hederstedt
Member
Just got back from my first drive with my new suspension up front. I bought a lowering-kit from progressive suspension. I wont lie to you, I only bought it becouse I'm vain. I want me and my max to look good together. A standard front end looks like a 70:s chopper if you ask me. 2" lowering doesent really get it to look low, it just gets it to look like it always should have.
I had a couple of concerns however, 2" lower front will decrease both rake and trail. In my head this would make the wobble and the bad handling to get worse. However, looks come first.
I do have another frame laying around in my garage, thinking, if this gets really ugly I will let my frame-buildeng friend rake out that one a couple of degrees. And then I just move everything over to that one.
And in the future I would like to modify a set of air-shocks for a V-Rod to go in the back. U know, the kind you lower and rise with a push of a button.
So I would really like to get the handling to work with full hight rear suspension. Low and mean on the city streets and high and driveble on the open road. That would be the thing.
Installation:
I have a post 93, And whatever people say on this forum:
YOU DONT HAVE TO DISASSAMBLY THE WHOLE FORK TO GET THE WHOLE KIT ON.
(However pre-93 may differ)
Top nut, spacers, washers and springs first, while the forks was still on the bike (jacked up in the fron of-corse). Then I removed the forks, drained them from oil and then remove the insex in the bottom. (I used a electric impact wrench becouse I did not have a tool to hold the damper a long way down in the tube)
When the Insex was removed the damper and the top-out limeting spring came out the same way as the first lot.
More then this was not nessesary to disassamble.
Then I added the two extra top-out limeting springs (2 in each leg for 2" lower) Reassambled the dampers. And put the forks, wheel callpers etc. back on the bike. Checked clearances and then in with the new springs, washers and the spacers (I had to use the stock ones - that I cut down 2" sense the pwc-tube in the kit was to short to be cut in two pieces. Maby there was one missing in my kit)
And then I filled up 619cc of 15-Weight fork-oil (10 is stock)
Driving
The first laps around the house felt nervous, really like the bike stood on its nose. I thought that this is not going to work. However I had drawn some lines in AutoCad so I knew that the trail at least would not be negative.
(negative trail is the last thing that happen to you). On the dirt-road out to paved roads I felt that the oil was to heavy. It did not feel good at all.
The first turns out on the road felt almost as uncomfortable, like the bike fell in to turns.
I bit further down the road it started to feel nicer, so I tryed to howl ass a bit. It worked fine. I tryed to burst it up to about 60 mph on mid gear then turn off the trottle - no clutch ingaged. No wobble. 80; same result. A burst up to 100 at fourth gear then trottle off as I went in to a bend. There it was, the wobble I was used to, but just a little bit. Defently not sceary.
Me like!
Now I have been out riding the whole day, and sure the wobble is still there, but it has decreased about 60-75%. The uncomfortable low speed carecteristics did not go away, but once I got used to them they was not uncomfortable anymore. The bike was just easyer to handle. Really Great.
The bike feels much safer and confident. The whole bike feels 60 lbs lighter. This was really worth every penny. Hell, it was a 1000 dollar fix for 250 dollars. In the states it probably just costs 125 dollars sence almost every bike part is twice the price here in sweden.
It looks like the stiffnes in the suspension, incresed wieght on the front wheel and the incresed rigidness due to shorter forks outweight the fact that both the trail and the rake is smaller. And that by much. On top of that, the bike looks like it should look to begin with.
I can also add that I, myself only weigh about 165 lbs (75kg) so I dont add that much weight to the rear. If you are heavyer it will probably work enen better sence your trail and rake will stay in mor conservative regions.
Conclusion: GET IT!
I had a couple of concerns however, 2" lower front will decrease both rake and trail. In my head this would make the wobble and the bad handling to get worse. However, looks come first.
I do have another frame laying around in my garage, thinking, if this gets really ugly I will let my frame-buildeng friend rake out that one a couple of degrees. And then I just move everything over to that one.
And in the future I would like to modify a set of air-shocks for a V-Rod to go in the back. U know, the kind you lower and rise with a push of a button.
So I would really like to get the handling to work with full hight rear suspension. Low and mean on the city streets and high and driveble on the open road. That would be the thing.
Installation:
I have a post 93, And whatever people say on this forum:
YOU DONT HAVE TO DISASSAMBLY THE WHOLE FORK TO GET THE WHOLE KIT ON.
(However pre-93 may differ)
Top nut, spacers, washers and springs first, while the forks was still on the bike (jacked up in the fron of-corse). Then I removed the forks, drained them from oil and then remove the insex in the bottom. (I used a electric impact wrench becouse I did not have a tool to hold the damper a long way down in the tube)
When the Insex was removed the damper and the top-out limeting spring came out the same way as the first lot.
More then this was not nessesary to disassamble.
Then I added the two extra top-out limeting springs (2 in each leg for 2" lower) Reassambled the dampers. And put the forks, wheel callpers etc. back on the bike. Checked clearances and then in with the new springs, washers and the spacers (I had to use the stock ones - that I cut down 2" sense the pwc-tube in the kit was to short to be cut in two pieces. Maby there was one missing in my kit)
And then I filled up 619cc of 15-Weight fork-oil (10 is stock)
Driving
The first laps around the house felt nervous, really like the bike stood on its nose. I thought that this is not going to work. However I had drawn some lines in AutoCad so I knew that the trail at least would not be negative.
(negative trail is the last thing that happen to you). On the dirt-road out to paved roads I felt that the oil was to heavy. It did not feel good at all.
The first turns out on the road felt almost as uncomfortable, like the bike fell in to turns.
I bit further down the road it started to feel nicer, so I tryed to howl ass a bit. It worked fine. I tryed to burst it up to about 60 mph on mid gear then turn off the trottle - no clutch ingaged. No wobble. 80; same result. A burst up to 100 at fourth gear then trottle off as I went in to a bend. There it was, the wobble I was used to, but just a little bit. Defently not sceary.
Me like!
Now I have been out riding the whole day, and sure the wobble is still there, but it has decreased about 60-75%. The uncomfortable low speed carecteristics did not go away, but once I got used to them they was not uncomfortable anymore. The bike was just easyer to handle. Really Great.
The bike feels much safer and confident. The whole bike feels 60 lbs lighter. This was really worth every penny. Hell, it was a 1000 dollar fix for 250 dollars. In the states it probably just costs 125 dollars sence almost every bike part is twice the price here in sweden.It looks like the stiffnes in the suspension, incresed wieght on the front wheel and the incresed rigidness due to shorter forks outweight the fact that both the trail and the rake is smaller. And that by much. On top of that, the bike looks like it should look to begin with.
I can also add that I, myself only weigh about 165 lbs (75kg) so I dont add that much weight to the rear. If you are heavyer it will probably work enen better sence your trail and rake will stay in mor conservative regions.
Conclusion: GET IT!
