randychill

I recently lowered the rear 1" and am wondering if I can simply loosen the front and lower it also to compensate for handling?

elvetost

yes you can!
having said that take it nice and slow and make sure it all clears when all compressed..
about an inch should be max I think..
good luck man!

Partsguy

Just do 1 fork at a time,otherwise there will be a loud smack o' fairing to fender.

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randychill

1" should workout just fine. Thanks guys

TESLACOIL

I cut the fork tube spacers down about an inch...1 cap at a time

same effect and saved me the bother of trying to realign forks perfectly

you can always pop them back in (with a washer so they seat level) and it leaves the bike looking stock

1 1/4 inch max id say ..its wot i did (i lowered the rear just over an inch too)

CBRDEAN0

Will this not make the front end very soft - you have removed pre-load on the springs.

At least if you drop the forks through the yokes - the spring rate remains the same - you just change ride height.

ascar

ah the sound of plastic grinding on tarmac as it shatters when going round a corner.
yeah you can lower the front but dont go too low as the above would happen

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its not a minimoto blackbird - thats its real size

shewie

I have been grinding mine and it has not been lowered. I can only imagine what they would look like if it sat an inch lower.

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If you don't like the way I ride then stay off the sidewalk.

elvetost

yes, but try imaging not having your feet nice and firm on the ground and trying to hold the bird every single time you stop...

BackStreet

don't cut the spacers. You will lose travel on compression and have >60mm of sag in the front.

You actually SHOULD lower the front as much as you lower the rear - or a little more.

TESLACOIL

Doesn't make a huge difference to spring softeness CBRDEAN0 but it seems to help

At the end of the day the bike is still being held up by the same spring

lets look at some extreme examples

lets say you compresses the spring almost completely...the bottom part of the works would be trying to push themselves hard past the internal end stop (which stops the forks flying off if you pop a wheelie )

the weight of the bike and you resting on the spring relieves some of the pressure..in ordinary setup the bike would sag down a little when u sat on it

a "massive" amount preload would keep the forks fully extended unless u jumped up and down on the front of the bike

reducing the preload from stock means that you have more chance of using the full length of fork travel in the direction of compressing the components together.....there will also be a slight reluctance for the forks to fully extend if the front wheel lifted of the ground

Why?

as there is less preload on the spring...less energy is pre stored to overcome the stiction forces required when trying to extend the forks fully

think of your forks as a catapult...the more you preload that spring before u let go (ie during a wheelie...or a dip in the road) the quicker the forks extend to their full length








the key to thinking about this is the fact that the springs changes length when doing its job.....cut some of the spacer out and that same spring has to expand stretch further fill the gap....in some ways cutting the spacer is like fitting a longer slightly softer spring


the spring has to do exactly the same job as it ever did....ive just given it an inchmore play

its all kind of weird and subtle...and quite hard to get your head around


increasing preload tends to reduce the maximum travel under compression...but the forks will extend quicker when unloaded

decreasing preload tends to increase the maximum fork travel...but the forks will extend slightly slower when un loaded


with sane adjustments of Front preload you are more likely to notice "quicker or slower" steering due to changing the rake by half a degree or so...as u increase the front preload u tend to push weight to the back...this amplifies the effects...cos as you add preload ....you reduce "you load " and the forks extend even further

TESLACOIL

change any 1 suspension setting or component and you also alter the settings of EVERY other suspension component by proxy

its why its hard to pick out the effects of a single change u made....unless its a big change (which i sometimes do just to tune my senses in to what im actually trying to look for)

CBRDEAN0

All makes good logic

Until you add in the damping

Then the spring with less pre-load has too much damping because it has less stored energy.

Normal preload on a bike is within about 10mm.
If you need to go outside this 10mm you should change spring.

At the end of the day - if the OP is happy with the suspension except for the ride height - I would still drop the forks through the yokes

BackStreet

Generally, sport motorcycle suspensions are designed to work properly with about 30mm of sag. You way want a little more but never should it be over 40mm let alone 60mm because you want to adjust the ride height.

Look at any book, magazine article, anything about bike suspensions and the first thing you should set is the sag. This is essentially how much the suspension is compressed by the weight on the bike and rider. Sag can be adjusted within limits by the preload. Once you cannot get the proper sag with preload you need to get new springs.

Yes, sag does effect ride height but you adjust the preload/spring to get the proper sag NOT to adjust ride height. You need to adjust the suspension mounting to get the desired ride height. [Actually 1 or 2 mm of sag ok just to fine tune ride height. Split the difference front and rear so you adjust the sag the minimum required]

TESLACOIL

all depends on your riding style and personal preferences as to how you set up the bike 2 to 4 cm of sag sounds right in the ball park for most road orientated setups (though i never checked mine)

I want my bird as soft as i can but without it getting sloppy and out of control if i up the pace....have to bear in mind that my version of upping the pace is a stroll in the park for knee down merchants

Im prolly a few stone lighter than many riders...so if they sat on my bike it would feel like jelly to a 16 stoner...but its just perfect-for me at 11 stone ish and gentle riding


...i bought my bird so i can do "fast" in a straight line

...i dont need to risk going round corners fast...i just coast round em

with city traffic & pot hole crappy roads this makes a lot of sense for me

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You do have to bear in mind that the Blackbird attracts a VERY WIDE range of bikers & riding styles...where as a on gsxr750 forum viewpoints would pretty much all pointing in the same direction

one mans fast is another mans slow

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Word of Caution

Im still learning about suspension, its not something you can just take someone else s advice on...you DO have to figure out the principles your self....I never realy delved into it much before...but then i never had such a mental bike that i was also making big demands of in the pursuit of my idea of biking perfection

TESLACOIL

Just checked my sag ...well at a glance anyway

with my added weight (to an upright bike) the front sag is 15mm and the rear 25mm

thats with an oem rear shock with 32k miles on with minimum prelaod
& 1 1/4 cut from the front fork spacer

Reason
light weight + an upright riding position due to high rise & pull back bars & rotated plates to lower the rear

little to much rear weight bias....steers nicely with the light front end...bit harsh on the bumps at the front....need a bit more front end dive (just a touch) lighter grade fork oil should add the finishing touch for my purposes

My bike still looks a dog BUT..it is the most comfortable & best handling bike (for my riding style) Ive ever ridden