Harley Davidson motorcycles have an allure that crosses all barriers. People from all walks of life love them. Titans of industry and Hollywood stars ride them, as do regular folks. They are iconic motorcycles that are world famous.

If you're in the market for a Harley, then most motorcycle enthusiasts will tell you its a great choice, with one caveat: be careful if you're really tall.

Why Is A Person's Height An Issue?

There is one issue that comes up again and again: the rider's height. Many tall people are told that they cannot ride a cruiser. They read the motorcycle magazines and see that cruisers are not comfortable for tall people. They are told to ride sport bikes.

Is this true? Are you relegated to a sport bike if you are tall? No, not necessarily.

You Don't Have To Settle For A Sport Bike: Customize Your Harley

The simple solution is to customize the bike to fit your needs. You can have the seat raised, the controls moved forward or bigger shocks installed.

Forward Controls

Forward controls are designed for people who are too tall to comfortably ride a motorcycle in a standard position. When you move the controls forward, you increase the distance the pegs and shifters are from your feet. Rather than being in the center of the bike, they are moved forward to the front. This will accommodate longer legs.

This is the most popular method for making the bike comfortable for tall riders. It is preferable to raising the seat because it does not alter the center of gravity.

Raise The Seat

However, if you find that forward controls are not enough, you can raise the seat. You can go about this one of  two ways.

The first method is to buy a thick seat pad. You can get very thick seat pads that will lift you up a couple of inches. The second way is to replace the stock seat with a specially designed one for taller riders. 

New Shocks

Finally, if the bike is still not comfortable, you can replace the old shocks with longer ones. Doing this will effectively raise the height of the seat.

This is the most involved customization and should only be attempted if forward controls and a new seat are not enough. The motorcycle was engineered to use a certain type of shocks, so it is best to keep them. Talk to a Harley-Davidson specialist for more information.