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Low view of Mel on the white Trident 660, her boot hanging clear of the tarmac

Bikes Mel sat on · Staffordshire Triumph, Stoke-on-Trent · 4 October 2026

5ft rider versus the Trident 660

My first ever triple. Also my first time looking at finance figures in a showroom and walking away. Nobody tell the Z650.

Triumph Trident 660 · Two hours, with the low seat fitted · Not a review

Nobody paid for this. The opinions are ours, and they're not for sale. Our promise

Measure up against Mel Watch the video
5ft Rider vs Triumph Trident 660! This Could Be a Problem! Open on YouTube

Measure up against Mel

The spec sheet doesn't give the full picture.

Short or tall, slide in your inside leg and boots and see how you measure up against me.

Mel's legs

Measure yours barefoot, back to a wall, a book pressed up hard: floor to the top of the book. It comes out longer than your trouser size.

  1. Triumph Trident 660, low seat The one I rode 785mm 75mm on tiptoe
  2. Triumph Trident 660 Triumph's standard seat 810mm 100mm on tiptoe
  3. Kawasaki Z650 Kawasaki's standard figure. Mine's lowered. 790mm 80mm on tiptoe
  4. Honda CB750 Hornet Two weeks earlier. Felt lower. 795mm 85mm on tiptoe

Compare with
Seat heights are the makers' figures, measured with nobody on the bike. My inside leg is 26 inch; my boots add about 50mm.

What the number leaves out

Your leg goes round the seat.
A wide seat takes more leg than a narrow one at the same height. BMW is the only maker we found that publishes it, as the arc from floor to floor over the seat. On its bikes the width costs 90 to 100mm a leg.
The bike sinks when you sit on it.
Harley-Davidson publishes it: 16 to 56mm lower with a rider on. Lighter riders sink less.
Sliding off one cheek helps.
Shift your hip and that leg drops off the side of the seat, below the top. It's how one foot gets flat when the chart says the seat is above your boots.
Boots lift the heel most.
A lift boot that adds 45mm at the heel adds far less under the ball of your foot. Makers measure lift in different ways, so the boots named on the slider are rough.

The spec sheet says nothing. With the low seat the Trident is 785mm, 10mm lower than the Hornet, and it felt taller. The seat is much wider, so my leg can't drop straight down and I had to shift my hip a long way across. Seat height measures the top of the seat. It doesn't measure how far round it your leg has to go.

Triumph UK's numbers, 2026 model

Seat height
810mm, 785mm with the low seat
Wet weight
195kg
Fuel
14 litres
Power
95PS at 11,250rpm
Shifter
Up and down, standard
Price
From £7,795Checked 26 October 2026

The short-arse checklist

Before you ask about the colour.

  1. With technique

    Could I reach the floor?

    Flat on one side, with my hip shifted much further than on the Hornet. Manageable, not relaxing. On a sudden stop on a camber, if I'm not concentrating for one second, the bike is gone.

  2. With technique

    Could I get it off the side stand?

    Once I'd found the flicky thing. It's on the far side from where my weight has to be, so I'm leaning one way and hunting with my boot the other. Short-arse life.

  3. No

    Could my hands reach the clutch?

    No. Not adjustable on the one I rode, and the reach is as bad as the Hornet's. The bite point is slightly kinder. I'd be buying a lever.

  4. Yes

    Was the quick shifter any good?

    Yes. Smooth from first to second, which Glyn would like noted his Tiger's isn't. Open the throttle to go up, shut it to come down.

  5. Yes

    Did the power suit me?

    Once I found it. It lives higher in the revs than my Z650, so for the first mile I thought it was slow. Then I didn't.

What happened

Not a review.

Why I was there. I love my Z650, but she isn’t comfortable on the longer rides we want to do, and I’d like to go further without being crippled. So I’m trying bikes. The Hornet was the one before. This was my first triple, because everyone bangs on about triples.

The ride there. My Cardo mic was broken, so Glyn monologued for forty minutes and I answered him knowing he’d only hear my replies when he edited the footage. He has since heard them. He’s very quiet now.

Stoke’s big roundabout. On the way in there’s a roundabout with no lane markings and, depending on who you ask, two, three or four lanes. Neither of us likes it. If you’re nervous, go in on the left and take your time. People make their own rules on it.

The oatcake. I couldn’t ride on an empty stomach, so there was a detour for an oatcake first. This is now a rule.

On the bike. The power lives higher up the revs than on the Z650, so for the first mile I thought it was slow. Then I found it, said something rude about it, and apologised to it. The seat is the whole story for me: the low seat is lower on paper than the Hornet’s, but it’s wider, so it feels taller. A stop on a sudden slope with a car behind me is the moment that decides whether a bike is mine, and on this one I’d be concentrating every single time.

The 800. I wanted to ride the Trident 800, but they didn’t have a demo. I sat on one in the showroom with the low seat and could manage it. If I like the 660, I’ll like the 800, and the 800 is the one I’m really interested in.

The finance desk. I resisted. I looked at the numbers, I looked at what the Z650 might fetch, and I decided two hours isn’t enough for me to know. I overthink; it takes me longer than two hours to feel at home on a bike, especially when I’m stopping to film. And there are new models coming that I’d hate to miss.

What I’d tell a mate who’s short. Sit on it with the low seat fitted, not the standard one. Put a foot down on both sides. Find the side stand with the engine off before you need it with the engine on. And ask about the clutch lever before you ask about the colour.

Mel sitting on the Trident in The Bull's Head car park, one boot lifted off the ground, laughingLow view of Mel's boot on the tarmac beside the Trident's side standMel leaning the Trident over onto one foot in the car park

What I'd change first

  1. The clutch lever, for one my hand can reach.
  2. The seat, for one narrower at the front.

Ask the dealer before you ride

  • Fit the low seat before I sit on it. The standard one is 810mm.
  • Is the clutch lever adjustable? The brake lever is.
  • Show me the side stand with the engine off, before I need it with the engine on.
  • Can I sit on the 800 with the low seat as well? It takes the same one.
  • Can it be restricted for an A2 licence, if that's what you're on?
DID IT MAKE ME GRIN?

Yes. Loudly.

Would I buy one? Not yet. I looked at the finance and the part-ex and walked away. Two hours isn't enough for me, and I want to try the 800 first.

That's the only score we give.

The hunt for my next bike

You kiss a lot of frogs.

  1. 01 · 20 September 2026 Honda CB750 Hornet E-Clutch Short-arse approved, a brilliant E-Clutch, a clutch lever too far out, and no spark.
  2. 02 · 4 October 2026 Triumph Trident 660 Loved it, slightly scared of it. A wide low seat, a long clutch reach, and the 800 to try next. You're here

Ridden something a short rider should try? Tell us, Mel's making a list.