Seat Height: From M796 to Panigale 899

amelie said:

Hi all -

I am switching from M796 to the 899 and I am bit concerned about the height. I am a 5'6" woman, pretty lightweight too.

I hopped on a friend's 1299 and am tiptoeing with sneakers. The 899 is 5mm higher than the 1299.

First of all, I ever rode a sport bike. So, there will be a (dare I say, steep) learning curve for the new position as well as weight distribution, walking the bike in a parking lot, starting uphill. I feel lie I will be back to square one despite three seasons and almost 8,000mi of riding.

Any recommendations as far as lowering seat height? I have riding track boots, but they are too bulky that I can't feel the pegs on the Monster and don't want to use them on the Panigale. My daily riding shies are the Dainese Street air.

Thank you!

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jyli19 said:

find a 2013 or prior stock seat, it's about 1" thinner than 2014+

i am 5'7", actually raised my seat, can't even tip toe both sides, but it handles great

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jc66 said:

Hi Amelie,

I am 5'7" and have no problem on the 899. I do ride with track boots which helps. I also swapped from the comfort seat to the 1199 stock seat and that made it easier to push the bike around in tight spaces. It's not as wide as well as tall(padded). I usually only use my left foot at stops and feel very comfortable just with the one foot down.

Best,

JC

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amelie said:

Thank you @jyli19. I will consider that or the stock 1199.

I am a bit wary about lowering suspensions since it changes the entire dynamics.

But again, maybe it is a matter of confidence and with time, it shall be fine. I just don't want to drop it on my first ride ;-)

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amelie said:

Thank you @jyli19. I will consider that or the stock 1199.

I am a bit wary about lowering suspensions since it changes the entire dynamics.

But again, maybe it is a matter of confidence and with time, it shall be fine. I just don't want to drop it on my first ride ;-)

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tteitei said:

I am 165cm which is around 5'5 and I have a monster (1100 evo) and a 1199. I'd recommend getting your standard seat cut down a couple cms and also getting the rear shock spring replaced with something suited to your weight, in my case I weigh around 68kg with all gear so got a 75nm spring instead of the standard 90nm spring. Get the front and rear preload set properly and you should find that the combined reduce saddle height with some suspension sag will make it more manageable. Also given your weight, you should adjust your compression and rebound settings. The standard settings for all modes are very harsh for light weight people. I ride on the track and even in race mode I have had to adjust the setting way low to settle the ride down and minimize tyre wear.

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