Lowered handling?

[pdg]

The shock that came fitted on my K75s is an OEM one. The previous owner told me it was a bit tired before I bought the bike so I was planning on replacement anyway.

I found an aftermarket unit on ebay (Spax adjustable) from Motorworks, and despite phoning them to confirm it was standard length it turns out to be shorter by about/nearly an inch (I have yet to measure it properly)...

If it turns out to be serviceable, how would it affect the handling if I were to drop the yokes over the forks by the same amount, lowering the whole bike by nearly an inch? Does the reduced centre of gravity make it turn better/worse? I would imagine just dropping the rear but leaving the front would slow the turn-in, so I'd like to keep the geometry as close as possible to original.

Hopefully, someone here has lowered their bike (or ridden a lowered one) so will be able to give me a clue!

[latunabernie]

I have a 87 K-75C
I put a 2" shorter Wilbur shock on it.
I left the fork tubes alone.
Bike handles & tracks great.
Only problem is it makes putting the bike on the center stand harder.

Bernie

[Michael in AZ]

I put a short RAM (25mm less than stock) on my '92 K75 RT, and have not lowered the front forks yet either. 800 miles in and the bike feels much more solid and cornering is great. +1 on the center stand though. I really have to drop some weight and pull now. But a small price to pay. It's like I have a whole new ride.  :2thumbup:

[Tighthead]

I just put a (used) Works shock on my '88 LT. I didn't know it was short (13") until I received it. I have the bike apart while I put a new fan motor in but I'll report back here after I put some miles on it. Kind of puts my line-of-sight right at the top of the windshield (I'm 6'), so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get used to that.

Good to hear the positive reports above, though.

[pdg]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I guess the only thing to do is 'suck it and see'. I'm a bit concerned about dropping the rear and leaving the front stock because of how the roads are here - looking at a few ride reports from the states, the pictures of 'twisties' are more like straights to me  :laugh

I won't have the centre stand issue, mainly because I don't have a centre stand...

I think I'll give it a shot anyway. Dropping the front is easy, and I can mess with heights until it feels right. I'm going to be having a go at rebuilding the stock unit (looks like I might be able to get it apart) - I might even do a mini-project thread on that.

[Tighthead]

I've put a couple hundred miles on the bike since the new shorter shock. No noticeable handling difference (and the line-of-sight is not as low as it appeared the first time I sat on it). So far, so good.