Ride height

[Pod]

Hi everyone
I'm very interested in buying a 1983 Moto Morini 3.5 Sport but would need to be able to lower the ride height a couple of inches.....can anyone tell me if this is possible? I'm 5'2" but must have very short fat hairy legs (OK, not so fat and hairy but definitely short) as I couldn't touch the ground at all; if I put my left foot flat on the ground I couldn't even touch the ground with my toes, only just with the seat completely off. I have a physical weakness on my left side which has knocked my confidence somewhat so I really would like to be able to put both feet on the ground, not necessarily flat but you get the idea....
I could stick with my Jap custom cruiser but I really am besotted with this bike and if there is a way, I want to find it!
Can anyone help me out with this? I'd really appreciate it.....many thanks, Paula

[Daddy Dom]

I really am besotted with this bike and if there is a way, I want to find it!

Good work, they are worth it!

When I got mine (triple disc, same model?) a shorter rider had removed a lot of the seat foam at the front and replaced it with kitchen sponges, of all things. (It wasn't bad!)
That could lose you a few cm depending on how far you wanted to take it down. Even lower perhaps, if you found a thinner, modern gel pad to pop under the cover. Those are fairly easy to find as people use them when doing serious mileage. If you're careful you might be able to reuse the existing cover, too, which would save in the long run.

Increasing the heel/sole height on your your riding boots would help, if you have a friendly cobbler.

There might also be something you could do with rear shock length but that is purely a guess and someone more knowledgeable will advise soon enough!

Good luck,
DD

[EVguru]

It's worth checking that the rear tyre isn't a 4.00. It should be a low profile 4.10, 100/90, or 110/90. The rear suspension units should be 300mm between the eyes, not overlength.

It has to be said that earlier bikes with non-hinged seats are a bit lower.

If you really need low, seek out a 250!

[smotorboy]

shorter shocks and shorter fork tubes will do it..

Robert in California

[MarkB]

The Sport seat is a few inches lower than the Strada one, and they are interchangeable.

[mgelder]

I have a 1982 350K. There's a fair bit of height you can 'recover' from the seat mountings; they're raised off the frame by a centimetre or so, and then there's the thickness of the tailpiece moulding which is pretty substantial.

There's not much room to drop the yokes down the forks to lower the front, as the forks use most of the slider at full compression; maybe a centimetre at the most there. And you could then fit 290mm shocks - Hagon can make them to length, and sprung to your weight - without upsetting the steering geometry too much.

I'd start with the seat mountings though. A thinner (and narrower at the front) seat that sits on the frame tubes rather than on the little risers will make a big difference.

Here's mine, in the process of having a Ducati seat 'fitted' (ie, dropped on and given thump, before me saying "that'll do".)