Korsair
Member
Since Jesus blessed me with the gift of height; standing at an enormous 5'7" (170mm), and weighing 175 lbs (78kg) of pure muscles and sexiness....Wait, I'm going off track.
So, being short, it was a challenge for me to find bikes where I could be flat footed on. After years of riding, I've realized my height was not a handicap. And I just had to learn the bike.
I moved from Los Angeles where every rider there had ball$ and rode with a purpose, to Norfolk Virginia. The bike scene there was way different than LA. Most of the sport bike riders lowered and stretched their R6s and Gixxer 600s...
So whenever I would ride my Super Hawk, TL1000, SV650, or Ducati 999 in the twisites with these groups, I would have to wait for them miles down the road at a gas station we would prearrange if we got separated.
To sum it up, I was always against lowering bikes. It affects everything a bike was designed to do...in my opinion. of course, and I am not talking about cruisers.
Years ago, I wanted to turn my naked SV into a streetfighter. One of the steps was to raise the tail. So, back when bike magazines existed and on the cover would be some bada$$ in leathers doing a wheeile; I read an article written by a British road course racer who said he shortened his Dog Bones. So I removed mine and took them to a local machine shop. A couple days later, they had laser cut 2 out of aluminum with half an inch shorter. I put them on my bike, and was tippy toed. But I didn't care. The bike dropped in the turns quicker, and the acceleration was amazing.
I have since done that to all of my sport bikes.
2000 miles ago, I ordered spare Dog Bones for my ST and dropped them off at a local machine shop. They cut 1/2 inch in the center, and welded the ends back together.
With the height adjusted at its lowest setting, I tippy toe both feet, but can slump slightly to one side and be flat footed at a complete stop.
One of the main reasons I lifted the rear of the bike, is because she would sit too low when loaded with camping gear, to the point when I'm on a dirt road, I couldn't put the kick stand down.
I looked into spending an extra $1500 for a nice Ohlins rear shock, but I figured I'd go this route and see how she performs.
Now, every time I hit the dirt roads or the twisties, this ST behaves in a way like "About damn time you lifted my rear". Plus the ground clearance is nice to have when off-roading, and the kickstand now holds the bike up nicely. The rear wheel also touches the ground when the bike is on the center stand. Not by much, I can still barely spin the wheel, but if I have to do maintenance, I just find a small slope.
So I figured I'd share this thread since I couldn't find anything here on lifting the ST. I saw a video on Youtube where some ADV rider did the same on his Triumph Tiger 900.
So, being short, it was a challenge for me to find bikes where I could be flat footed on. After years of riding, I've realized my height was not a handicap. And I just had to learn the bike.
I moved from Los Angeles where every rider there had ball$ and rode with a purpose, to Norfolk Virginia. The bike scene there was way different than LA. Most of the sport bike riders lowered and stretched their R6s and Gixxer 600s...
So whenever I would ride my Super Hawk, TL1000, SV650, or Ducati 999 in the twisites with these groups, I would have to wait for them miles down the road at a gas station we would prearrange if we got separated.
To sum it up, I was always against lowering bikes. It affects everything a bike was designed to do...in my opinion. of course, and I am not talking about cruisers.
Years ago, I wanted to turn my naked SV into a streetfighter. One of the steps was to raise the tail. So, back when bike magazines existed and on the cover would be some bada$$ in leathers doing a wheeile; I read an article written by a British road course racer who said he shortened his Dog Bones. So I removed mine and took them to a local machine shop. A couple days later, they had laser cut 2 out of aluminum with half an inch shorter. I put them on my bike, and was tippy toed. But I didn't care. The bike dropped in the turns quicker, and the acceleration was amazing.
I have since done that to all of my sport bikes.
2000 miles ago, I ordered spare Dog Bones for my ST and dropped them off at a local machine shop. They cut 1/2 inch in the center, and welded the ends back together.
With the height adjusted at its lowest setting, I tippy toe both feet, but can slump slightly to one side and be flat footed at a complete stop.
One of the main reasons I lifted the rear of the bike, is because she would sit too low when loaded with camping gear, to the point when I'm on a dirt road, I couldn't put the kick stand down.
I looked into spending an extra $1500 for a nice Ohlins rear shock, but I figured I'd go this route and see how she performs.
Now, every time I hit the dirt roads or the twisties, this ST behaves in a way like "About damn time you lifted my rear". Plus the ground clearance is nice to have when off-roading, and the kickstand now holds the bike up nicely. The rear wheel also touches the ground when the bike is on the center stand. Not by much, I can still barely spin the wheel, but if I have to do maintenance, I just find a small slope.
So I figured I'd share this thread since I couldn't find anything here on lifting the ST. I saw a video on Youtube where some ADV rider did the same on his Triumph Tiger 900.
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