GSXR 750 2002 lowering...

kippermitten

kippermitten

kippermitten

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Ok, being 5' 6" is good for a sports bike but not on the reaching-the-ground-comfortably stakes!

Ive looked at lowering kits for my bike and see Lust Racing do some nice looking ones...
http://www.lustracing.co.uk/suspension/suzuki-suspension-kits.html
Any one have experience of Lust Racing and/or lowering a sports bike?
I need to drop it approx 40mm as the tank/frame/seat push my chunky thighs out wide hence tippy toes on the floor, which is NOT nice when you go to put a foot down on an off camber surface or into a pothole...

Im pretty handy with the spanners having done many engine swaps and various work on my CBR600F so is doing a lowering myself(with a mate actually) do able?

Cheers!
 
Its a pretty straightforward job as long as you are capable/have the tools to suspend the backend, drop out the rear shock and swap the linkages.

A guy I used to knock around with lowered his ZX12R, he was around your hieght and that was a very tall bike. It does alter the geomatry though, when depending on how you ride may or maynot be an issue (you could always drop the forks through the yokes to compensate)
 
Good shout. Plenty of places that can shave your seat. You might find that's all you need. Cheaper and wouldnt mess with the handling.
 
Lowering with the dog bones is simple, I did it on the SV on my own, just make sure you have something to brace the subframe... otherwise watch your fingers :p
 
Perywinkle said:
Hi Ho!
Click to expand...
FUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNY! :D

Thanks for the replies, I have the tools and ability it seems!
I would want to drop the yokes down the forks, any idea if 40mm is too much of a drop? Im assuming ill need to adjust the suspension preload and rebound...any pointers for doing this?
 
40mm is a huge amount to drop the forks, I dropped my R1 by 10mm once and it had quite a big impact, god knows what it would have been like dropping it 40mm (if its even possible).

Just loosen the yokes and push em through a bit. you cant do it on all bikes though as some are fixed at a certain height.
 
kidloco said:
40mm is a huge amount to drop the forks, I dropped my R1 by 10mm once and it had quite a big impact, god knows what it would have been like dropping it 40mm (if its even possible).

Just loosen the yokes and push em through a bit. you cant do it on all bikes though as some are fixed at a certain height.
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Theres a 25mm lowering kit as well so I think ill speak to a tame bike engineer I know before even starting this work and see whats do able. Might be ill shave the seat as well to help.

Its really so Im just a bit more planted at stop.
 
Lowering the rear should do that fine without having to mess with the front, I would shave the seat foam before touching the forks.
 
Fireskull said:
Lowering the rear should do that fine without having to mess with the front, I would shave the seat foam before touching the forks.
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Yep, going to shave the seat this weekend and see how that sees me.
Few bike buddies have said dropping the front 10mm sharpens up the steering without messing up the handling...is that true?
 
kippermitten said:
Yep, going to shave the seat this weekend and see how that sees me.
Few bike buddies have said dropping the front 10mm sharpens up the steering without messing up the handling...is that true?
Click to expand...

It doesnt mess up the steering but it does effect it by quickening it up a bit, on some bikes a nice little mod to do anyway on other allready very nimble bikes it can make it a bit twitchy. I honestly dont think that dropping the forks by 10mm will have any impact on the seat hight though.

I think you will prob find that having the seat shaved will be more than enough mate. If it does try dropping the forks but if its still to heigh then you will prob have to get the lowing kit.
 
It all depends how you ride, best thing to do is drop it and go for a ride, some riders prefer to sharpen the front end up, I love looking at Haga's Ducati, he as the forks dropped about an inch and a half lol.
 
I have no experience with lowering the GSX-R 750 and I think you would be better off asking for advice on a dedicated GSX-R Forum. I'm sticking my nose in as I have done the opposite on my Fazer 1000 i.e. fitted a jack-up kit which increased the ride height by ~25mm. I did not do this for the extra ride height I did it because of the effect on the handling. I found the bike on standard suspension settings was verry sluggish going round courners, more like a tourer than a sportsbike, fitting a jack-up kit puts more weight on the front of the bike which in turn speeds up the ability of the bike to steer into and out of corners. It also effects the geometry of the rear suspension increasing the pre-load and having minor effects on damping. I have also dropped the forks through the bars by 10mm to add to the effect. I'm saying this because fitting longer dog-bones to lower the bike *will* impact on the bikes handling and suspension, on a street bike or tourer that may not be so much of an issue but on a GSX-R ...... You could eliminate some of the negative effects by dropping the forks but again you're messing with the geometry of a bike that's been set up that way to be as sharp as possible. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, it's a cheap and relatively simple job to fit the new dog-bones, but you may not like the effect it has on the bikes handling. Probably be best to look at getting the seat shaved as your first option.
 
Seat shaving tonight then!
I think ill still need to drop it at least 20mm but will see how I get on with the seat first.
Drop links are like 35 quid anyway so may just get them anyhoo.
 
or man up and accept your short, im 5ft 6 with 29" inside legs and have not had any problems with my cbr600fs, zx6r (b1h) and now the zx7r. With both feet down im on tiptoes, never had any issues. Just move over on the seat a tiny amount and you have 1 foot down flat....

as for adverse cambers and pot holes plan ahead a little?

No need to lower the bike on the rear and mess up the handling (i.e slow it down)

if you were very short (which you aren't) and had a real issue with having the strength to keep it up, along with very short legs then maybe it would be worthwhile lowering it.

so my 2p, save your money and leave the bike how it is

edit: im all for the seat skimming (never done it but surely your seat will be rock hard?), just not a fan of lowering it physically at the rear by the links
 
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