Short sharp shock

[elwoodpone]

Can any one tell me if when replacing a shock with a unit 3/4" shorter than stock should I push the fork up the same distance.

Oh, k75 if that makes any difference.

I'm not too sharp about all this geometry stuff--or much else for that matter--would appreciate some wisdom. Thanx.

[Bruce C]

Putting a 3/4" shorter shock on will result in lowering the bike much more than 3/4" because of the angle the shock mounts at.

 

If you lower one end of the bike a distance, you should lower the other end the same amount. This way the handling will remain the same, only the machine will be lower.

 

 

[ESokoloff]

I'm not an expert & my advice is worth what you pay for it but...

I would find a suitable spot on the bike to measure angle of the bike with a helper holding the bike up level.

Take 2 measurements.

(1)with stock shocks

(2) with lowered shocks

After marking the stock position of the forks I would then adjust the forks until the angle matched #1. Mark this position.

Hopefully you would still have an acceptable amount of travel left.

If not then at least you would know what you started with & ended with so you could experiment to find a good compromise.

 

A tool like this one may help.

[elwoodpone]

I know this is a relatively common prctice on k bikes so I'm wondering if anyone knows of or has ridden a lowered bike and what/how bad the handling consequences are: e.g. lean clearance etc.?

 

And thank you for your responses to initial Q.!

[ESokoloff]

I lowered my wife's 03 GT with Welbers front & back.

Yes the bike sat 1.5"(requested/claimed) lower but because they were made for her weight (I didn't say that did I) it work fairly good for light weight me when rode it. Sure it scraped but it was what it was.... a compromise.

I learned that hanging my weight off when going around the corners reduced the scraping(s).

 

More then you asked but you may have to modify the side stand.

 

I modified the side stand & thats when I came up with the before/after angle idea.

I measured the stock angle of the bike on the side stand by placing a magnetic protractor on the rear rotor.

I modified the side stand by cutting off the foot & ?" of tube.

I had my buddy turn down a hollow tube to fit the inside of the stock tube.

I cut the tube to the necessary length. I welded a new foot to one end & drilled/taped the other end. I think it was 1/2" fine thread. I rounded the head off on the proper length bolt so it would fit into the stock tube.

Near the bottom end of the stock tube I drilled 2 holes & welded (?1/4-20?) nuts for set screws. On the inside tube I ground the area of set screw contact flat to eliminate any binding. Much anti seize was applied to both tubes.

A section of heat shrink tube servers as a seal.

 

It was then a simple process to adjust the jack screw to the stock side stand rotor angle.

 

Fortunately I was able to make the center stand work with out modification.

[dmk]

I presume you will be making rear ride height measurements anyway to set the rear preload and sag for the new shock. So just make a ride height measurement with the old shock before the swap and then you'll know how much to raise the forks.

 

Dave

[bmw_rider]

I believe you will find the steering to be quicker. You'll adjust to it, just don't rush it until you are.

[Ghostdad]

I know this is a relatively common prctice on k bikes so I'm wondering if anyone knows of or has ridden a lowered bike and what/how bad the handling consequences are: e.g. lean clearance etc.?

 

 

I had a 92 K75Rt that was lowered by the previous owner, so I don't know what difference it made in handling from stock. But I thought the bike handled great and I never scraped anything but then again I guess I don't ride that hard. Keep in mind that if you lower it you will need barbacks for the handlebars. When you slide the forks up to match the shorter shock the forks are in the way of the stock mounting place of the bars.. Which was the only complaint I had about the bike, since I have long arms I felt cramped with the barbacks on. The sidestand and centerstand were not modified on my bike. It was a bit more difficult to get it up on the centerstand unless you ran the back wheel up on a piece wood (2x6).

Dave

 

p.s. I still have a shortened Works Performance shock if interested P.M me.. It needs to be rebuilt but the price is right..