Having my front forks lowered

[hubbsfd]

Ya'll have convinced me. Once again I've read great advice from the many experienced riders/owners on this forum. Took my bike in for routine maintenance (do most of it myself but sometimes you just want a certified mechanic to look things over) and asked if they would lower my front forks. I'm going to go with 3/4". I'm 5'11" and can reach the ground with flat feet but the seat is a little wide so I do have to put them down solid. This will help that a little (as opposed to raising the rear) but mainly I'm looking forward to the greater agility at low speed and the feeling of less weight I'm hearing about. I should get it home this Friday (shop is very busy this time of year in NC). I'll let ya'll know how it feels for me soon as I can.

[rickardracing]

I dropped mine 3/4'" last year. What a differance. I currently have it on the lift for new tires and such. I am thinking about another 1/4". Not sure, but the 3/4 is definately worth it and noticable. I think you will like it and not regret doing it.

[hubbsfd]

I dropped mine 3/4'" last year. What a differance. I currently have it on the lift for new tires and such. I am thinking about another 1/4". Not sure, but the 3/4 is definately worth it and noticable. I think you will like it and not regret doing it.

 

Thanks for your post. The mechanic has not actually performed this part of the work yet. He is concerned about the shock air input on top hitting the handlebar if I go any lower. How tall are you? Do you think I should go the 1" instead?

[gunboat]

I had this mod done to my old '99 rsv. one of the best free mod's you can do if your a little short legged. it is a whole lot of work. the air shock fill valves will be close to the handlebars but they will be ok. as you only can lower the forks that 1". I see that you are 5'11 have you thought about having rick butler do his mod on your seat? well worth the short time that the seat is off the bike and at his shop for the mod. I would contact him first by pm and get his thoughts on moding your seat.

regards

don c.

Edited April 24, 2013 by gunboat

[CaptainJoe]

I lowered mine 1".

 

Just make sure he rotates the valve stems towards tank, while the triple clamp is loose..

 

Unless of course your also installing risers...

Edited April 24, 2013 by CaptainJoe

[hubbsfd]

Gun Boat: I love the way the seat feels now just the width bites a little on the inner thigh when I put my legs down. I have read about the Butler seat mod and I'll keep it in mind in case the 1 inch doesn't relieve that aspect.

 

Easy Rider: Thank you for the advise on the shock air cock swivel toward the tank. I'll tell him tomorrow for sure about that and I think I'll have him go the full inch. I don't plan to do risers. I am seriously considering the Flanders mod however.

[ragtop69gs]

I dropped mine 1" a few weeks ago, so far I like it but have not been able to hit ant real twisties yet. I do have risers on mine also.

[P-roy]

OK, my question is, has anyone does this on a Tour Deluxe. If so what is different than the procedure for the Venture.

[Woody]

I did my venture a couple years ago and it was adding power steering. good luck

[rickardracing]

Thanks for your post. The mechanic has not actually performed this part of the work yet. He is concerned about the shock air input on top hitting the handlebar if I go any lower. How tall are you? Do you think I should go the 1" instead?

 

 

I am 5'10" and have clearance between me and the seat when I stand. I sit flat footed on the bike.

[CaptainJoe]

I am 5'10" and have clearance between me and the seat when I stand. I sit flat footed on the bike.

 

 

It's all in the genes you inherited...

 

I'm 5'11.5" and have a 29" inseam... my height is mostly

in my upper body. Have a lifetime problem of keeping my shirt tails in. Now they make Deluth? clothing to hide the notorious plummers crack...lol

 

for consideration... my wife is 5" 4" and also has a 29" inseam.

 

So... anyone with a 30-31" inseam should be able to sit on a stock one flat footed. Hypothetically that is...

Edited April 25, 2013 by CaptainJoe

[hubbsfd]

It's all in the genes you inherited...

 

I'm 5'11.5" and have a 29" inseam... my height is mostly

in my upper body. Have a lifetime problem of keeping my shirt tails in. Now they make Deluth? clothing to hide the notorious plummers crack...lol

 

for consideration... my wife is 5" 4" and also has a 29" inseam.

 

So... anyone with a 30-31" inseam should be able to sit on one flat footed. Hypothetically that is...

 

My inseam is 31 so I do flat foot but with the seat width I do have to plant my feet with intent.

 

I called and told my shop to go the full 1 inch and angle the air valves for the fork in toward the tank. They could have her done tonight but not going to hold my breath. Tomorrow at latest. I just want my bike home in my garage.

 

Sometimes I go out to my shop in the garage and sit with the bike, stereo on have a drink and a cigar and think about what mod I'm going to do next. I'm a lucky man as my sweet wife is very supportive of my bike projects and she actually jumps in and helps me sometimes. She's a smart girl and comes up with ideas of her own too. This is just a great bike and without this forum I would never have had the confidence to do any of the stuff I've done. I love this forum too!

[hubbsfd]

Okay, got her home. Had the shop do the full 1". Ya'll described the difference quite well. She feels lighter, she handles easier at low speed and at high speed she is stable and responsive. I like the change. They angled the fork air valves toward the outside so I can still use them if I load her down. All is great. Thanks again to all who contributed about this mod.

 

The shop did pinch my light bar wires putting it back together. It's easy to do, I've done it myself before. Caused a short so I had to fix that after my test ride but I figured it out pretty quick. I attached a pic of the fork for ya.

 

[ATTACH]75996[/ATTACH]

[Snaggletooth]

Have a lifetime problem of keeping my shirt tails in. Now they make Deluth? clothing to hide the notorious plummers crack...lol

 

They the ones making this line of T shirts?

[CaptainJoe]

They the ones making this line of T shirts?

 

 

no, but that looks interesting...LOL...

[CaptainJoe]

Okay, got her home. Had the shop do the full 1". Ya'll described the difference quite well. She feels lighter, she handles easier at low speed and at high speed she is stable and responsive. I like the change. They angled the fork air valves toward the outside so I can still use them if I load her down. All is great. Thanks again to all who contributed about this mod.

 

The shop did pinch my light bar wires putting it back together. It's easy to do, I've done it myself before. Caused a short so I had to fix that after my test ride but I figured it out pretty quick. I attached a pic of the fork for ya.

 

[ATTACH]75996[/ATTACH]

 

 

That's geat!

 

Sorry, couldn't remember which way the stems pointed stock, but knew rotating them would solve the problem without having to add risers.

[Mike G in SC]

Okay, got her home. Had the shop do the full 1". Ya'll described the difference quite well. She feels lighter, she handles easier at low speed and at high speed she is stable and responsive. I like the change. They angled the fork air valves toward the outside so I can still use them if I load her down. All is great. Thanks again to all who contributed about this mod.

 

The shop did pinch my light bar wires putting it back together. It's easy to do, I've done it myself before. Caused a short so I had to fix that after my test ride but I figured it out pretty quick. I attached a pic of the fork for ya.

 

[ATTACH]75996[/ATTACH]

 

If needed, go to NAPA and get a pair of air valve 6" rubber extensions and you can burry them in the cables. Mine is lowered the full 1.5" and it was hard to get to the valves.

 

Mike G.

[Mike G in SC]

OK, my question is, has anyone does this on a Tour Deluxe. If so what is different than the procedure for the Venture.

 

Easier,,, no fairing.

But you cannot go 1 1/2 inch!! Best you can get with stock handlebars is 3/4".

We tried, the air valves hit the handlebars!! Had to redo.

 

You can get 1/2" by just dropping. You can eek another 1/4 by taking the big washers that are in the tubes and swapping them hi-lo. But one of them you would need to ream a bigger hole. You will see this when you do it.

 

So, my RSTD is down 3/4 in front. And I preferred the stock tire. (tried the little one).

 

Just wanted you to know cause we tried 1 1/2 and took an extra hour to fix.

 

It is also down 3/4" rear. I got the Barons kit but made some dog bones half way between the Barons and stock length.

And, nothing scrapes,,,, unless I want it to.

 

Mike G

[djh3]

I can asure you the piched wires is not a "one off" thing. I did it on mine while splitting the fairing. You get to wresteling the wires etc and one of them little buggers gets behind to where the steering stops are and ZAP. Mine is even tighter with wires now. I added LED side marker/turn signals in place of the front reflectors.

I did like 3/4" drop on mine. I'm thinking pretty hard about going all in. I changed tires last summer and went with the Michlen Commander2 and they are taller by a little.

[hubbsfd]

I can asure you the piched wires is not a "one off" thing. I did it on mine while splitting the fairing. You get to wresteling the wires etc and one of them little buggers gets behind to where the steering stops are and ZAP. Mine is even tighter with wires now. I added LED side marker/turn signals in place of the front reflectors.

I did like 3/4" drop on mine. I'm thinking pretty hard about going all in. I changed tires last summer and went with the Michlen Commander2 and they are taller by a little.

 

I installed a small red led into the black plastic ignition cowl on the tank and tied it to the passing lights power wire coming from the battery. That way I can easily see if my passing lights are on. So I knew immediately during my test ride that something happened because it was on then went off. I got that idea from this forum too.

 

I do not like extra light indicators from all these accessories shining in my eyes during night driving (which I do try to avoid). So, I put a light coat of black paint on the LED then on one side put a small scratch to remove a little paint. Now I get just a glint of light from the scratch to the right side (not facing me) so I can see it during daylight hours and I can see through the light coat of paint at night and the scratch doesn't face me so no problem.

 

I installed a chrome three toggle power block on top of my right front brake reservoir each toggle has a little light to indicate it is on. Bright little suckers. I bought a left handed one so I could mount it with the toggles facing forward. I know they make ones without indicator lights but I liked the type of toggle button these had vs. others that were more like a switch.

 

I even put window tint (60% dark) on my Kuryakyn voltage meter. It dims at low light but not enough for me.

 

Pics attached:

[ATTACH]76000[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]76001[/ATTACH]

 

And yes I know smoking is bad for you.

Edited April 27, 2013 by hubbsfd

[P-roy]

Easier,,, no fairing.

But you cannot go 1 1/2 inch!! Best you can get with stock handlebars is 3/4".

We tried, the air valves hit the handlebars!! Had to redo.

 

You can get 1/2" by just dropping. You can eek another 1/4 by taking the big washers that are in the tubes and swapping them hi-lo. But one of them you would need to ream a bigger hole. You will see this when you do it.

 

So, my RSTD is down 3/4 in front. And I preferred the stock tire. (tried the little one).

 

Just wanted you to know cause we tried 1 1/2 and took an extra hour to fix.

 

It is also down 3/4" rear. I got the Barons kit but made some dog bones half way between the Barons and stock length.

And, nothing scrapes,,,, unless I want it to.

 

Mike G

 

 

Thanks for the info. I had some custom risers made for my bike (about 2 inch rise and pull back) so I have plenty of room, but I thought that the fork covers caused a problem. Never had it apart so wasn't sure what I would get into. May have to give it a go as I have the bike tore apart waiting on a Vmax rear end swap. Again thanks for the info.

[hubbsfd]

Okay, I decided to just do the Baron Risers vs. the Flanders mod for now. Just got them and had them on in a about 30 mins. or less. Then spent an hour getting the rubber bumpers between the bars and the inner fairing in place. I saw a post here where a fellow used the original bumpers and just turned them upside down. I did that but needed to cut them down at an angle just a bit and then snugged them in nice and tight. Worked great.

 

It's a bit hard to be sure I got the height adjustment on the bars just right since my seats are in TX with Rick but that's easy enough to change if I don't like where I put them. The cables came up with enough slack to mount without too much trouble. I do notice that my throttle at full tilt to the right does not return to idle quickly. It does return slowly. It has to be cranked all the way I mean all the way hard for there to be this influence on the throttle. Just a hair less crank and it's fine so I'm good with that.

 

There it is, another mod completed with all the experienced advice on this forum. Next up? Saving my money for new Dunlop Elite 3 tires and a set of Nationalcycle Peacemakers. They look to be really cool.

[OntarioVStar]

I lowered my bike last year myself, not terribly complicated if you have a few hours to kill on a rainy Saturday. I installed the Barons 1" lowering kit on the rear and moved the forks "up" through the triple tree by the same amount. This way there's no change in the geometry, but it makes the bike feel 200lbs lighter. Another poster said it's like having power steering and that pretty much sums it up. It seems to drop the centre of gravity just enough to make a whole world of difference. I installed an aftermarket handlebar with Barons 1" risers, so there's no issue at all with the air valves making contact, (not to mention no more neck or back ache thanks to a decent set of bars). I'm 5'9" and I found the seat a little wide too, but I cured that by simply taking the seat off and removing the seat cover, then winding duct tape as tight as I could around the front section of the foam, (starting about 3" in from the very front of the seat), then stapled the cover back on. (Didn't want to slice the foam in case I ever sell the bike). One thing you'll need to watch though is the kick stand. With the bike sitting a bit lower, it stands up too high with the stock stand, so I just picked up a Road Star kickstand (with spring) for about $10 on ebay, but before you install it, put one end of the spring in a vice and put a screwdriver in the opening at the other end, then "bend" the spring so it opens up enough for you to insert some pennys or dimes in between a few of the curls in the spring otherwise you'll never get the spring wide enough to connect to the bike frame and to the hook on the kick stand. After you get everything connected, just lower the stand and the coins come right out. Hope this helps

[hubbsfd]

I lowered my bike last year myself, not terribly complicated if you have a few hours to kill on a rainy Saturday. I installed the Barons 1" lowering kit on the rear and moved the forks "up" through the triple tree by the same amount. This way there's no change in the geometry, but it makes the bike feel 200lbs lighter. Another poster said it's like having power steering and that pretty much sums it up. It seems to drop the centre of gravity just enough to make a whole world of difference. I installed an aftermarket handlebar with Barons 1" risers, so there's no issue at all with the air valves making contact, (not to mention no more neck or back ache thanks to a decent set of bars). I'm 5'9" and I found the seat a little wide too, but I cured that by simply taking the seat off and removing the seat cover, then winding duct tape as tight as I could around the front section of the foam, (starting about 3" in from the very front of the seat), then stapled the cover back on. (Didn't want to slice the foam in case I ever sell the bike). One thing you'll need to watch though is the kick stand. With the bike sitting a bit lower, it stands up too high with the stock stand, so I just picked up a Road Star kickstand (with spring) for about $10 on ebay, but before you install it, put one end of the spring in a vice and put a screwdriver in the opening at the other end, then "bend" the spring so it opens up enough for you to insert some pennys or dimes in between a few of the curls in the spring otherwise you'll never get the spring wide enough to connect to the bike frame and to the hook on the kick stand. After you get everything connected, just lower the stand and the coins come right out. Hope this helps

 

I like the 1" lower forks but thought maybe I had lowered it a just a tad too much for me. I'm 5'11" so lower was more for handling but I do notice the bike is a bit touchy at high speed. Not a lot so I'm sure I'll get used to it. I've only been able to ride maybe 40 miles on the highway since the front was lowered. I think I'll leave the back alone for now. I like the look of the bike lowered both front and back. I'm not an aggressive rider so I'm not concerned about the occasional scrape. Thanks for the kickstand advice in case I do decide to go that far. My seats were just a bit wide so I sent them to Rick Butler. He has a great price for what he does to make them even more comfortable than they already are. Can't wait till I get the seats back on and get to feel the bike with the seat mod, the fork mod with the risers and my new Baggershield. So much fun modifying / tweaking for the perfect ride on such a great bike.

[OntarioVStar]

You mentioned handling... While my bike was up on the bike lift when I was installing the Barons rear lowering kit, I checked the date the tires were manufactured, (week/year shown where the DOT stamp is). The front was only a couple of years old but the rear was 6 years old! To play it safe, I bought a new front and rear tire, but instead of replacing them with the same Dunlops, I bought a pair of Avon Venom-X tires, (sticking with the OEM sizes for both). This was based soley on good reports I'd heard about improved handling of the RSV with the Avon's. I bought the reinforced version of the Venom-X's, which Avon touts as being designed for heavy touring bikes and man, what a difference over the Dunlops, especially on the turns! Just some food for thought if you want dramatically improved handling and you happen to be in the market for a new set of tires.