2018 Low Rider - Rider Height????
#11
09-14-2018, 09:38 AM
Compared with my old Dyna, it's easier to flat foot but the pegs feel higher and a bit further forward. Maybe the seat is lower? Like you're sitting more "in" rather than "on" the bike. I'm 5'7 with a 29 inch inseam and I wouldn't want my knees any higher. You have to kind of reach for the shifter and the brake, they are under there somewhere I'm sure. Easy for me to flat-foot but I have to kind of reach around the primary case to get there. Fortunately the case doesn't get in the way while riding, the bike feels really slender around the middle. Depending on how you set up your handlebars, you ride in a "sit up and beg" position, with room to lean into the twisties. Reminds me a lot of the riding position on a Bonneville, just have to imagine that on a bike that's faster, handles better and is prettier (imo). (As with a Bonnie, I haven't gotten a sideways glance from a real Harley rider, but the womens love the bike, and surely that counts for something.)
I like the looks OK, it's kinda retro-cool. Looking at it, I hear, I dunno... Phish? Widespread Panic? Riding it I hear Grace Slick. When the truth is found to be lies, and all hope within youoooooo dies... (Among other things, the HD modular helmet has great acoustics, I don't need no stinkin stereo). And I hear the words of Hunter Thompson: we are all cafe racers at heart. I keep hearing that, over and over.
Which is remarkable, the only cafe racer I ever owned was 300lbs soaking wet. It's mostly the well executed design, which I think is common to the platform, and partially the riding position, which I personally dig, a lot. The controls fall to hand and foot in a way that makes the bike do what it needs to do. When you're charging a turn, you put your weight over the inside peg -- stand on that sucker, show it who's boss -- and press hard on the grip, and it does stuff no non-sportster Harley has any business doing. Everything is where it needs to be to make that happen. When you're riding a horse, where do you set the stirrups? If you're riding hard, don't they need to be high and tight? That's the feel here. This isn't the bike you put a back rest on, it has a bump seat for a reason.
Honestly I'll probably mod it over time. I do feel like I'd like to open up the cockpit. Seat needs memory foam, and a half inch or so up won't hurt anything. I think motocross style bars would suit me, moving the hand position an inch and a half forward. I'm inclined to dechrome it some. Maybe not, Neil Young also comes to mind at times, Long May You Run sometimes comes up in long stretches across the desert, and there's a part of me that doesn't want to mess that up, or really mess up anything about this bike. That said, it's the 2nd least expensive bike in the lineup, not a bad "blank slate." And it has a five gallon tank, which is good, cuz Google lies about gas in the desert. Lies like a woman.
So, you kinda have to sit on it.... it's not a "cruiser" cockpit by any means. It has a "standard" feel to it, to me. Which is where the cafe racer thing comes in, I think. A standard bike with a strong engine in a sweet frame, and a rider that has more nerve than sense -- that's kind of what a cafe racer is, right? Advantage of being a smaller rider is you can move around a little, stretch out some on the highway. A taller rider might still like it, but perhaps not for longer rides.
I like the looks OK, it's kinda retro-cool. Looking at it, I hear, I dunno... Phish? Widespread Panic? Riding it I hear Grace Slick. When the truth is found to be lies, and all hope within youoooooo dies... (Among other things, the HD modular helmet has great acoustics, I don't need no stinkin stereo). And I hear the words of Hunter Thompson: we are all cafe racers at heart. I keep hearing that, over and over.
Which is remarkable, the only cafe racer I ever owned was 300lbs soaking wet. It's mostly the well executed design, which I think is common to the platform, and partially the riding position, which I personally dig, a lot. The controls fall to hand and foot in a way that makes the bike do what it needs to do. When you're charging a turn, you put your weight over the inside peg -- stand on that sucker, show it who's boss -- and press hard on the grip, and it does stuff no non-sportster Harley has any business doing. Everything is where it needs to be to make that happen. When you're riding a horse, where do you set the stirrups? If you're riding hard, don't they need to be high and tight? That's the feel here. This isn't the bike you put a back rest on, it has a bump seat for a reason.
Honestly I'll probably mod it over time. I do feel like I'd like to open up the cockpit. Seat needs memory foam, and a half inch or so up won't hurt anything. I think motocross style bars would suit me, moving the hand position an inch and a half forward. I'm inclined to dechrome it some. Maybe not, Neil Young also comes to mind at times, Long May You Run sometimes comes up in long stretches across the desert, and there's a part of me that doesn't want to mess that up, or really mess up anything about this bike. That said, it's the 2nd least expensive bike in the lineup, not a bad "blank slate." And it has a five gallon tank, which is good, cuz Google lies about gas in the desert. Lies like a woman.
So, you kinda have to sit on it.... it's not a "cruiser" cockpit by any means. It has a "standard" feel to it, to me. Which is where the cafe racer thing comes in, I think. A standard bike with a strong engine in a sweet frame, and a rider that has more nerve than sense -- that's kind of what a cafe racer is, right? Advantage of being a smaller rider is you can move around a little, stretch out some on the highway. A taller rider might still like it, but perhaps not for longer rides.
Last edited by AbqDave; 09-14-2018 at 09:47 AM.
#12
09-14-2018, 03:59 PM
#13
09-14-2018, 05:47 PM
Road Warrior
I haven't sat on a Low Rider but according to what I've seen online, the Low Rider has a 26.2" seat height. I'm 5'6" with approximately a 32" inseam and I'm able to flat foot on my Fat Bob that has a 27.7" seat height so I would assume you should be fine on the Low Rider with your 30" inseam.
Now that I have read about the inseam measurement to height correlation of others, I feel I was supposed to be taller or something... Haha. Either that or I just have long legs for my height or others have short legs for their height. Anyway sorry to go off subject here but I find that interesting.
Now that I have read about the inseam measurement to height correlation of others, I feel I was supposed to be taller or something... Haha. Either that or I just have long legs for my height or others have short legs for their height. Anyway sorry to go off subject here but I find that interesting.
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