I done did it...back to OEM from Muzzy lowered

[nando]

I put it back on the OEM height. I had only lowered only on the back. I can feel the more effective maneuverability...I crancked a couple of corner and it was certainly better for that kind of whipping it around. The front forks seem to be working better though I original thought that the increase rake with the lowering kit had made it ride better in the front...I think I was wrong bout that.


Question: how do you know how much to lower the front if I put Precision Engineer lowering kit...one inch drop. How do I know I am not making the front lower than it ought to be?....like back to near OEM level but safely higher on the front rather then lower
I hate to ride a bike with a lower front end than rear....




...to be honest, I liked it better lowered...pedaling the bike around the stop signs etc became cumbersome again... and can now see the reason why folks lower the front also...I suppose you get that 'loving feeling' OEM handling back somewhat when you attempt to level the geometry of this cycle again.

I may try the PrecisionEngineer lowering kit which I believe are less radical than Muzzy. Muzzy claims 1.5 inch while PE claims 1inch drop

the Muzzy are for sale...

 

[squid]

I put it back on the OEM height. I had only lowered only on the back. I can feel the more effective maneuverability...I crancked a couple of corner and it was certainly better for that kind of whipping it around. The front forks seem to be working better though I original thought that the increase rake with the lowering kit had made it ride better in the front...I think I was wrong bout that.


Question: how do you know how much to lower the front if I put Precision Engineer lowering kit...one inch drop. How do I know I am not making the front lower than it ought to be?....like back to near OEM level but safely higher on the front rather then lower
I hate to ride a bike with a lower front end than rear....




...to be honest, I liked it better lowered...pedaling the bike around the stop signs etc became cumbersome again... and can now see the reason why folks lower the front also...I suppose you get that 'loving feeling' OEM handling back somewhat when you attempt to level the geometry of this cycle again.

I may try the PrecisionEngineer lowering kit which I believe are less radical than Muzzy. Muzzy claims 1.5 inch while PE claims 1inch drop

the Muzzy are for sale...

I have the front tubes lowered 3/4".  The bike apears to be the same as the stock.  (have compaired to a OEM setup).  The lowering does head to the
Sport style. 

 

[gsun]

Can you lower the front at all without risers?

 

[nando]

One more report:

After riding with Muzzy links and returning to OEM, I am surprise by how much better I like the way the bike handles OEM now that I have some miles behind me riding it as a chopper.

I considered lowering the front also, but as of late (several miles after being on the OEM height again) I am enjoying the bike handling much more...and the suspension.

I think I may try a lower seat next to see how that feels instead of lowering it again with the Precision Engineer (as I thought I would earlier)

BEWARE: those Muzzy links were rubbing somewhere...maybe the shock spring when I put it on the center stand, hopefully not during the ride...but upon taking them off, they showed a scarring space

 

[u4euh]

Hello, new to the board, and Connies, I bought an 09 about 2 months agothat had the Muzzy's on it. Very knowledgable mechanic told me to take it easy in the corners at first because the bike would tend to "hobble" a bit if in a hard corner and hit a bump. I love cornerering > and did notice this happenning, had the bike returned to stock yesterday and put about 300 miles on it, man what a difference! First thing I noticed was my toes weren't dragging in the corners, its a substantial difference at a stop, but still comfortable.
Loving the way she handles!

 

[nando]

I am not sure what you mean by "hobble"....he only thing I experienced with low links is that the bike does not transition as well going in and out of turns...But I still can cranck a mean solid feeling lean..especually in longer arc sweepers...even with low links, this bike still maneuvers better than all bikes I ever rode...except for the RT

 

[ddback]

Re: All of the above - "hobble" in corner, handling, adjusting forks, etc.

1. Lowering the front - the easy way (to me) is to measure the height of the front of the bike (say tip of lower fairing) and the rear (say the swingarm pivot) from the ground, BEFORE putting the lowering link on. Then afterward, re-measure the swingarm pivot height, and determine the actual change in height. Subtract that amount from the original front fairing height and then move the forks in the clamps until the front fairing is at the new height. Essentially reproducing the "levelness" of the bike.

2. "Hobble" in corner/handling - by changing the fork angle (rake) by lowering the rear, the steering dynamics change (makes the bike more "stable" but less responsive). Also the rear will be stiffer (if preload is increased), so have a tendency to bounce across road imperfections more.

Lowering the rear only will also have the effect of move the CG rearward slightly, changing the feel of the bike. Also that angle change makes the kingpin angle for the rear wheel a little more vertical (kingpin angle is the fore/aft "tilt" of a wheel's pivot axis - also referred to as caster). This determines how a wheel tracks the road. Think of the casters on a shopping cart - the more offset the pivot point, the more the wheel tracks the road/imperfections. Look at the fork angle difference between a sport bike and a cruiser - the sport bike has more vertical forks, making for a smaller kingpin angle, allowing the bike to be responsive or "twitchy", while a cruiser has a bigger angle making it more stable.

If lowering increases this angle, the rear wheel will have a greater tendency to track the road. Granted the rear wheel doesn't pivot - so the whole bike has to pivot. That's the feeling of a bike tracking road imperfections.

I haven't checked, but I'd bet most street bikes try to have a neutral kingpin angle for the rear, or a slight tilt forward. This angle is maintained by the action of the rear suspension. By lowering just the rear, the angle is permanently changed.

 

[nando]

You got it Jim...I am caught in the dilemma: maneuverability of the OEM or the stability of the lowered rear....

Since I am not a twisties hot-rodder, I be willing to bet I will leave the lowered links on this time...

The other thing I think its beneficial about the lowered link is that the bike does not do that front end-fork dive when hard breaking...and I am gonna guess, the front wheel will last longer; perhaps to wear more in pace with the rear. As is now, most OEM riders eat up the front tire much earlier than the rear

I still don't know what I should tinker with to get a more comfy ride...loosen the rebound on the rear? what would that do?

 

[ddback]

Wow, if you notice less dive then there's a pretty significant change in CG. You'll probably still eat up the front tire faster - it'll still do 85%+ of the braking...the bike will just be more stable while braking (which is good enough for me!).

Yea, I'd try reducing the rebound - typically this is really a rebound damping adjuster. Try loosening it all the way, then do a ride you know. Re-adjust, do the ride again. By doing the same ride over and over you'll get a more consistent test of each setting.

I think that's about all you can do. You can try adding bump stops on the swing arm - I'd try having them be 10% the height of travel (so they only engage in the last 10% of motion). What I don't know is where to source something like that, or how to mount 'em.