home made lowering plates

[ripinanroarin]

Does any body else have to stand on their tip toes while siting on their Max :damn angry: Well I use too. Plus the bike was so tall,..It was like mounting a horse. YA,..I'm a little guy.....with a need for big power :eusa_dance: So heres my low buget, labour intensive fix.! I took some carboard and made some tem-plates. Then I looked around the shop for some suitable metal...Walla,.I fount telepost plates.If there strong enough to hold up a house, they should hold on 2 shocks..ya think. They are farely hard metal and a little tough to work with. The idea I came up with was from some lowering blocks I used for my harley made by Arleness. Took 6 hours to make. 2 hours was spent messuring and playing with my cat. The red arrows in the pics show how I atached them. I used E-6011 welding rods for the welding.I wish I could say that you dont need very many tools to build these...you do! "shown in pics" Any way ,I sit nice and flat footed now. When I built and installed the shocks, I made sure they were on the lowest setting with minimum preload setting,..just in case it was too low,..then I would still be able to raise it by adjusting the shocks if I had to. I also have my boost disconected"round plug" its on the fritz,but I got a new one coming. Thanks Sean.

 

[4gasem]

NICE! Look well thought out and built! This is what's great about this site. Cool stuff!

Chris

If you have a DC stick welder I would recommend 7018. It's a low Hydrogen rod so you'll want to keep it sealed up, but it's much easier to use than the cellulose fluxed rods like 6011 and 6013 which IMO are really meant for AC welders. 7018 will also provide a higher tensile. 70,000 compared to 60,000 which in this case I'm sure isn't an issue.

 

[one2dmax]

Simple cheap lowering setup. If you wanted to take them off I bet we could get them cad'd up and lazer cut. BUT, note that you have shifted the shock angle rearward which also effects shock effeciency. We have a similar effect when we extend our swingarms (3" over) that shifts back even farther (3" compared to looks like a little over 2").

The right way of course is to get aftermarket shocks but your way will work just fine.
Sean

 

[ripinanroarin]

Well I went for a test ride,..found a rough road full of pot holes to see how it would ride and mabey "bottom out" ALL GOOD. Another thing I noticed on the highway....it handled better.....It Felt more planted and the stearing felt more"SURE"...more stable.... could be I added a little negative trail when I lowerd the rear..not sure..but I like it better.

 

[4gasem]

Well I went for a test ride,..found a rough road full of pot holes to see how it would ride and mabey "bottom out" ALL GOOD. Another thing I noticed on the highway....it handled better.....It Felt more planted and the stearing felt more"SURE"...more stable.... could be I added a little negative trail when I lowerd the rear..not sure..but I like it better.

Drop the forks in the trees an inch or so... You'll have to eliminate your cross over to do that though. An internal drop is probably best.


Chris

 

[ripinanroarin]

Templates for lowering max.2 1/2 inches or less,depends where you drill the hole.

 

[Ratt1eHead]

This is a sweet mod!! I'm going to do this to mine. I was going to relocate the upper mount, but this make more sense. Great Work!!

 

[johnpclynch]

Nice!!
Who's going to laser cut a batch of these for the rest of us? :biglaugh:

The only problem I'd have is with my licence plate holder - but with a bit of imagination you could incorporate both into one

 

[Traumahawk]

My question too....so when will someone copy these and sell them?? I would buy a set.

:eusa_dance:

 

[Ratt1eHead]

Nice!!
Who's going to laser cut a batch of these for the rest of us? :biglaugh:

The only problem I'd have is with my licence plate holder - but with a bit of imagination you could incorporate both into one
View attachment 32869

DUDE! Your license plate is the size of a fender!!! :rofl_200:

 

[Ratt1eHead]

I'm making my own. I already have the steel, a saws-all, a drill and time!

 

[Ratt1eHead]

This was a great idea that you had.... here are some picks of mine. Sure beats spending $400 on new shocks.

 

[Ratt1eHead]

Detail on the back side.

 

[Frosty72]

Detail on the back side.

That don't look like no sawsall cuts there!!

Good lookin' piece for sure.

 

[Traumahawk]

This was a great idea that you had.... here are some picks of mine. Sure beats spending $400 on new shocks.

Those do look great...do you have the dimensions for everything to post?

 

[Ratt1eHead]

I do, I have plans that I had a machine shop cnc these out. I welded on the support bracket and the nuts. I see if I can dig them up.

 

[Traumahawk]

I do, I have plans that I had a machine shop cnc these out. I welded on the support bracket and the nuts. I see if I can dig them up.

Ok...thank you.

 

[Miles Long]

Excellent idea and execution, Mr. Ripinanroarin. It appears that you have lowered the back end significantly, without any(?) negative handling effects.
As for your version, Mr. Rattlehead... They appear to be extremely well made, but by how much did they actually lower the rear end?
In the pic of yours, the shock mounting hole appears to be higher than the original stud location, while in Ripinanroarin's template pic, the new hole is obviously lower. Did you measure how much your modification lowered the bike, if in fact it did?
I would be interested in doing this mod for two reasons.
I have already installed 12" shocks to replace the stock 13" ones. I'm sure they will work great (haven't had the bike out yet), BUT they created a big disadvantage.....with shorter shocks, there isn't enough room to remove the axle, because it hits the OEM r.h.s. exhaust can. The shocks have to be disconnected, either top or bottom, to allow the swingarm to drop down and give clearance when pulling the axle. Because both mounting points use studs, removal of the shocks is a pain.
With the use of a lowering block arrangment, the lower mounting point uses a bolt. Disconnecting the shocks would be a piece of cake.
In addition to easier shock removal, it would also be nice to be able to lower the bike even further. As noted in the template description, this would depend on where the mounting hole is drilled.
Cheers!

 

[srk468]

Great job guys!! Looks awesome!!

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[Ratt1eHead]

The plates I have installed are a true 1.5" drop. I have a second set also that are a 2" drop. I moved the shock back along it's radius, and raised the swingarm up an inch and a half. Took some measurements, and made a cardboard template.