Mounting the Bike

I’m 57 years with a 29 inch inseam and, due to many sports-related knee/hip injuries over the years, am mounting challenged with the 1290 (and my 450 SX-F, too). Am too short (and stiff) to kick my leg up and push it over the seat; I climb aboard by grabbing the handlebars, throwing my right leg over the back while yanking forward to barely arrive on the seat. The process is neither pretty nor graceful.

If I add any kind of rear bag, I’ll never get on. Sheesh…

The questions are:

Is it possible to lower the suspension, given cornering ground clearance as the trade off, and if so, how much?

Do any off you mount the bike by stepping on the peg while on its side-stand and swinging your leg over the back? The owner’s manual (page 80) warns not to sit on the parked bike with the rider’s weight on the side stand, so the implied message is not to mount the bike while putting the rider’s weight on the side stand.

Thoughts?

mounting on side stand should not be a problem, have done it several times, but this was on an even and dry floor
Be careful when you do this outside where the floor is not even

I have a 34" inseam, and still find myself putting my left foot on the peg with the bike on the sidestand then throwing my right leg over it.

Owner's manual be damned.

If you're relatively light you may be able to get away with just softening the preload so the bike squats a bit more. Without linkage suspension, lowering would require modifying the shock, and what I would consider a substantial modification. Even at 6' I struggle getting a leg over the high seat, stretching definitely helps.

Boy do I understand as I have much the same issue being older than you and physically paying for the follies of my youth. I put the plastic tail cover on from KTM PP (will eventually switch to CF). The cover is shiny and slippery and I am able to get on the bike by leaning forward a bit while swinging/sliding my leg over the cover. I must agree that it's not pretty but I ride with a group where most of them are older than I am so nobody dares say a thing as we are all happy to still be riding on two wheels no matter how we look. Actually, the 1290R isn't too bad. My B-King is much worse to both get on and off. I rode Busa's for years and finally after having six weeks of tedonitus in my elbows after a long ride I traded it for the B-King which is easier on the old body but no easier to get on and off. Just remember once on board we are 19 years old again, so it is worth it.

Karate kick.

Getting on the bike is only one of the problems us old farts have. How many others have trouble getting both arms in the jacket? Pulling zippers up? Pulling zippers down?

Hell, one time I went for a ride in the fall, found myself three hours away from home, in a bathroom trying to get my cold weather jacket zipped completely up. Failed. Too embarrassed to ask for help. Damn near froze to death by the time I got home.

My daughter is selling some high heeled shoes on ebay at present if any help ........ I do feel for you as we are all getting bloody old

A cage driver ran into me and knocked my off my 950 Advandure and fooked my right leg ACL up that lives in my knee.
My bud gave me a ride to pick up my bike after the crash. Had to throw a leg over to ride home. Did so and damn near blacked out.
Can't keep me off a bike, but getting on can be a pain.

What has worked for me is if I can get a handful of pant leg and throw my leg over the bike.
Don't be shy about asking a M8 to do it for ya. They would want you to do the same.
Had lower back problems years ago and had my buds help me get on my Ninja ZX7R.
It' a good thing to have good M8's.

This thread reads like a Geritol commercial. You geriatrics are testing my patience and seem ready for KTM to make a three wheeler just to keep you ambulatory. Whoa is me. Who gives a shit how you get on it. Get on your bad motorscooter and riiiiiiiiide.

Pair of these might help.......................................

What great thread makes me feel better as there any many more suffering the same way I do due to SD addiction
just wait until you start looking for somewhere to park where you can stop, gently lean agaist the said object and then try to loosen your leg joints to put your feet on the floor
.......must admit it was a cold day, and I forgot how much the cold gets to us old farts

I can relate to some of this easily @ 49, under 170cm in height and enjoying the results of ingesting lots of the tasty food.
Also having diabetes doesn't help the joints at all.
I have on occasions parked next to some sort of step, footpath edge or flower bed to assist with both dismounting and mounting.
For some odd reason I have now adopted to mount the it from right side with the motorcycle resting on it's stand, pulling the bike onto me as I launch my left leg over, hopping for the best. At a guess, I might have better movement on my lower back doing it this way.
Once i am on it, I become 16 again.

I have panniers mounted which makes mounting even more difficult. I usually stand on the peg then throw the leg over however I can just pick the leg up and I am 178 cm and 84kg

Wow, what a thread. I consider myself to be in less than great physical condition. Also assumed I was one of very few older and in less than great physical condition until I found this read. Interesting read and interesting member’s comments here. I am still able to throw a leg over the beast but doesn’t happen without some discomfort I admit. In some strange way I feel……better.
RA - heart bypass – procedures, broked bones(recently) but still riding. Blessed I guess.

Still looking for a proper seat!!!

Mount : Karate kick followed by a left foot hop to get closer to the bike.

Dismount: Hop on the left foot again and sort of drag the right leg off bike with out scratching the paint / seat.

A hand full of pant leg to lift on helps.

This is a cross over technique from my 2004 KTM 950 Adventure which is taller yet.