as my Nomad. Nomad is a 1600 but weighs over 800 lbs and has large windshield (drag), and supposed to have 67 hp and 94 ft lbs of torque. Idk, it may take the Bolt, but it wouldn't just leave it or anything. Bolt's power wasn't surprising, but had plenty to be fun, albeit less so than I figured it would have.

 

[DirtFlier]

My thoughts are that a 900 cc bike is way too much for a rank beginner - even if she had a longer inseam - and Yes, I've heard all the stories of "She'll grow into it." What I find happens most often is that said rank beginner remains terrified of the bike and never ever get comfy riding. I hope it turns out the opposite for your sake but I'm not hopeful.

It's easy to buy and resell a 250 bike with scars & scratches from being dropped because people are always looking for low-cost starter bikes.

In 16-years of being an MSF instructor, I've found that people who don't know how to drive a manual shift car often have a difficult time learning how to ride a bike with manual transmission. I would ALWAYS recommend that they learn clutch/throttle coordination in a car before coming to class. Cars don't easily fall over!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, get her into a riding course ASAP - before she hurts herself!.

 

[kpinvt]

My thoughts are that a 900 cc bike is way too much for a rank beginner - even if she had a longer inseam - and Yes, I've heard all the stories of "She'll grow into it." What I find happens most often is that said rank beginner remains terrified of the bike and never ever get comfy riding. I hope it turns out the opposite for your sake but I'm not hopeful.

It's easy to buy and resell a 250 bike with scars & scratches from being dropped because people are always looking for low-cost starter bikes.

In 16-years of being an MSF instructor, I've found that people who don't know how to drive a manual shift car often have a difficult time learning how to ride a bike with manual transmission. I would ALWAYS recommend that they learn clutch/throttle coordination in a car before coming to class. Cars don't easily fall over!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, get her into a riding course ASAP - before she hurts herself!.

Before I took my MSF Beginners course in 2004 I bought a 2001 Suzuki SV650. The SV was touted as a possible beginners bike but it was just not true for me. I dropped the bike in front of an oncoming car. I wasn't hit but I did wind up wedged between the bike and the driver's door. It took 6 months of talking to a professional to get back on a motorcycle. The bike I got back into motorcycling with was a 1985 Kawasaki 454 LTD, the bike I should have had in the first place. Nine months after getting the 454 I crashed the 454 (my own fault, target fixation) and immediately went looking for a big scooter because I could not shift with my damaged left foot. I bought a 2003 Honda Silver Wing that I put 21,000 miles on in two years here in VT. Get her to take the course before buying a bike. Riding a bike is a lot different than sitting on one in a dealers showroom. There is no rush, take your time.

 

[TacomaJD]

The Bolt will be taking a back seat in the shop for later when she learns. We are about to go pick up a CRF110F dirt bike for the 11 yr old and she can practice riding it too. Then I very well may try to find an older cheap Honda Rebel for her to learn on. Really wish she would just get a Can Am Ryker, but she thinks those are ugly. Lol

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[Randy99CL]

Motorcycle Ergonomics

Start by putting in any bike she is considering and then keep adding to her inseam on the options pane to see how much she would need to lower it to get to a comfortable point for her.

Slo_Rider

Thanks, that's a great site, the graphic really helps to visualize bike fit. Just go to "seat height" and select negative numbers.

With a 30" inseam only my toes touch and I thought I'd check into lowering my bike too. Unfortunately, to get my heels down I'd have to drop the seat 2" and I think that's too much for the handling of the bike. At least that's what I've read.

Since I'm just getting back into riding and not used to this bike yet I think I'll just give it some time and see if I can get used to it. Being on my toes does make it hard to move the bike around, especially in gravel.

 

[TacomaJD]

There may be hope afterall!

YouTube

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[TacomaJD]

Picked up a 2019 fuel injected CRF110F today as a joint venture for both the stepson and the wife to learn on. Both rode it pretty good when we got it home, I was surprised. She done well shifting gears (clutchless 4 speed) and maintaining balance. He done well too.

My dad had to take it for a ride as well. Lol

Now he is wearing his helmet and gloves around in the house....ah, to be a kid again.

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[TacomaJD]

Woke up this morning, got out of the shower and she is out there cruising around the yard with the dog chasing her LOL. She is loving it.

YouTube

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[Slo_Rider]

Lowered......

TacomaJD,

For a second there, as she rounded the corner, I thought she was going to use your shelter door as a ramp!!!



Slo_Rider