i'm short 5'3" what is the best rice burner for me?

Kawasaki is the way to go. Or, Suzuki SV 650. But do yourself a favor - buy a used bike if this is your first - you WILL drop it when learning to ride, and that leaves a fresh new bnike looking like crap. Buy something really freakin cheap, learn and toss it down the road a couple of times, then buy a real bike.

And dont spend $200 to lower it! You can lower the seat height simply by taking the seat off, turning it over and taking out the staples holding the fake leather on. Take out the foam, cut down a couple of inches, and re-staple it on! Or, on Ebay, they sell lowering links for the 250/500 ninja for CHEAP (like, under $40 I believe!) Self install is a snap....

My wife is only 5' tall. She rides a Suzuki Intruder Volusia VL800 (Now sold as the Bouelvard C-50) with no modifications. The Kawasaki Vulcan VN800 is about the same size bike. The Harley Sportster 883L has a fairly low seat height too.

You could modify almost any bike, but lowering the shocks and springs will result in reduced suspension travel and reduced cornering ability. If you can find a bike that fits you well without modifications, you'll be better off.

I'd also recommend the Ninja 250R. This is a great powerful bike to learn on, much more powerful than all other 250's and is even faster than all Harleys other than the V-rod. The little ninja is around $3000 brand new and weighs about 100 pounds less than all other "light" bikes, it's low, easy to manage, inexpensive to insure, and parts are very cheap. You can also sell it for almost as much as what you paid for it years later. The average depreciation on one is only $200 a year compared to thousands of dollars for any other bike.

I've known many people who have kept the Ninja 250 for many years, preferring it over much larger and more powerful bikes. Although I've never owned one I've ridden a few of them. These things have got to be the best value in motorcycling by far.

p.s. the US gets 90% of its rice from US farmers. If anything, anything made in the US is a rice burner. Besides, rice is a source for alcohol and any bike would have to be modified to run on alcohol.

Lowering a bike is not recomended because it has some negative effects on the handling of the bike. Im around 5'5" and I started on a suzuki gs500f. This bike is plenty fast to beat most cars on the road if thats what you want, and this bike handles like a dream, it can also do the occasinal wheelie and is fairly cheap new. A ninja 500 would also be a good bike.

You don't say what your budget or riding objective is, but I owuld go talk to a knowledgeable dealer about the height adjustment thing. It can be done via a link in the swing arm and an adjustment to the front triple clamp.

Check out the Suzuki XSV650 for a start.

why not try a buell blast? made by HD & has plenty of power for a smaller bike. i'm 5' flat and it's a good fit with the lower profile seat, plus they're under $5000.

If you are still calling it a rice burner then maybe you need a tricycle. I have a Honda VTX made right here in the US. Rice burners are obsolete. They are cruisers rockets sportbike etc not riceburners

a 12" skillet should do the trick. Still, I'd think you'd be better off with a steamer. Who wants burnt rice?

kawasakin ninja is the best bro