Hi All - thanks for having me. I am from Canada, living in LA. Have been riding for 30 years. Have had a CB500 for most of that time, just got a 1985 K100RS from a friend who loved it. I like it, I'm a short chick (5'4") so it's a bit tricky compared to the old CB. Going to buy a new shock from Ted's Beemer in AZ and hope that the load will work the way it's supposed to!

Greetings from OZ. There are other ways to get around the height issue. You can drop the forks through the trees up tp 1/2" without any noticeable effects. You can get a OEM low seat they are around, but you need to get it complete with all the accompanying parts. You can have your seat lowered and the nose shaved by a competent upholsterer who knows motorcycle seats. Buy the thickest soled motorcycle boots you can find, take a tape measure and do comparisons. You can add shoe lifts to the thick soled boots but buy the lifts first to make sure they are compatible with the boots. If you use the shorter rear shock you may have to shorten the legs on your centre stand in order to deploy it without straining something.
Regards Martin.

Bienvenu from the wrong coast! How those mirrors doin? Ted's moved to Scotts Valley, CA
Post up some pics of your ride

Welcome Overtaker

welcome aboard

getting a k onto the centre stand requires a bit of learning skills ...once you have achieved the knack , its all so simple

but don't try and force it ,,it can really kill your back - strain is not the way to go .

some chose to roll the bike back a bit and deploy the centre stand with a sharp downward force with the boot

others apply force to the centre stand foot , whilst lifting the frame handle

I do similar but apply the force to the foot whilst rocking the bike on and off the centre stand , until it generates enough backwards force to go over the pivot point


the k1100 centre stand is a little harder to deploy , but does have a longer foot to lever the stand into deployment if you have a weight advantage


tyres can make a difference with the lift --clearance ...so maybe a plus one rear tyre could help ...normal size is 130x 90x 17  plus 1 is 140 x 80 x 17  so the bike rides higher off the road surface as far as the centre stand is concerned ...  but you have to chose a good road surface for stability once up

good luck

Welcome too.....

Well familiar with those stand issues but be aware the original centre stand is also very prone to breaking...unexpectedly too.

Get rid of the worry as above but don't worry on the 5' 4", look more at inside leg and reducing the needed length. Replies above sum up all the options.