lowered the rear w/ kouba links

[robnpat]

Just got done lowering the rear of my bike with the Kouba Links. I can now flat foot both feet on the ground Now I just got to get my sidestand shortened. There is information about lowering the front about 3/4" if I want, but doesn't give any detail on how to do it. It said that with the bike as-is (front stock, and rear lowered), straight stability will be better, but slower in turns (whatever that means). If I wanted to lower the front forks a tad, does anyone have detailed instructions on how to do it, or, as a beginner, will it matter to my type of riding (not hard riding, easy commute).

Thanks for any help,
Rob

 

[OriginalRocket]

The bike will want to stay straight more then stock, and turning will be a bit more effort. I lowered the rear 40mm. And have yet to get to the forks, from what I have read, just loosen the clamp bolts and you can slide them down, a little bit makes a huge difference, I'll start at 1/2 inch, and see how I like it. But one must consider the fork length for shock compression.

 

[robnpat]

Stupid question, Rocket, butt are the clamp bolts the ones at the very top? If so, then it should be easy for me to do (I am NOT mechanically gifted; I was cursing putting on the Kouba Links ).

 

[Spaceteach]

Your bike has a lower and an upper triple tree. The top tree is where the handlebar risers (mounts) are attached. If you look down the outside of your fork tubes from the handlebar end you will see how the tubes are clamped into the ends of the triple trees. The bolts that have to be loosened are the pinch bolts on the ends of the trees. The fun part is when you loosen the bolts, the fork tubes can and will move in the clamps, so you will need a way to support the front end of the bike while you slide the tubes up in the clamps and then re-tighten the bolts.
While raising the forks is a pretty easy and straightforward task, it is critical to make sure the pinch bolts are properly torqued. You really don't want to be riding down the road with over torqued (bolts could fail) or under torqued (fork tubes could move in the clamps) bolts on the triple tree clamps. Unfortunately I don't have a service manual, but maybe someone who does can tell you the proper torque value for these bolts.
If you are not comfortable with working on the front end, you may want to consider taking the bike in to either a dealer or a mechanic you trust. The work itself doesn't take much time, so the labor cost shouldn't be too high.

Hope this helps,
Bob

 

[robnpat]

Thanks, Spaceteach. KoudaLinks recommends no more than 3/4" of raising the forks, so how do you measure that? From what I've been reading, it should be VERY easy. Do you, at anytime, loosen the very top bolts that are next to the handlebars? Sorry for questions that are probably simple for you mechanics out there. I'm going to have my dad shorten my sidestand since he has a welder.

 

[Spaceteach]

You don't have to touch the very top bolts at all to adjust the height of the forks. Those bolts are actually fork tube caps and are only removed to service the fork internals (springs, damping rods, etc). When they say raise the forks all they are talking about is sliding the fork tubes up in the triple tree clamps. Look at the current location of your fork tubes and you will see they are pretty much flush with the top of the upper triple tree. To raise the forks 3/4 of an inch you would slide the forks up in the clamps until they extend 3/4 of an inch higher than they do now. In other words, the caps (bolts) on the very top of the fork tubes would be 3/4" closer to the bottom of your handlebars.

Bob

 

[soggybottom]

I have 1.5 inch lowering links and tried it with front lowered 3/4 inch. I found no differance in handling but the seat felt better with the forks in original position. I was a bit cautious at first but now I don't even think about and it handles great.

 

[robnpat]

It finally 'cleared' up this evening for me to go on a test ride (still below freezing, but just rode 10 miles). The bike felt just fine, even around corners. Since I am still a beginner, I'm not flying through the turns, but am doing the speed limit. I'm not going to mess with my front forks (for now). It sure was nice, though, to be able to put both feet on the ground at a stop (or just one without leaning) so this mod was sure worth it.

Thanks everyone for their help and opinions.

Rob

 

[searsboy]

I'm curious Rob. How much did the links lower the bike and, more important, did that help the sloping seat issue?

 

[robnpat]

Craig,

I'm not sure how much lower it actually did. On Kouba's site, it says it will lower it about 1 3/8th inches, but I didn't measure before or after. All I know is that before I was on my tip-toes without leaning, and now I can without leaning. And, since I didn't raise the front forks, the seat felt more comfortable as I wasn't sliding to the frunk.

Rob

 

[searsboy]

Thanks Rob. I am flat footed on my bike, but thought about lowering it just to improve the seat slope!
FYI: Here's a link to an adjustable kickstand.
NC700X Lowering Links, NC700X Lowering Kit, NC700X Lowering Link, NC700X Adjustable Ride Height, NC700X Adjustable Kickstand, NC700X Shortened Sidestand
With hindsight being 20/20, I would've gone with an oem 700S centerstand!