I>>>’ve never lowered any of my bikes. I believe it ruins the functionality for which the bike was designed.  I love the Desert Sled and want to keep riding it for years so I’m actually considering lowering it a tad. I mean, I’m never going to use >>>all the ground clearance it has.

Pags wrote: Many Ducs mount the kickstand directly to the engine cases, and if something goes wrong, you're in for a massive repair bill. >>> Yeah, I would never do it on my 900SS. Stuart wrote: if you try this, make sure you get your centre of gravity over the bike and put as little weight on the stand as possible, ie - don't hang off the handlebars while you swing your leg over. >>> Great advice! Ryan wrote: But the GS has a beefy as hell stand. I don’t know the case for the Desert Sled. >>> It’s just bolted to a bracket on the frame. Jim Calandro wrote: I think Tony nailed it you must be sure the bolts holding the side stand on are tight. Almost all the failures of Ducati cases come from the bolts not being tight. What makes the decision for me is how far over the bike leans. Older Ducati like the 916 lean over so far I would never trust the foot on the peg and stand method. What I do with my Hypermotard when I have luggage on the back is the method Tony refers to as the Karate Kick. I just lift my right leg up and grab the cuff with my right hand and lift my foot over the seat. >>> The Sled is fairly upright on it’s kickstand. I installed a much bigger footpad on it. Does that add or take away the stress on the kickstand bolt? >>> I don’t think I could get my leg up and over the Sled seat even if I grab my pant legs to hoist it over. 28” inseam legs are a big handicap. I’ve often said the only regret I’ve ever had about being short is not being able to ride all the >>>motorcycles. I once found a running KZ1300 for $500 but I couldn’t even hoist it off its kickstand! Tim Simpson wrote: No way would I ever put my body weight on the sidestand. My old 900SS cracked the engine case just from having the weight of the bike on it. On my MultiEnduro, I stand perp. to the bike, hike my right knee up towards my chest, grab it with my right hand and loft my heel over the seat......one fluid motion. I'm 6'2" so that makes it a little easier, but that Enduro seat is really high. I have a short friend who raises the sidestand, puts the bike in gear and takes off with only his left foot on the peg, then swings the right leg over after he's moving. That's not an easy way, but with practice he makes it look easy. >>> Yeah, my 900SS got a cracked engine case from a too loose chain. Don’t want to go through that again. And yeah, being 6’2”, I imagine you have no trouble getting on any bike. 6’2” is a lot taller than 5’ 3” my friend! Hahahaha >>> And…your short friend’s method sounds cool but I couldn’t even pull that off on my banana seat-ape-hanger handlebars-orange metalflake Huffy Cheater Slick I had when I was 11. Bob Ryan wrote: Another concern is that if the foot peg is serrated, standing and pivoting on it will dig into the sole of your boot, and eventually you'll have a hole in your boot. >>> Good point. My Sled’s footpegs are serrated but they have a rubber pad in them that makes them comfortable/non-serrated. Pags wrote: Harder on a super heavy street bike, but definitely doable with a little skill. >>>Which I don’t have and don’t want to try and learn on a big, heavy, quasi-dirt bike. Colin Mackintosh wrote: I can relate to the getting a leg over issue! My 30" inseam is about 2" to short to easily mount a lot of the taller adventure type bikes. At first I wasn't very comfortable getting on my Hyperstrada but after the first month or so it got easier-just had to make sure I'd done all my morning stretches! I've also used the foot on the peg method and as identified it requires checking the kickstand bolts regularly. I've never really trusted sidestands(don't ask) and have mostly owned ones with centre stands so usually leave the bike on that. The centre stand makes the bike very stable making it mountable via the peg, the karate kick, or the traditional swing a leg over! I ride with a couple of guys 70+ years who for some reason don't like panniers and pack all their gear in waterproof duffle/tail bags. One rides a Super Tenere and the other a Pikes Peak-they're both really good at the karate kick method! I have this image in my mind that one day day the kick is going to miss and they're going to push the whole works on its side, hasn't happened yet though. Its all about staying limber! >>>It took me a while to adjust to riding the Sled as I have to slide half my body off the bike when I come to a stop just to get a foot down. I’ve never had a bike with a centerstand so have never used one. I’ve tried to hoist assorted other >>>bikes onto their centerstands but never quite got the hang of it. >>>As for your 70+ yr old friends…yeah, but how tall are they? For me it’s more about the inches than being limber! Gene Hunt wrote: I still wonder why they have to be that way the new KTM 790 has a very reasonable seat, even on the R version. >>> Yeah, see, that's the problem, I sat on both the S and R versions at COTA and what is “reasonable” to most people is too tall for me. Having said that, the R version was easier to get on and off of than my Desert Sled! Sylvia wrote: I am 5'5" with a 31" inseam. I tour a lot on my Monster, which has never been lowered. Been using the Calandro, grab the right pant leg, method for years, although at 70, I'm getting less flexible. I>>>’ve never lowered any of my bikes. I believe it ruins the functionality for which the bike was designed. I love the Desert Sled and want to keep riding it for years so I’m actually considering lowering it a tad. I mean, I’m never going to use >>>all the ground clearance it has. And I’ve never been flexible in the first place, even when I was a teenager on various wrestling teams. Thanks for all the replies so far, it’s been very insightful and helpful. Thanks! 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