Hello there,

I am a newbie and have just acquired a 1990 K100LT but has problem riding it because of the ride height at 31.9" that makes me very hard to balance the bike while moving it forward or backward to turn without losing my balance. I would like to ask our BMW Gurus is there a way to lower it like the low rider height at 29.9" which will be most effective to enable me to ride this bike instesd of selling it? I would very much appreciated your kind assistance and suggestion.

Thanks & regards and have a nice weekend.

Bob

Hi Bob

There are lots of options to lower the ride height and quite a few threads you might want to search for cover most of them. A few possibilities below:

- Fitting a different seat or cutting out foam from the existing seat
- Fitting a shorter rear shock (see Realm Engineering for an example)
- Fitting lower profile tyres
- Getting riding boots with larger heels (therea re specila boots out there made for people short of leg) and/or inserts for your boots
- there is also a BMW OEM lower seat kit that is complex but available - Motorworks has them advertsied second hand on their website

I have the same problem as you but the more I ride the machine the more my confidence increases and the smaller the ride height issue is. That said I will try the short shock route (and dropping the forks through the yokes by the same amount) at some point just to aid paddling the bike backwards which I can't currently do and means I have to plan parking etc well in advance.

Hope this helps - if you really like the bike I'd encourage you to persevere as it will reward in the end.

All the Best
Dave

Welcome to the forum, Massachusetts. I lived there once upon a time, in Pepperell, then Western Mass.

As this is a common theme amongst short arse riders (an affectionate term for 'inseam challenged' in the non-US English speaking world). I suggest you go to the 'Forum' page and type in 'lowering'. Up will pop several full threads covering all manner of what other short arse riders have done to lower their Mighty K. There's a wealth of information at the ready with a basic search. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy the bike.

nods head ...to the above posts

the k is a great bike, it would be a pitty that one doesnt feel comfortable manuvering it around

Thank you all brothers for your good suggestion. Hopefully it will work because I have put on a new rear tire, new battery, greased the shaft, changed the fluid and have never really drive it except falls on me 4 times when I tried to give it a try but once I turned the front I lost the balance and it just slowly dump on me because I was doing my best to minimize the impact and sprained my ankle. A pair of Yanks cowboy boots with 4" heels should do the work.

Have a nice day and I loved Sydney, Melborne, Brisbane, Perth when I was working for Cathay Pacific in the late 70's and early 80's before they made so much changes to good old China Town and the food.

Welcome aboard Bob. Are all us Bobs short arses????
Perseverance my friend. It will never be perfect but it will get better the more you use it.

if i can add bob ... you need to make strong solid and purposefull moovements ....firm feet and use the legs ...

after a while this will come naturally ,,,but she isnt some little 250 jap thing that you can throw around or pick up by the bars ...

cheers

A coupla things I like to spout off in mixed company about my Mighty K:

On rythmn and ease of handling.
"She's a big girl, but she can dance."

On durability and trendy fashion.
"As reliable as a fridge, but not nearly as cool."

TIC