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So I'm upgrading from the Ninja 250, 303 lbs. About a 29 inch seat height. I'm on the balls of my feet with that to an 2002 F4i. I've heard several people say it won't work and I should look for something else and some people say it would as long as I lower it. I'm 5'1, 110lbs. Anyone my size ride this? I plan to lower it about 3.5 inches and get motorcycle boots that will hopefully give me another 2 inches. People are telling me to get a Ninja EX500, I already had that and they are out of date (no offense to anyone who has one) or to get a SV650. Honest opinions welcome. I really want this bike as I've heard nothing but good things, especially about the good balancing and the fact that the back tire doesn't slip. I had 2 back tire slips on my Ninja, 1 which I thought I was on my way to the pavement.

About the bike I'm getting, feel free to tell me how much you think I should pay

2002 CBR F4i  

5,000 miles

Salvage Title (plastics damaged, repaired and sold by authorized dealer to the person I'm buying it from now)

Double Bubble Windshield

Carbon Fiber Flush Mounts

All Black paint job with grey decals

Vance Hines Exhaust (anyone know how this sounds?)

He wants $2,750 or best offer which I was told is a hell of a deal. I'm going to of course have the bike checked out before I purchase. All comments welcome.

IMO, get an SV650 and shave the seat down.  technically both bikes have the same seat height (31.7" from google), but the SV has a bit more padding that u can shave.  also, i consider the SV to be more rider friendly.  the S version will prob fit your small bodytype better, but either will work. 

the F4i is a great bike... but not the one u r looking at.

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Naked 93' F2...... RIP -- 04/12/07
04' 600RR Black - currently stuck between track and street usage
- Brembo Master, Sato's, & Ohlins out back

stangmx135:

IMO, get an SV650 and shave the seat down.  technically both bikes have the same seat height (31.7" from google), but the SV has a bit more padding that u can shave.  also, i consider the SV to be more rider friendly.  the S version will prob fit your small bodytype better, but either will work. 

the F4i is a great bike... but not the one u r looking at.

So I looked at an SV650 and the cheapest one I could find was one with full fairings. Its an 2001 with 5000 miles, high mount yoshi exhaust, and modded out to look like more of a crotch rocket. How much can this bike be lowered? With the fairings is it still as wide as the F4i?

Im not sure, but you seem to have the right idea! lowering less in the front than the back will also change the rake of the front end, making the bike more slugish to turn. For most, the major componenet needed to lower a bike is a dogbone setup. measure the front most and rear most parts of your fairing to the ground. When you lower,keep the diffrence the same. You may want to add some preload to the front to keep your fender from bottoming out under your head light, or keep your fairing from bottoming to the pavment. this will also change the fronts hight a little. So remeasure if you do this.

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CBR929-jardine race can, down 1, polished frame and swing arm,wheels polished, HELI bars, Sargent seat, Puig racing screen

commuting on a VLX600 shadow for now, 60MPG!!! I punched out the baffles, so it has that V-twin snap and crackle that made H/D so infamous. Except this little scute is rice powered!!lol

both bikes can be lowered a similar amount.  however, im firmly against lowering a motorcycle just to get a lower seat height, there r other more acceptable methods.  exactly y i said u should shave the seat first.  obviously when u shave the seat, ull also make it skinnier to help out so the fairing width has nothing to do w/ u being able to touch the ground. 

honestly, u really should jus ride any of these bikes first b4 making a decision.  they will all ride differently even in stock form.  so pick the one that feels the best while riding, then worry about touching the ground.

but look at it this way:  if u lower any bike, itll handle like your Ninja250 w/ an extra 100lbs added for discomfort.  if u shave the seat, the bike will turn properly... something im almost sure u havent yet experienced. 

 

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Naked 93' F2...... RIP -- 04/12/07
04' 600RR Black - currently stuck between track and street usage
- Brembo Master, Sato's, & Ohlins out back

hmm. after re-reading your post I understand better!! at first I under stood what you were saying  to be more lowering in the back( witch ive seen guys do to make the bike look level on its side stand, but they never think about what it does with there weight) what i said before still applies, lower in the front less rake so even better steering response, and fall in. , Of course this comes at a price, less stability and less than perfect weight ballance ( affects rear traction). You have to know your bike and your needs very well for this kinda setup to work for you.

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CBR929-jardine race can, down 1, polished frame and swing arm,wheels polished, HELI bars, Sargent seat, Puig racing screen

commuting on a VLX600 shadow for now, 60MPG!!! I punched out the baffles, so it has that V-twin snap and crackle that made H/D so infamous. Except this little scute is rice powered!!lol

I don't have any options but to lower the bike. Shaving the seat won't do it and I don't want to do that. I'm on my tippy toes when I'm on the bike so my question is I have links that will lower it up to 3.5" in the back and front. How much should I lower the front and how much should I lower the back?

oddly enough, this isnt the post that I made those 2 replies to( I dont know how they ended up here). how ever their still relivant to this topic. All you need is your dogbone, since the front just gets droped down the trees. and youll need to do something with your kickstand since it will be to tall now. and follow the instructions in my first reply.

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CBR929-jardine race can, down 1, polished frame and swing arm,wheels polished, HELI bars, Sargent seat, Puig racing screen

commuting on a VLX600 shadow for now, 60MPG!!! I punched out the baffles, so it has that V-twin snap and crackle that made H/D so infamous. Except this little scute is rice powered!!lol

I posted in your other thread but wanted to mention again that I am also against lowering a motorcycle. I am 5'0" with all of 105lbs and I ride a lowered 2004 F4I. I'm sorry I ever did that and I am working on raising it back to stock height. Not sure how much riding experience you have but you really don't need to have both feet flat on the ground to ride the bike.

I also started on a Ninja 250. I was against the SV650 because it's carburated, didn't want another one of those so I opted for a fuel injected bike and bought the F4I.

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Live your life so the the pastor won't have to lie at your funeral

Chiny:

I posted in your other thread but wanted to mention again that I am also against lowering a motorcycle. I am 5'0" with all of 105lbs and I ride a lowered 2004 F4I. I'm sorry I ever did that and I am working on raising it back to stock height. Not sure how much riding experience you have but you really don't need to have both feet flat on the ground to ride the bike.

I also started on a Ninja 250. I was against the SV650 because it's carburated, didn't want another one of those so I opted for a fuel injected bike and bought the F4I.

I'm on my  big toe with the bike though, I really don't think its safe to balance a bike on your toes. In an emergency you may need more than your toes.

I am against lowering a bike if its not nessasary, however in your case it is needed for sure. you can get by with doing a lot of things , but that doesnt make it safe.  I mean how many times can you use a drill before you "need" saftey glasses, but when that "one" time comes you realize how much youve needed them all along! I would go no lower than needed to get your feet flat though.

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CBR929-jardine race can, down 1, polished frame and swing arm,wheels polished, HELI bars, Sargent seat, Puig racing screen

commuting on a VLX600 shadow for now, 60MPG!!! I punched out the baffles, so it has that V-twin snap and crackle that made H/D so infamous. Except this little scute is rice powered!!lol

I'm about 5'6" - 5'7" and 130 lbs with the same model bike, if I ride with regular shoes on, I find that one foot does not fully touch the ground, with boots on, I have no issues, however there are a few tricks you can do so that you do touch the ground even with shoes on.

If you're short, you can lean the bike very slightly to one side and position your legs a bit further forward and will be able to touch the ground, if this doesn't work, you can do what a lot of people do and get the lowering links, an F4i I looked at was lowered 3 inches with a 1 and 3 inch link capacity but when I sat on it I felt like I was kneeling down. You may find that lowering it just one inch will do you a world of good if it is your only option, just make sure it is done correctly.

It's not exactly dangerous per say if you can't get both feet flat on the ground, as long as you can balance the bike. But on a hill or incline, it will make things uncomfortable for you and add one extra thing to deal with other than the idiot behind you who crams their bumper to your rear tire. Moving from a stop quickly shouldn't be an issue unless you're the kind of person who puts the bike in neutral at every stop and then forgets.

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'02 F4i Yellow/Black (Custom Paint Soon)
All Stock (Corbin Gel Seat)

im like 5'8 tops and i cant flat foot with both feet at the same time. i just put my left foot down and keep the right on the peg and push the brake down with my foot. seems to workout ok for me

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03 CBR600rr red/black, two brothers slip on, cbr carbon fiber grips, chrome RR engraved bars ends and front brake revisior cap, new fairings and tires, competition werkes fender eliminator trick kit

I'm about 5'3" on an '01 F4i with a corbin front seat.  I had no choice but to lower the bike 3" (slightly less on the front) using a Vortex lowering link which specifically stated that the F4i shouldn't be lowered using the 3" hole but the only issue I've encountered thus far is that the cowl will hit the front fairing when I hit a good sized bump in the road/parking lot.  I still don't flat foot, but I'm not too concerned.  I think once I'm comfortable with riding more, I'm going to raise it to the 1" hole and learn to ride and stop on the balls of my feet.
Someone else mentioned that the SV650 is carbeurated which is really important.  I learned on a carbeurated bike and had a lot of trouble with smoothness, got the F4i and haven't had any issues since.  You'll get used to whatever you ride, but I sure like how smooth the fuel-injected system is!!!!

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Ivy

just a thought Ivy , have you increased your preload on the front forks? This will limit some of the travel although the front will be tighter when you hit bumps. Most people over look this when they lower a bike, and then tend to bottom out on the frnt fender  or hit the pavment with the lower cowl.

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CBR929-jardine race can, down 1, polished frame and swing arm,wheels polished, HELI bars, Sargent seat, Puig racing screen

commuting on a VLX600 shadow for now, 60MPG!!! I punched out the baffles, so it has that V-twin snap and crackle that made H/D so infamous. Except this little scute is rice powered!!lol