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[totalnewbie]

Hey, so I am looking at a zero DS 14.4, will probably do a lot of forest trails, not too fast
It will be the 11kw version and my first bike (other than scooters)
I am worried I may be too short for it though, considering its weight etc. I am 5 ft 8 and a half, or 174cm, and my leg inseam is 82cm or 32.2 inches.
Does anyone else at approximately the same height own a DS? I am also 84kilos /185 pounds if that makes a difference. Am I too short for this bike if I might need to put my foot down on a steep track etc? Thanks!

[TheRan]

I'm 5'10" but have short legs with a 30" inseam. With regular road boots with a thin sole I can't quite flat foot with both feet but I can with my off road boots with a thicker sole. You'll be fine, especially with nearly 20kg over me if you don't fiddle with the rear shock (I reduced the preload for a bit more sag, not super hard but a bit fiddly getting a shock wrench in there and finding one that fits).

[totalnewbie]

That's very helpful, thanks.

[Crissa]

There isn't a 'too short'.  Once you're on the bike, your feet shouldn't be leaving the pegs.  A foot only comes down when stopped.

There are multiple instructional videos showing women dealing with adventure bikes, would you like some suggestions?

-Crissa

[NEW2elec]

If your first bike were gas with it needing to shift then I could see you wanting a lower seat height.
The great thing about these bikes is no shifting, so your left foot has nothing to do but hold you up.

There is really never a reason to need to double flat foot.  Even if your stopped on a hill, keep your right foot on the peg toeing the rear brake lever.  You can slide the seat more to your right upper thigh and easily hold the bike up with the left foot and counter pressure from your right foot on the peg.

I'm a bit taller but shorter legs and have a DS and DSR and that method works great for me.

Enjoy the ride.

[totalnewbie]

There isn't a 'too short'.  Once you're on the bike, your feet shouldn't be leaving the pegs.  A foot only comes down when stopped.

There are multiple instructional videos showing women dealing with adventure bikes, would you like some suggestions?

-Crissa

Yes, that'd be good, thanks

[TheRan]

Being able to get both feet flat greatly helps with manoeuvring the bike, such as backing it up, which can be important off road in situations where you can't just hop off. It's not absolutely necessary most of the time but it sure is nice.

[Crissa]

Sure!  Flat-footing a bike is useful, but not required.

Letsee... Doodle is a motovlogger and she's not as tall as you.  She has some links.  She's tried lowering, riding shorter bikes.  But learned it's just a starting thing to need both feet on the ground:


There's links in her video description... She can be kinda long-winded.

-Crissa

[Shadow]

There's a couple of things to be done without adjusting the suspension. You can ride in slightly taller boots and also you can customize the seat. The stock seat takes a few years to break-in but never really feels "great". Since there are better customized seat options you may as well recover a bit of clearance that way too. Having slightly taller boots was enough for me a 5'10-in person with 30-in inseam to flat foot the DSR on pavement... when the bike was loaded down with 100lbs of cargo it was like saddling up to a Zero S.

Getting a leg over the Zero S was also much less eventful than the DS(R).

To get up and over the bike on mount I would approach from the kickstand (left-hand) side (note: the other side approach is of course possible just not preferred), grab the front brake on the handlebar with my right hand, left foot on the left footpeg, then climb up and over. Depending on the situation I would also before being seated then secure the rear brakeset with my right foot to then make a decision about what I was going to do next. Covering the front brake at rest helps stabilize while leveling the bike upright to free up the kickstand to be flipped up. Covering the rear brakeset at rest with my right foot while my left foot is down to the ground supporting everything is usually what I would do if I wanted to free up my right arm at any time (i.e. interacting with Maps on the smartphone), but there is a risk you forget what you're doing, so always - always - always I suggest making a habit of covering some kind of brake if you're not moving and you're anywhere near the bike either on it or about to be on/off of it i.e. cover front brake if you want to rest the bike to the right leg because you won't have access to the stock rear brakeset when that leg is supporting the bike.