1997 BMW 650f... for a short person?

[mustang28027]

 My gf  wants a bike. We have been looking for quite a while and  we just cant seem to make up our minds  on "the" bike for her.  She has had a Ninja 500 and a SV650 before. She was most happy with  the lil Ninja, and we found another  one ( 2007 with  low miles for $2500). We are almost ready to pull the trigger on buying it.  But this morning  there is a 1997 BMW 650f on craigslist for $2300, with a Corbin seat and softbags. Problem is... she is very vertically challenged... just 5 foot tall! Anyone have  knowledge of the beemer and if a  shorter person can really ride it? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

[Zerosum]

Eek.  5 feet is hella short for an Enduro bike.  I'm sure she could do it, if she really wanted to.  It's just a matter of having the motor skills & coordnation to shift your butt all over the seat as needed.  You only NEED on foot on the ground at a time.  But, if she doesn't feel confident on it, it will be 0 fun for her.

That said, the F650 is a single... she might miss the top-end that the SV650 had.  Singles are kinda no fun when you're reving the guts out of them on the highway.  

If you're looking for a good short-person bike, the Honda Hawk GT is very low to the ground.  Lower and more narrow than the SV.  They're a little hard to come by, but they are fun bikes.  A 5'-0" woman could ride one in stock form without having to mess w/ lowering it.

[mustang28027]

Thanks... since this one has a seat height of 32 inches we are passing on it...

[Giaka]

My wife's rides Bluepoofs old F650GS and she is 4'11". It does have a custom seat and I have to crank the preload all the out but it works out for her.

[falconati]

I absolutely love that bike (I owned one), but I think 5' is going to be a bit too short for it...you might look into a Triumph Bonnie

[county]

you can lower it

[nater]

you can lower it

That can mess up the handling.