Best Motorcycles for Smaller Riders: Seat Heights Under 30 Inches

SMALL? You have got to be kidding. Some of these bikes are real porkers. 600+ pound bikes are not small. Also, what about the Royal Enfield Meteor?

In my opinion, the perfect examples of PERFECT LOOKING bikes, I have to say are: Triumph Bonneville T100 and the Indian Scout 60 (in black or red, not that horrid color shown here).

At 62, and being a new rider with only 2 years experience, I will likely upgrade from my Kawasaki Z400 to either a Kawasaki Z650 RS, or Triumph Trident. Living in Ontario, Canada, the insurance is too outrageously high for a bigger bike. I really wish the Bonneville would be released as a 500-650. I just don’t need anything bigger, anyhow.

As a height challenged rider, I appreciate your efforts here. When I was first introduced to off-road riding, I was hooked. Unfortunately most dual sport and adventure bike manufacturers believe 33” is a good seat height and those manufactures that do go lower do so at the expense of travel and or ground clearance. I feel that they’re missing a large market of short riders by not offering lower seat height without travel limitations and instead subframe engineering and seat changes.

Some sport-tourers offer seat height adjustments and lower seat options. But there are some nice bikes in this list.

I have a 29″ inseam at 5′ 6″ on a good day. I got the 1100 Rebel and find the seat height perfect for all around usability (no scraping of hard parts on turns). Just loose the massive sausage pipe and you got a good bike!

None of them.
The Ryker int a motorcycle.
Foot forward controls are no good for my little legs and arms.
You’re missing the point.
A rephrase of your title will need lots of work.
I wouldn’t buy new anyway because I cannot accept electronics doing the thinking for me.
I will stick with the 14 rides I already have.

Good article but I would have included the Honda cb500x. It’s a great all around bike. Part adventure part street and highly affordable.

Can’t wait for lists of other heights. How about a list of bikes for short riders who do NOT want cruiser style? Bonneville seems to be the only one here.

And don’t confuse short riders with wanting “small, affordable” or anything else.
I have 29″ inseam, don’t like forward pegs and controls, don’t care about weight or price…only one thing – seat height.

Most of the bikes on this list are just too heavy for a smaller rider. I have said this in columns like this one for years. All the manufactures are ignoring an entire market segment of women riders, as well as smaller statured men by insisting on 32-inch-tall seats as their standard. Along with tail sections with more clearance than suspension travel just for style. I modified my wife’s GSX-SF 1000 Suzuki for sport touring, six years before Suzuki did, and at 5′ 6″ 125 pounds she can handle it quite well.

Mostly a collection of bloated, overweight, and redundant cruisers. Only six iterations of the Indian Scout?

Speaking of Scouts, I test rode one when they were introduced (2015?). The seat height was great – with my 28″ inseam I was comfortably flat-footed. However, the reach to the forward controls was so great I had to stretch to reach them. I felt unsafe and uncomfortable. Seat height is NOT the only criterion that should be used to evaluate motorcycle for “smaller riders”

Once a person gets comfortable riding, seat height isn’t much of a problem. I ride a CB1000r with a 32″ seat height at only 5’5″. I hang a cheek off the seat and throw one foot on the ground. It helps that the seat is pretty narrow.

What happened to Royal Enfield?

I agree with some of the posters. As we age, weight becomes just as important as seat height. I’ve been riding a Sportster forever because I’m vertically challenged, but now the 500 lbs. are feeling kind of heavy. Looking forward to the follow-up post.

Where is the Triumph Tiger LRH (low) with a seat height of 29.9”?

If bikes can be engineered for children, why is there such a notable gap between those and the bikes engineered for average male riders? I also note year after year manufacturers keep increasing the hp of their models. I have no interest in that but every interest in something suitable in a standard riding position that I can touch or flat foot. Sales would skyrocket for all the frustrated cruiser riders with very sore backs.

For 30 plus years I have ridden my BMW R90/6 with 28 inch legs. Now at 65 I want and need a lower seat. I don’t like cruisers or crotch rockets and I don’t wanna motorcycle that looks like an insect. I want a pair of 16 inch cast wheels, 40 horsepower, 29 inch seat height, low /wide bars and fuel injection or an electric motor. Belt drive or a drive shaft would be nice too.

May I recommend that you hire short riders to write reviews of short motorcycles? I get that there are all sorts of riders out there, but as a short rider (5’5″) I am tired of reading reviews of short bikes by guys over 6′ who say a bike is comfortable. I have nothing against that guy, but literally I cannot triangulate how a bike will be for me from his take. Even if you through in a paragraph from a shorter co-rider, or else someone who was at one of these big press rides who was shorter, that would be hugely helpful. Nearly every click-through review above is from some taller dude. It’s like reading a review of a colorful art show from someone who is blind.

I like all kinds of bikes but the first thing I look at is seat height. Under 30 inches is good. I had a Triumph Bobber and now a Speedmaster. Had to change the forward controls to the closer set up like the Bobber. Had a BMW 800 GT but it became bothersome to be careful where I stopped to make sure I could get one foot flat on the ground. Have had bikes for over 50 years now and comfort and flat footed stops are more important than when I was a kid.

From the Triumph website which your link sent me to it lists the seat height here:
“Seat Height 30.32-31.10 in (770-790 mm)” not 29.9-30.7 as you stated. Guess I’ll have to go try one on for size rather than believe what I read on the internet.

Well, just to poke my short fat stick in the muddy waters and stir it around: Flexible lives matter. You did well to make a list of seat heights less than 30.” I’m barely 5’4″ and my inseam isn’t quite 28.” I don’t recall making seat height such an important metric when I was younger, but it’s become a big deal now at 64 1/2 years. One reason surprised me: I couldn’t bring the side stand back up on my KLR650 or on my Multistrada 1000 DS. I have several bikes that I have to push off and then pull the side stand up before the bike starts to fall left or right and catch it with a foot. But even low seat heights can be challenging as they likely have a stepped seat and often have a back rest. I have a hard time clearing the pillion and or that back rest. Also dual purpose bikes that have a workable seat height once seated have angled seats that are higher at to the rear section and are difficult for me to clear unladen. And, as mentioned above, the typical forward controls can be an issue after overcoming the first two obstacles. I can brag about my flexibility during my wrestling days, but I’m embarrassed by having to add physical inflexibility to political and financial inflexibility. I’ve determined to start stretching regularly, but I’m not making much progress. Besides, I mostly only remember when I’m trying to get on one of my bikes. Besides joining a Yoga class, I need a < or = 30" seat that's flat, and foot pegs at a 90* knee bend or slightly + or – a bit. My favorite riding position is a Standard. I value (insist on) good handling as I live at the foot of the Shenandoah/Blue Ridge mountains; so many cruisers need not apply. Although I want to put a plug in for two (classic?) cruisers for shorties: Kawasaki VN 750 and Suzuki VS 800 Intruder; surprisingly good cruisers, and can be found for <$2k! I've been riding since '75, have a couple dozen bikes, and rode every bike I could for decades; until bikes got more expensive than some used Porsches! Think designs like the Triumph Bonneville, slightly lowered if need be, for the ideal 85% do it all bike, TW200 for the other 15%. You can always pick up a cruiser for slow rides.

Best low seat height bike I ever had was a 1986 RG500 Suzuki. With 28″ inseam I could put both feet flat on the deck. Now try and buy a sports bike to fit a short ass. Impossible!
Japanese motorcycle manufacturers are losing sport bike riders to USA cruiser bikes.
More fool them! They never learn.

Believe it or not, I’m 5’8″ with a short wheel base and I commute on a 2008 Gl1800. I had the seat foam thinned at an automotive re-upholster shop and can flat foot it with the floor boards up with no decrease in comfort. (Any 2001-2010 gl1800 rider out there who wants to swap their pegs and linkages for my floorboards can contact me.
The gl1800 handles surprisingly well and is not top-heavy like the 1500s.
It is definitely not a beginners bike, but anyone with few miles under their belt and MSF training should do well on it.
Don’t believe me? Test ride one for yourself.

You define “won’t break the bank” as being under $17,000? Seriously?

I’m 5’6″ and have been riding for 65 years. In my younger days I raced TT, Flat Track, A little Motocross and Desert. I ended up Road Racing. My last race was in 1980. I now ride a 2002 Buell Cyclone that I lowered about 1 1/2″ but at 75 I have trouble getting on and off. Manufacturers need to realize that we raced with a lot less suspension and got along pretty good on pavement. There is no need to have such long travel and high seats on pavement. Most bikes are over sprung and you can’t use the travel they give you. I’m dying for something sporty with about 100 HP and good handling that weighs about 400 lbs

I’ve read most of the comments here, all valid concerns but I think some of us have missed the point. The Rider staff is simply putting out a list of the current crop of bikes that fall under the 30″ seat height. Sure, there’s other criteria for bikes that ‘fit the bill’ but let’s give ’em credit for this at least.

Seat height isn’t the only issue for short riders. A large number of the bikes on the list have forward controls which are problematic for riders with shorter inseams.

Usually, Harley-Davidson Pan America is a bold step into the adventure touring world, and I’m excited to see the brand expand its horizons. Its versatility, from off-road trails to on-road cruising, is impressive. Adventure touring is a growing segment, and the Pan America is sure to make a significant impact. Can’t wait to see it in action!

The Kawasaki Eliminator 450 looks interesting. 48HP, mid controls, sub 400 lbs, 29 inch seat height.

It would be great to see an article for taller riders as well. What are good options for someone over 6 feet tall?