Is Lowering a good idea?

[kingtut]

I'm a new Royal Star Tour Deluxe owner. At 5' 6.5" I have trouble putting both feet flat on the ground when at a standstill. The bike came with a super Corbin seat, which I'm not going to change. So is a lowering kit advisable or not? I know this will reduce the cornering angle, but I've also read different things about how it changes the maneuverability of the bike. Anyone out there who has installed a lowering kit and can tell me if it's a good idea or not? My tendency is to hold off on putting one on and try to get used to the new feel. Any counsel anyone can provide will be appreciated.

 

Glad to be part of the forum.

[hig4s]

To start with you could push the forks up about an inch in the triple clamps, this effectively lowers the seat about a half inch, and is suppose to improve low speed handling. I must admit I have not tried it as I can reach flat footed.

[cecdoo]

I am only 5'5" and have not had my bike lowered, I generally only put my left foot down when I stop. Get a set of boots with a thick sole and heel.. There are a couple of guys on here that have lowered the front and back and swear by it. Craig

[eagleeye]

First of all, welcome to a great place. Stick around

 

Second, you cannot shove the forks up in the trees on a RSTD. The ventures can do that. We cannot due to the fact that the tubes are directly under the handlebars. Just take a look and you will see what I mean.

 

I have an 05 RSTD that I put the barons lowering kit on, (the rear) just because I like my bikes low. Forget about all the theorists out there. It handles just fine. I have no issues with slow, fast or any other speed handling.

The one thing that I can tell you is that you will drag the mufflers from time to time. Especially in very slow speed corners. To me, I could care less, but you might not like that.

 

My advise is this: if you want to lower it for your own reasons---LOWER IT, and enjoy the ride.

Steve

[Jerry W]

:sign yeah that:

 

You could probably install a set of pullbacks on the bars to make it more comfortable to reach the grips, this should also pick the bars up off the forks and allow you to lower the front.

[kingtut]

Thanks for all the quick responses.

 

I'm thinking I'll stick with the current set up and only fork out the bucks for the Baron lowering kit if I get too frustrated with the seat height. Another factor for me is backing up the bike when needed . . . when one's feet barely reach the ground it doesn't give one much leverage to push backward on this heavy machine. Then again, I don't cotton much to scratching up those pretty mufflers, even on the undersides. Time will tell.

 

Another questions: I've ordered Star handlebar risers in order to get the grips another inch or so closer to me. Has anyone done this and found out that you needed longer cables or hoses? The specs for the risers says "maybe, depending on the position of the handlebars." I'm really hoping I can get away with not having to put on longer cables.

 

Looking forward to the ongoing discussions on the forum . . . and to miles and miles on the RSTD.

Kingtut

[eagleeye]

There is one more thing that you could do to help you reach the ground. On the site here, there is a guy, Rick Butler from Texas, who will redo your seat that will narrow the front to allow you to reach the ground better.

He might have an add in the classifieds.

Steve

[long_black_train]

I have a 09 rsv and had a set of risers and lowering kit installed....but due to being a (Senior)(66) I've went with a trike kit....can't use either now...the risers...no cable change..the lowering kit is about 1-1 1/2"...have Bubs on and no drag problem..e-mail me we can talk...long_black_train@cableone.net......Carl:farmer:

[massey130]

I sort of had no choice. i am 5' 6" and when i was looking at our RSV with the 4Sale sign on it, my feet were flat on the ground. i commented to the seller this fact. he is my height and a machinist and likes to work on bikes. he looked at the lowereing kits and made some dog bone links to lower the bike for himelf. he gave me the factory links in case i wanted to switch back to factory.

 

i do scrape the mufflers on certain curbs, so i have began watching where i enter and exit parking lots. i will pull out on a sharper angle so i only scrape one side when necessary. my pipe ends were made by the previous owner and are thicker stainless steel so i am not that worried.

 

I have no problems with handling (now). i had to get back in the groove after a long absence from riding. there have been reports of folks who went back to factory links, but that is the nice thing about this site. most everyone shares their experience. if you lower it, you can switch back at will because you will own both low and factory links.

 

welcome to the site, by the way. glad you are here. you can use the search button and check out previous threads to read what others have said.

 

dale in La

[KiteSquid]

I know this will reduce the cornering angle,

 

 

Because of this, you should lower a bike as the LAST resort.

 

 

Reshape the seat (shave foam off the top, or narrow the front of the sides of the seat to allow your legs to be closer to the bike are possibilities), buy thicker soled shoes, etc. are all preferred to reducing your maximum lean angle.

 

It might save your life some day........

[Mike G in SC]

On a RSTD, you can actually lower about 1/2" by sliding the tubes into the triple tree. And if you flip (swap top to bottom) and machine the fork washers, a tad more. And, if you put the smaller tire too, you get about 3/4" inch lower on the front (in total). Done it, it does put the air valves just a hair below the bars, but no problem.

 

I have the Barons rear lowering kit but felt the 1 1/2 drop was too much. So, I took a stock dogbone and a Barons to a shop and he made me a pair half way between. So, now the entire bike is about 3/4" lower. I'm 5'9" but say, 29-30 inseam. This was "just right".

(Oh, I have the Ultimate seat, so I was sitting higher than stock.)

 

I didn't like just the Barons lowering kit (1 1/2") by it's self. Scrapped the mufflers. And felt some high speed wander due to the higher rake. 3/4" level feels more natural.

 

It wasn't so much worry riding solo, more of a issue stopping with 2 up. Or wife mounting or dismounting. WANTED MORE SOLID FOOTING. Got it.

[CTrider]

I love it!

 

I am concidering dropping the front end down. It is a little funky at slow speed, especially turning a sharp uphill turn.

[kingtut]

Thanks to Long_Black_Train I obtained his Barons Lowering Kit

BA-7530-00 (he's switching to a trike rear end) and had it installed today. Just getting me 1.5" closer to the ground has made a great difference in my comfort level when stopped. I did not put a lowering kit on the front (pricey!) but bled the air in the forks to zero. While I've only gone several miles since, I was not aware of any noticeable difference in handling. Feels fine to me. Thanks to all who gave good counsel . . . and again to LongBlackTrain in Oklahoma for his helping to facilitate this good move.

[Jerry W]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Yamaha-V-Star-Royal-Star-1-5-Handlebar-Risers-VStar_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2c51216248QQitemZ190339703368QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

Here is the link to a set of risers that will raise the bars up off the tripple tree. A lot of folks on here have used this to pull the bars back. This serves to make the bike much more comfortable as well as allowing you the room to lower the front.

 

I have these on my bike and it is much more comfortable. My bike is also lowered front and rear.

[SteveB]

I am also vertically challenged. On our previous bike a 99 ihad the Barons lowering kit put on, when we traded for our current bike an 08 I had this transfered to it. I have also lowered the front of the bike by lowering the triple tree. This leveled the bike out some. I run between 20 to 25 lbs of air in the rear shock and don' t have much of a problem scraping my pipes. When we are riding 2 up I add more air.

[kingtut]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Yamaha-V-Star-Royal-Star-1-5-Handlebar-Risers-VStar_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2c51216248QQitemZ190339703368QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

Here is the link to a set of risers that will raise the bars up off the tripple tree. A lot of folks on here have used this to pull the bars back. This serves to make the bike much more comfortable as well as allowing you the room to lower the front.

 

I have these on my bike and it is much more comfortable. My bike is also lowered front and rear.

 

Thanks for the response, Jerry. I see that you ride a RSV. The risers that work for that will not work for the RSTD. The speedo on the TD sits right on top of the triple tree and is held on by a bracket connected to the top of the front forks. With risers, the speedo would have to be lifted up (however high the risers are), leaving a gap between the speedo housing and the bracket which it could no longer be connected to. Apparently it's a different set up with the Venture, upper fairing and all.

 

So on the advice of several members of this forum, I just purchased a Flanders G2 handlebar (650-08763) which is both cheaper than risers and will give me at least another two inches of pullback. tsigwing wrote that he fit this bar on his '05 RSTD using existing cables and it gave him what he needed in pullback. I hoping it works identically on my '06. It should.

 

Peaceful cruising.

[Jerry W]

Oh, I am not that familiar with the Tour Delux. Wish it had worked for you. However, the flanders bars are better than the risers for pullback. That is a modification I would like to do to mine, but would need to at least see it done first. My mechanical skills are not what I trust to change out lines etc. without at least having some hands on experience.

 

You might try the smaller tire on front, several of the folks on here have done that and seem to be happy with it.

[kingtut]

Oh, I am not that familiar with the Tour Delux. Wish it had worked for you. However, the flanders bars are better than the risers for pullback. That is a modification I would like to do to mine, but would need to at least see it done first. My mechanical skills are not what I trust to change out lines etc. without at least having some hands on experience.

 

You might try the smaller tire on front, several of the folks on here have done that and seem to be happy with it.

 

The tire change sounds like it might be worth trying. Got an exact size you'd recommend? I'll see if I can find anything on the forum too. Thanks.

[CTrider]

how much did dropping the front air drop the front end? Don't ya bang bottom on the bumps?

[kingtut]

how much did dropping the front air drop the front end? Don't ya bang bottom on the bumps?

 

Actually, I didn't drop the pressure to zero in the front forks. When my mechanic went to do so, we found that they were already at zero. Apparently the first owner had them that way.

 

I've put several hundred miles on the bike since purchasing it and have not felt any bottoming out on bumps either before or after adding the rear lowering kit. Mind you, I stick to paved roads, but on the normal bumps one encounters (including speed bumps) I have experienced no banging at all. Also, since adding the Barons rear lowering kit I have experienced no adverse effects on the maneuverability of the bike . . . in fact, to the contrary, the handling seems as good if not better especially with the lower center of gravity.