I would look into a seat concepts seat that is 1 in shorter than stock. It gets her feet closer to the ground. But doesn’t sacrifice ground clearance when the road gets a bit rougher. They make kits for your stock seat. Or full seats for a bit more money.
+1...or -1 in this case for Seat Concepts. They make a great product, and comfortable too. I use their seat on my TR650 and it is fantastic. I'm a fan of their grippy cover too. Just buy the foam and cover, use your existing seat pan, and the whole project will take you an hour. It took me about 30 minutes with an pneumatic stapler.
Problem is she wants the stock ergos just wants to touch better. Lowering the seat would make the pegs closer which is part of the reason she wants to change. The XT (I had one before I got the Honda too) is a little tight for a 32 or so inch inseam. I changed from mine because my old bad knees couldn't take being folded up that much. I already lowered the 14 CRF for her and I doubt we'll have any issues with ground clearance. Basically we're old people that like dirt roads and forest roads, not likely to get too aggressive any more. It kinda sucks because the XT250 is a really nice bike but if one is long legged it doesn't always work the best.
Might be that you could but lowering the suspension isn't a big deal unless you are worried about ground clearance or are a peg dragger. She doesn't fit either of those descriptions. Her Strom has never had any issues as a result of lowering it. We aren't lowering it 3 inches, just an inch or so to make her more comfy with her feet down. I took it for a ride after I lowered it and I kinda liked it. Have to ride it more but I might even lower mine in the end. Once again, the whole reason we like the Honda is the stock ergos fit us as far as peg/bars/seat.
Can we get back to the topic of this thread and leave the technical discussion to private messaging or somewhere eles?
Riding partner for 40 years. Countless miles, bikes and adventures. Would never have changed a thing. Not to mention, she's a damn tough rider.
You're a lucky guy. My wife rides pillion and we've done tens of thousands of miles together, but she has never had any interest in riding her own bike.