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Too tall for LeMans 1, 11 or 111?

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lane653 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lane653 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Too tall for LeMans 1, 11 or 111?
    Posted: 11 Jan 2018 at 17:20
Hello,
    I am beginning a search for a gen 1, 11 or possibly Mark 111 LeMans.  Missed an opportunity years ago to buy a Mark 11 as seller decided to sell to his brother.  Haven't forgotten that bike and after several bikes over the years, I am beginning to look for a LeMans.
    A primary concern I have is knee/upper shin contact with the cylinder heads as I am 6'3'' tall. I'm not too excited about splaying my knees outside the heads, but would love to hear from 6 foot plus LeMans riders about their experiences.
   If I end up getting one, I will need help with setting up the carbs for 7,000 ft elevation.
   THANKS MUCH.
                                                                                                     Lane
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cyclobutch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2018 at 17:32
To fit a LM well you need to be slightly disproportionate. Short legs, long body and arms. Outside of that you will struggle somewhere or another ergonomically. The enthusiasm of youth can make up for that to a larger degree. On a mk II – if it still has the fairing lowers in place you will have your knees outside of the fairing.

I’m 5’11’’ (or at least was once) and carry much of my height in my legs and I still managed to run my mk II down to Paul Ricard for a weekend two up. No way would I do that now.

Butch
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lane653 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2018 at 17:44
Thanks much for your experiences--I'm certainly not short in the legs though I do have long arms.  Oh well. . .
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ken-Guzzibear Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2018 at 18:58
6ft 1 me could ride the mk 1 but the V1 Le Mans was real good BUT I have a short inseam long body
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lane653 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2018 at 19:32
Hey Ken,
    Thanks much for the feedback--I have a long inseam and a shorter body!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lane653 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2018 at 19:34
I'm wondering if the Daytona would be any better?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Raeburn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2018 at 20:39
Don't bother, they are too small......I had adjustable bars but there's not much you can do about the distance between the seat and footpegs.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dukedesmo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2018 at 21:30
I have a LM2, now converted to LM1 dynamics.

I'm 6ft with 32" leg and when it had the full LM2 fairings my knees were in permanent contact with the fairing backs/bump pads.

With the fairings off my knees make contact with the heads unless I sat further back but I have since fitted more rearset pegs which take my knees slightly further back (but also higher so more tightly bent and therefore even more uncomfortable) but this year I had a spare seat modified - seat has been raised by 30mm and the passenger hump/arse stop moved backwards. This gives me a little more room and reduces (slightly) the amount of knee bend, however it's still quite extreme.

But it does mean that if I sit back a little further (luckily I've got long arms) then my knees only make occasional contact with the heads (don't ride in shorts!).

In short I've made an uncomfortable bike slightly less uncomfortable, your extra 3" height won't help but if you really want it you'll make do.

I also have a Ducati 916 which is generally considered a very uncomfortable bike, but it's like an armchair compared to the Le Mans.

As an aside the chap (in Italy) that I bought the bike from was the ideal LM build - short legs/long arms - I think that, like many Italian cars of the day, they were made for a certain build that was quite common in Italy at that time...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lane653 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2018 at 00:46
Thanks Dukedesmo for sharing your experiences, modifications, humorous comparison to the 916, and the characteristic body type that the LeMans was designed for.
   And thanks all for you thoughts and experiences.  Great forum!
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magwa View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote magwa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2018 at 12:41
It will look like a moped growing up your aspidistra! I'm 6'02, 15 stone, xxxl hands size (uk) 12 feet.
One of the reasons for selling my guzzi lemans mkIII was just that
the modern carc models are great for us normal people
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cyclobutch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2018 at 13:06
Hmmmmm. I felt like a jockey perched on my Griso, even with a Buell footrest lowering kit fitted.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dave P. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2018 at 13:08
Slightly off topic but related.
I wondered about the practicality of getting a Stelvio for touring a few years back but like BMW GS models,it was just too tall in the saddle.I'm a mere five feet nine and a half inches tall and the old girl is about five feet two.I could get on it be she couldn't.For us, the current crop of tourers are just too tall.She can, only with some difficulty, get on and off the Loop models.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Brian UK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2018 at 14:11
Do you not carry a stepladder?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote magwa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2018 at 14:27
Originally posted by Dave P. Dave P. wrote:

Slightly off topic but related.
I wondered about the practicality of getting a Stelvio for touring a few years back but like BMW GS models,it was just too tall in the saddle.I'm a mere five feet nine and a half inches tall and the old girl is about five feet two.I could get on it be she couldn't.For us, the current crop of tourers are just too tall.She can, only with some difficulty, get on and off the Loop models.


You need a CARC model, eg brevia sport but notherwise stelvio
.
Nice low seat, you sit in it.

bars can be adjusted to suit.( rolled forward or backward)

The stelvio is great if your 6'00 " plus

love mine 1200 sport but for £ reasons it's up for sale   

Edited by magwa - 12 Jan 2018 at 21:12
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Brian UK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2018 at 14:30
The Stelvio is a CARC model.
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