Too Short to Ride

[FullCircle]

My wife and I have a 2014 RT Limited and we're very happy with it. The only problem we have is that I work away from home most of the time and she would like to ride it while I'm away but she is too short to reach the floorboards. She does ride it short distances but she can't ride for extended periods of time because of the strain it places on her legs stretching to reach the floorboards.
I'm 6'2 and she is 5'2 so I'm afraid it will be hard to get something where we can both ride comfortable and be safe as well. If anyone knows of some sort of adjustable pegs or boards that would solve this problem I would greatly appreciate your help. Even if I had to remove the stock boards and then replace them when I return home we would even consider that option as well.

[jtoro1]

I am 5 1 and have a 2012 rts works fine for me

[sduskin]

I would hazard that she has a short inseam.

My suggestion, ask one of the Spyder Accessory companies (i.e. the sponsors) to see if they can fabricate new, longer brake and shift levers. Then you can get some rubber mat material (like they use in horse trailers) and add layers in 1/2 increments to the floorboards. Hold them on with a screw or 2 or quality nylon zip-ties. personally I would use screws, or potentially fabricate a bolt-on piece that is hinged to the floorboard mount and can fold down and up like the passenger floorboards fold.

I have a friend (Harley trike rider) that had a newer longer shift lever fabricated because of issues he has with his feet

[Bob Denman]

The Tri-Axis adjustable bars would help...
If it's a question of getting her feet solidly on the front floorboards; why not try adding about a one-inch thick piece of (Covered and prettied-up!) wood to the top of them. Both of those changes would need only minutes to revert from one rider's preferences; to the others...

[chuck gross]

switch to one of those new fangled F3 limited and buy an extra linkage that you could swap out not sure how easy they are to change out?

[cognaccruiser]

Without knowing how much extra she needs, if it isn't a lot, there are other things you might try. For folks that ride 2 wheels and have a problem getting their feet firmly on the ground, a couple of the things people do are adjust their boots and/or cut the seat padding down a little. Although she doesn't need to touch the ground these might still help her get a better reach to the boards. The soles of the boots can be made thicker and extra insoles also help. Re-sculpting the seat can also allow her to reach better without destroying the comfort of the seat. The outer edges of the seat foam can be cut away a little to allow her to get her feet down better. The seats are fairly wide and by sculpting the edges away her inner thighs will not be forced out as much and let her legs drop down more easily. This probably wouldn't bother you when you ride.

Gary

[Grandpot]

If you have the SE6 transmission, then the only foot pedal you have is for the brake. You can add a hand brake. I think one of our sponsors makes a hand brake. Once you do that, all you need to worry about is the floor boards.

[Bob Denman]

One other thought...
Take a look at the selection of boots that are available in a well-stocked Harley-Davidson Dealership.
They often will have boots for women, that have a built-up sole under them.

[OverHillAndDale]

Corbin seats sit a bit lower than stock or Ultimate seats, and RDL custom makes seats so they could also probably create a lower seat.

As others have stated, thick soled boots would help, and adding a layer to the floorboards would be an interesting project. Once concern - How well can she reach the brake? Someone else mentioned using a hand brake, and I second that as an options.

[FullCircle]

Thanks for the replies. When I came home after being gone for five months she had already made some pads from rubber stall mats but I didn't like the idea of how it made it harder to apply the brake. She also has a trike she rides but she likes the Spyder better so I guess her best bet is to sell the trike and purchase an ST that way she can set it up to fit her. There is such a difference in our sizes that it will be hard to get the RT where it fits both of us. We have the adjustable handlebars which are great and we also added a Ultimate Seat which I think made her problem worse. It's easy to find aftermarket seats for tall people but I haven't found any for people with a short inseam. We was hoping to get the RT where we could both ride it and sell our other bikes but I guess two Spyders wouldn't be such a bad thing.

[Bob Denman]

I sense that the "Infestation", will soon be growing in your garage.

[connie9003]

I have a 2011 RT and I am 5'0 I have no problem reaching the pedals. it might be the handle bars? If she is leaning to far forward then it will throw off her foot positioning. Also I noticed a big difference when I got my Ultimate seat I can adj the driver back rest to sit closer up and I am directly over the pegs. These are just some options. I ride my RT all over with no issues. Tell her keep trying she can do it !