Leveling links off/front forks raised in tree

[theostar]

spent saturday tinkering in the garage, removed the diamond leveling links, i am 5'10" and 32 inch inseam, was on balls of my feet most of the time at a stop, not what i would consider to be ideal. so off came the links, opened up fairing and raised forks in the triple tree, reassembled and rode off. first impressions: feet now flat on the ground, much more stable stops. bike handles better at low speeds than with links, no high speed changes in handling. just a more confident feeling when stopping with a 900 lb machine. was well worth the time and effort spent....

[SilvrT]

How much did you raise the forks?

 

Any "technical tips" you'd care to share on doing this mod?

[theostar]

RAISED THEM 1 INCH, WITH HAVING TO REMOVE THE PASSING LAMPS THE MAIN FAIRING BRACKET IS COMPLETELY FREE, MADE THE FAIRING KIND OF ANNOYING AS IT FLOPS ALL OVER, MAKE SURE WHEN PUTTING BACK TOGETHER THE BOLTS ARE STARTED IN BOTTOM FAIRING BRACKET WHERE LAMPS GO OR WHEN YOU TIGHTEN THE UPPER BRACKET BOLTS THAT GO INTO THE TRIPLE TREE IT WILL SHIFT AND THE BOTTOM HOLES WILL NOT LINE UP, FOUND OUT THE HARD WAY AND HAD TO TAKE 2 INNER NUTS AND 2 SIDE ALLENS AND TRIPLE TREE BOLTS OFF AND REALIGN BAOTTOM OF BRACKET, AT LEAST CAUGHT IT BEFORE FRONT FAIRING WAS BACK ON. ALSO USED MY CYCLE JACK TO LIFT FRONT WHEEL ALLOWING FORK TUBES TO PULL UP EASILY AND NOT TAKE OFF WHEEL..

[midnight maddog]

I just did the same 1" thing to my 06' RSV forks and i agree totally with the improvement in low speed handling and better control. and I'm about 5-9 1/2.

[Seaking]

Can this be done with a Midnight Venture where we have the chrome covers on the forks?

 

I currently have leveling links on the bike and though 5'8" and 30 inseam, I don't seem to have any probs putting my feet down... but since I'll be having my front end worked on soon (serviced and such) it might prove to be a great opportunity to lower the front with oem links..

 

ideas?

[midnight maddog]

After lowering the RSV's tree on front forks 1", I immediately noticed better low speed cornering and handling in parking lot. Riding by myself on high speed curving roads it seemed more nimble, quicker steering. Then..................with my 180# wife on back, it seemed to be a constant consentrated effort to keep my "line" right when doing the curving backroads. More like easy oversteer.......it just moved or floated too easy. I'm wondering if lowering the rear with Baron lowering links would add some control back to the ride?????? Anybody else experience something similiar??

I'm running 25 psi in rear shock and 0 psi in front.

UPDATE: After adding 5 psi to front forks, the ride seemed much more controlled in the twisties.

Edited October 21, 2010 by midnight maddog

[wes0778]

It's my understanding that lowering the rear, after lowering the front just restores the bike back to the same geometry as it was before any changes, just lower over all. Oh, and once that is done it may be necessary to shorten the kickstand.

[colmike]

I just completed these same changes of removing the diamond leveling links and lowering the front on my '05 RSV. I did have the trailing links installed (with V7Goose's much appreciated assistance) and did notice much improvement in the handling at both high and low speeds with the links on. My problem was that everytime I came to a stop it was like the monkey abusing the football. That 1" higher saddle made the motorcycle sit too high for my 30" inseam and it always felt "tippy". When I learned through this site that I could achieve the same performance geometry by lowering the front (raising the fork tubes in the triple trees) by 1", I knew I had to try it.

 

One note. If you decide to try this mod, the fork tubes will move in the triple trees much easier if you lower the jack to place some of the weight back on the front wheel (Rick Butler helped me figure that one out).

 

I ran some errands on the RSV after completing this mod yesterday (Lowe's, Radio Shack) and noticed the low speed handling was as good as with the diamond trailing links installed, but I was much more comfortable with the overall lower saddle and essential elimination of the "tippy" feel. I have not tested at highway speeds yet, but plan to do that later today.

[Jerry W]

Can this be done with a Midnight Venture where we have the chrome covers on the forks?

 

I currently have leveling links on the bike and though 5'8" and 30 inseam, I don't seem to have any probs putting my feet down... but since I'll be having my front end worked on soon (serviced and such) it might prove to be a great opportunity to lower the front with oem links..

 

ideas?

 

 

Yes

[wes0778]

One note. If you decide to try this mod, the fork tubes will move in the triple trees much easier if you lower the jack to place some of the weight back on the front wheel (Rick Butler helped me figure that one out).

 

 

OR you could get Gunboat to bring his hammer....

[SilvrT]

spent saturday tinkering in the garage, removed the diamond leveling links, i am 5'10" and 32 inch inseam, was on balls of my feet most of the time at a stop, not what i would consider to be ideal. so off came the links, opened up fairing and raised forks in the triple tree, reassembled and rode off. first impressions: feet now flat on the ground, much more stable stops. bike handles better at low speeds than with links, no high speed changes in handling. just a more confident feeling when stopping with a 900 lb machine. was well worth the time and effort spent....

 

OK, something doesn't add up here for me so guys, help me out...

 

Firstly, from what I understand, the levelling links raise the bike appx 1 inch at the rear.... yes/no ?

 

That being the case, then there can't be much more than about 1/2 inch raise in height at the floorboards.... yes/no ?

 

Now, I'm 5' 10.5" with a 32" inseam. Stock bike (no suspension mods), I can flat-foot it no problem and still have extra.

 

What's confusing me here is how the levelling links could be causing such a difference (going from flat footing it to balls of feet) ????

 

I'm not trying to be a "smart-a$$" ... coz I need to know this before I go ahead and order the levelling links.

 

....as an afterthought, what do you weigh??? me...... 155lbs ... possibly if you're a large person, even with the same inseam it might be harder to get your feet "down there" ... ???

[Guest PlaneCrazy]

I'm 5'8" with a 29" inseam and 1/2" could make a big difference for me. I can't flat foot the Venture right now unless I am wearing some serious heals on my boots. Since I am recovering from an ankle injury as well, I went ahead and had the Baron's lowering kit installed last week. I won't get to try it out until next riding season, but I am considering lowering the forks as well to bring the geometry of the bike back closer to original. I have some concerns though...

 

For those of you who have moved the forks up, what do you do with the wire and cable bundles above the fork caps? As far as I can tell from looking at my bike, those cable runs go through clamps that are fixed on the handlebars and they can't just rotate out of the way... and there's only about 3/8" clearance between the tops of my forks and those cables. I don't want to have any chaffing happening.

[rlyons]

I guess I must be lucky to get a good handeling bike. Mine is very stable at low speeds and also at high speed. I used to ride a 1500 Goldwing and it was like a drunk sailor at low speeds. My Harley Roadking was the best handleing bike I have ever ridden and I just came off it when I bought the Venture. I have read a lot of posts about slow speed handeling and I have to say I don't have the problem at all. Now if Yamaha would only put a reverse gear in the Venture it would be perfect.

[SilvrT]

I guess I must be lucky to get a good handeling bike. Mine is very stable at low speeds and also at high speed. I used to ride a 1500 Goldwing and it was like a drunk sailor at low speeds. My Harley Roadking was the best handleing bike I have ever ridden and I just came off it when I bought the Venture. I have read a lot of posts about slow speed handeling and I have to say I don't have the problem at all. Now if Yamaha would only put a reverse gear in the Venture it would be perfect.

 

Over the past 2 years I have had the opportunity to ride 3 different HD Ultra's (all new and one of them as recent as this past weekend), an '03 Wing, and a Victory Vision. IMHO, the RSV is a pig in the handling department in comparison to those bikes and this applies to low speed or high speed or any speed inbetween straight-up or cornering. Any mods that can be made to improve it are well worth it. For instance, last weekend on the Ultra I went around an S-curve on an off-ramp at a speed much faster than the posted limit... WITH ONE HAND with hardly any effort at all...yet the same corner on my RSV, at the same speed, I wouldn't dare take my hands off the bars and even with that I would have to "muscle" it either with my arms or with my body. This must be a proven issue otherwise why would so many riders be doing mods like leveling links or different tire sizes or changing the position of the fork tubes to improve the handling. I may not be very "in the know" but do we hear of peeps doing all sorts of mods to their HD Ultra's, Wings, Visions, or for that matter, many other bikes such as what we do with the RSV to improve handling? Having ridden several types and brands of bikes over the years, I can not think of any, including the 1st gen Ventures, that I have even thought of making mods to improve handling. Can't be just me? Having said that, I have never ridden a 1500 GW either (I've heard they ain't so good in this department either).

 

----end of rant

 

EDIT: I forgot this ----> :witch_brew:

Edited October 20, 2010 by SilvrT

[Seaking]

For those finding this bike hard to handle in slow speeds, try this simple little technique, you might, perhaps, find it useful.. Lean forward just a bit.. It displaces the centre of gravity enough on the bike to make it better handling.. with leveling links it's even that more maneuverable ..

[SilvrT]

For those finding this bike hard to handle in slow speeds, try this simple little technique, you might, perhaps, find it useful.. Lean forward just a bit.. It displaces the centre of gravity enough on the bike to make it better handling.. with leveling links it's even that more maneuverable ..

 

That's a good tip and without realizing it, I have found myself doing this while high-speed cornering ... makes quite a difference.

[Alex]

5' - 8" and 29" inseam...lowered front forks 1-1/2" and put on Avon Venoms...changed the bike handling for the better by a long shot!