Frequently Asked Questions

• What is "preferred arm straightness"?

  This represents how straight you generally keep your arms when riding. A value of 100% means you keep your arms perfectly straight, while a value of 70% would be very bent, such as when you lean forward to "tuck in." Generally it can be left at the default value.

• How do you measure inseam?

  Inseam is measured from your crotch along your inner leg to the bottom of your ankle. Generally it is identical to the length measurement of your pants.

• Why is the seat height different than what the manufacturer says?

  This website calculates seat height from the center of the seat to the ground. Manufacturers usually calculate seat height based on the lowest part of the seat, which is often not realistic, and they often report seat height as it may be when a rider of unspecified weight is sitting on the bike, compressing the suspension, which is misleading.
  
  Even so, in some cases the pictures for some bikes may depict them with a higher or lower seat than stock, which causes the seat-height calculation to be too high or low. In these cases, just report this issue and it will be corrected.

• How accurate is this website?

  It is quite accurate when comparing the difference in riding position between multiple motorcycles (for example, seeing if you'd be leaned forward more on one bike than another).
  
  Of course there are inaccuracies, partly due to the simplified stick-figure representation of the rider and also because the website can only be as accurate as the picture of the motorcycle allows, and they often suffer from perspective distortion, handlebars that aren't straight, etc. But the errors introduced by these things are usually fairly minor.
  
  On the other hand, the estimation of ground reach (placing the rider's feet on the ground) is not really accurate at all. There are simply far too many factors that determine this, most of which the website cannot possibly know about. For example the thickness of the rider's thighs, the exact shape of the seat, and the amount the suspension compresses when the rider sits on the bike (which itself depends on the particular bike, the particular suspension adjustment, and the rider's weight).
  
  It's offered simply as a "better than nothing" estimation but is definitely not reliable.