Who has ridden a slightly lowered bike? (Not slammed)

[zerocool]

I have a really short inseam (28") and have been working on making my Daytona 675 more comfortable in terms of height. I already shaved the seat but there wasn't much to shave. I've been riding for about 4 years so I'm not a new rider. I use one leg at stops and its fine but not always.

This is my commuter, never tracked, and take it up to the twistys every now and then.

After reading on the 675 forums I found that some shorter folk have had good luck with lowering about 1". I bought a soupy's adjustable lowering link (turnbuckle style) and will be taking it to faster tomorrow to get it installed. Hopefully 1" in the rear and forks raised about 1/2" in the front.

For those who have ridden lowered bikes, and I'm not talking about "slammed bikes", what are your thoughts??

[bornwildnfree]

Always lower the bike the same in the front as in the rear to keep from messing with the handling too much. There are other things that can be done to lower the bike if the 1/2" doesn't work for you. My ZX10R is lowered 1/2" and it made a huuuuggeee difference. If you find the bike is handling funny, take it to Dave Rose at STM Suspension in Ft Collins. He is a suspension genius.

[Devaclis]

Even lowering both the front and the rear you will have a different fork angle and the cornering will be changed a good deal. I experimented with this on 2 different bikes, one a pure sportbike and the other a nekkid SV650. I was never able to get the same feel or cornering performance as the stock configuration.

Corner turn in was faster and honestly less stable. Corner exiting at speed a crap shoot based on the radius of the turn.

I did not like any configuration as well as stock on either bike so I returned the ride height back to factory. I lived happilly ever after.

[pauliep]

SULLY!

Got to love her streetfighter II round house kick when she saddles up. hehe

[Bueller]

I have lowered my wifes ninja 250 1" F&R and she loves it now, when I ride it nothing seems abnormal, but now with the reduced clearance dragging the kickstand becomes a concern with me riding it.
My race 250 got the rear end raised to help with handling.

Those links are adjustable so you can experiment with ride heights if you are so inclined.

[ChrisCBX]

I lowered my wife's Street Triple with a nice quality lowering link. Adjusted the front end to compensate. She loves it. She has ridden it about 6000 miles already this year. The kick stand needed shortened as well.

[zerocool]

I have heard it needs to be lowered the same F&R but I was reading on the 675 forums this guy who tracked his daytona 675 had better handling with it lowered 1" rear and 6mm of fork showing in the front. He tried different set ups and that was what worked best for him. Although he did say his body position had to change in the corners.

Maybe I should start with .75 F&R.

ChrisCBX, where did you get the stand shortened at?

[spdu4ia]

Mine is stock height in the rear and lowered about 1" on the front. I like the handling much better actually since it was a bit sluggish on turn in from the factory. You can make small adjust ments on the fork height after you lower the rear to dial in what feels best to you.

[zerocool]

Interesting.

Will I have to get the sag set again after I lower? I just had it set for me a couple of weeks ago.

[ChrisCBX]

I have heard it needs to be lowered the same F&R but I was reading on the 675 forums this guy who tracked his daytona 675 had better handling with it lowered 1" rear and 6mm of fork showing in the front. He tried different set ups and that was what worked best for him. Although he did say his body position had to change in the corners.

Maybe I should start with .75 F&R.

ChrisCBX, where did you get the stand shortened at?

Jim at TFOG did the stand.

We also adjusted the front a bit after she rode it a while. Its not exactly the same front and rear anymore.

[fiveninerzero]

I have a similar inseam as you. I know this doesn't really answer your question, but I just deal with it. The hassle and the extra work of tweaking the suspension after dealing with that just isn't worth it to me. I've already spent countless sleepless nights playing with my preload, compression and rebound damping as it is. Comfort is just something that I do not expect from a sportbike being 5'6" tall.

[zerocool]

I have a similar inseam as you. I know this doesn't really answer your question, but I just deal with it. The hassle and the extra work of tweaking the suspension after dealing with that just isn't worth it to me. I've already spent countless sleepless nights playing with my preload, compression and rebound damping as it is. Comfort is just something that I do not expect from a sportbike being 5'6" tall.

Yep, I've been just dealing with it since I started riding. I got the link used for almost nothing and I figure if I hate it I can always put it back to stock height.

It does seem like it could be a PITA to get everything set just right.

[bornwildnfree]

Yea, it's better to have Jim at TFOG or Dave at STM do the lowering and the sag set. It takes a lot to get everything right after you do the suspension and it is really important because your suspension can make or break the bike. I have found it's worth it to lower my bike and it was done right on the ZX. It was not done right on my SV and it contributed to my first crash.

[thatmofo]

Mine is lowered more than an inch - I forget exactly how much. I hate the fact that potholes, cracks, and bumps in the road feel a lot worse and I scrape my pegs easily when cornering. Most of my riding is done in town, so that may make a difference if you mainly take your bike on long rides with smooth roads.

[FZRguy]

Getting your suspension dailed is way worth the cost and effort. I've used lowering links and have gone the expensive route of shortening the stroke of the shock and fork on dirt bikes. I added 1/2 inch of rear ride height to my FZR via shorter dog bones with good results.

[zerocool]

I just read on Soupy's site (the lowering link vendor) that they recommend lowering the front 30-50% of what you lowered in the rear.

[ChrisCBX]

I just read on Soupy's site (the lowering link vendor) that they recommend lowering the front 30-50% of what you lowered in the rear.

A Soupy's link is what I used. Its a very stout looking piece of hardware.

We ended up (by trial and error) doing about 50% of the rear lowered height. It worked out best for my wife and the Triumph.

[zerocool]

Ok cool. I think I'll start out dropping it 20mm rear and 10-15mm in the front. The daytona looks like it has a lot of "wiggle room".

The mechanic I talked to at faster was trying hard to talk me out of lowering it. He recommended dropping 10mm rear and 15mm front.

It already sits high in the rear so I'll see if he can do 20mm R and 15mm F or something close to that.

[zerocool]

Ok so I just got the bike back from getting lowered at Faster.

They did talk me in to starting off with a small drop since I could already get my toes down and didnt need too much lowering. We ended up with about 13mm rear and 5mm front. I watched the guy do it (Bart) and he seems like he really knows his shitt. He also adjusted the damping quite a bit.

So now I can get the balls of my feet down and feels much more comfortable while stopped and while moving the bike around with my legs.

While riding I did notice a difference, and while not huge, it’s definitely not as good as the stock handling. Going straight is of course fine, if not better and more stable but turning a corner I’ve noticed that it doesn’t fall into the turn as much as it did stock. It almost feels slightly heavier and less “flickable”. And this is with only a .5” drop in the back and 5mm in the front so I doubt I’ll lower it more.



I do feel the bumps a little more but I think its mostly from the damping adjustments.


I’ll ride it like this for a while and see if I get used to it. And since it’s an adjustable link I may fool around with it a bit or I could even raise it back up in a couple of minutes if I decide to take some twisties.

Thanks for all the replies and input!

Brandon

[FZRguy]

Drop the front some more if you want it to turn in quicker. Don't be afraid to experiment....you can always return to your base settings.

[Bueller]

I just got back from running canyons on my wifes lowered 250. I had noticed no real difference in the city, but this got me thinking of the possible ill effects on carving. The bike handled pretty well as it is set. up through Deer Creek, Shadow Mnt., Bear Creek.

Yea Bart has a pretty good idea of what he is doing, he is for sure better than random interweb theory.

[irdave]

I'll chime in here a quick bit before I head to work...

I've lowered lots of bikes- sport, dirt, sm, the whole lot.

For your application (street only), I'm of the opinion that it's WAY more important for you to be able to feel comfortable riding around than to worry about max possible corning ability in a track/race setting.

It IS possible to make the front end behave as stock after lowering. Or to make it act 'faster' or 'slower and heavier' after lowering- or any time. Making yours turn a little quicker is as simple as raising the fork tubes a little more and tuning to how you like it.

If it's a street bike and you're worried about dropping it the whole time, you'll never be comfortable riding- and hence not want to ride. That's silly. If all it takes is lowering it a little to make you comfortable, do it. We do it all the time at the shop. I typically lower my dirt bikes by about an inch- with no ill effects- and I only drop it less.

Remember, just because something is currently popular doesn't mean it's the only answer.