Lowering a motorcycle | What are the consequences? 

fit the bike to you. plain and simple. Like Dave Moss says, you dont get in a car without adjusting the seat, controls, and mirrors to fit you. Why would your bike be any different?

Most people don’t realize how much a slight change in geometry can affect handling. A few adjustments in the wrong direction can put you down. Thanks for addressing this.

Its about time manufacturers made the seats more adjustable , there is no need for all the air space over the rear wheel

Thank you. I ride a zzr 1200 and the weight and height are a problem for me. Thank you for reassuring the idea about safety.

Thank you for creating this video - very informative! I'm only 5' (barely), and lowered my MT-07 using the same link and am still on my tippy toes, but at least I can reach the ground now. ;) I've come to expect that at my height, if sport bikes are what I want to ride, I'm going to have to adjust to balancing on tip toes, even if the bike's lowered. It's especially difficult as a beginner rider, but I've gotten used to it. My husband has an MT-07 (his and hers!) at stock height, and hasn't mentioned any differences in the ride quality when he's ridden it.

Nicely done, Mr K. Lowering a bike is a common mod, it has pros and cons like any other, as long as the pros out-weigh the cons, then it's gotta be worth doing, especially if it means someone gets the bike they want. Cheers!

Awesome video! I lowered my CBR250R because Im 5ft nothing lol and I wasn’t comfortable or confident with the stock height. After lowering it. I did notice the difference in my turns and I thought I was doing something wrong since I just started riding. Turns out that the lowering is the reason I have to work a little harder on tight turns and I can’t lean as much. Overall. I am happy with my lowering, and Im glad I watched this because now I know why my turns and leans are the way they are now.

I’m so glad you made this video, I lowered my KTM 690 Enduro R by 1” always wondered if I did the right thing it really gave me more confidence I love the bike now thanks for sharing. ✌🏻

Huge thanks for sharing this informative video. Your input about advantage/disadvantage surely does justice. I just lowered mine 2inches rear & 1.25 front. Thanks again stay safe

I just lowered my 2017 650 vstrom 1.5 inch's, made 2 dog bone links, cut and welded the side stand, no problem ,the fun part was lowering the center stand and getting it to fit with after market exhaust ,all that for under 20 bucks, it rides great now....

This is a common debate in any V-Strom group or forum that I've been in. Due to them being somewhat of a tall bike, a lot of people have trouble reaching the ground. But, then for those who take the bike on dirt, plus our crappy roads in general, then you lose that clearance and travel. I've never felt the need to lower mine, but I know people that have and it worked for them. Glad it worked for you mate!

The stock front forks are like Pogo sticks.. I put Ohlin Cartages in mine and it has night and day better handling now .

Hey man, I'm in west Texas too. I don't wanna give away where you live but I'm in the town West of you! I just bought a Honda CB300R, and my wife got a Ninja...We're new riders and appreciate your videos!

Thanks a lot brother for making me confident I also order lowering kit for my gsx s750

Big plus for me is center of gravitiy. I lowered just the front end of my Tracer 700 for 10mm and change oil for 15W like Dave Moss said.

Before lowering kits were a thing the only answer was a pair of Herman Munster boots! )

I lowered my 09 Versys 650. It was a tall bike and i had a messed up hip so it was tough getting my leg over the bike. Lowered the front also but put the front back to the stock position and liked it better that way. Lowering the bike was a huge improvement. I lowered my Versys 1000 but then put it back to stock because with it lowered the center would drag when going over speed bumps...

The height of the motorcycle seat is important. When I ride a motorcycle with a high seat, I go on a trip with shoes with high heels. The channel has been registered.

Great teaching brother i was wondering about lowering my 2008 Yamaha FZ1. But now i changed my mind iam 5'9 also i have ridden all bike brother its comfortable already but i wanted to lower it for looks but Naww iam good.

My gen1 zx10r is lowered 2 inches and it still handles great. It also keeps the front end down during hard acceleration so it has shown major benefits

I had a Triumph sprint st 955i that was lowered and that thing handled great.

*I have to wonder who are these bikes made for. The average height of men in the US is 5' 9" and yet this bike is still too high? Obviously, bike makers don't take the customer into consideration. And they have zero concern for women.* It's the new millennium, how about adjustable ride heights or adjustable seat positions? How about bikes that lower when stopping?

Great to hear from West Texas. Good review on that kit install, that bike looks awesome as well.

I think that is a great modification for those that need it and I like the safe message too. RSM8

I lowered my cb500x, front & back. It made it feel more stable which surprised me. Must be the lower center of gravity I assume.

I'm too tall for this video, lol! but found it quite informative all the same mate :)

Well said and spot on Tim. Cheers mate

Great video, thanks for sharing. I'm getting ready to lower my '09 Yamaha FZ6R. Being used to riding a CBR600F4i, the front end of the FZ6r just feels too light and obviously it's a higher riding stance due to the upright handlebars vs. the clip-ons on the CBR. I'm hoping this helps the handling of the bike as I will be lowering the rear end the same height as the front. I'll post a video after this is done to help out others with the same bike and predicament.

Getting a new engine on my Wide Glide, I was on my Sportster Superlow and realized it takes a fair amount of effort to corner. And then I got on a 2019 Fat Boy. With the wide back tire and solid wheels, that was FAR more effort to corner. And then I got my Wide Glide back. It just rolls into corners ever so smoothly. After being without her, I've come to appreciate what a nimble bike that is. I'm not sure I'd want to sacrifice that. Obviously, if it's a safety thing, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. But beyond that.. nah.

For me it's a "No", Not familiar with your fork type on that bike, but on my Bonnie I installed Race-Tech Cartridge Emulators and springs up front; the difference is quite noticeable, totally transforms the front end. Might be an option for the FZ. (If you have a cartridge fork, try their Gold Valves and springs.)

Thanks brother for your clear explanation. Will buy lowering kit n get confident..

Great advice. I'm going to lower my bike about 1" at the rear, and the proportionate amount at the front. It used to be fine, and still is when on the bike but arthritis in my knee and hip is making it difficult to get on the bike.

I’m lucky enough not to have needed to lower a bike. The only related thing I’ve done was put a GSXR shock on an SV1000. The shock on the SV was awful. Unfortunately the the shock I could get hold of was about an inch shorter than the SV but I put shorter dogbones on to raise the ride height back up. Luckily the bike was better than standard, but messing around like that could have messed things up completely!

I'm a simple man tim kreitz makes a video I click it. have been for years

Very honestly said. But less wheelies??? Maybe I am still too young. Not that short either. Dave Moss is the shit.

Thinking of lowering my gsxr , struggling to maneuver it

Surely you have to lower the front and back equally, otherwise the dynamics of the bike are not the same. There must be issues of the foot pegs and other bits of the motorbike grounding when going round corners.

I have no need to lower my bike due to height/leg length (I'm over 6' and can easily manage any bike I've ever sat on), but I'm still considering lowering my bike in the rear. I fell for the "nooo, keep it the heckin stock ride height! It's what the engineerarinos designed!" meme and specifically bought a GSXR 600 with stock height suspension (or would've planned to convert back if I had settled on a lowered one). Well, after riding my wife's bike, which is a mechanically identical GSXR 600 with the only difference that it's lowered 2 inches in the rear from the previous owner, I'm seriously considering lowering the rear of my bike as well. Lowering the rear of a bike has a lot of benefits for the street beyond helping short people reach the pavement: -extends rear swing arm to help prevent wheelies and improve acceleration. I have no interest in intentional wheelies and don't like accidental ones at all. Active suspension in MotoGP literally does exactly this for better launches. -increases effective rake angle for better stability (at the cost of turning radius) -makes it easier to walk the bike around when parking even if you're tall -requires more bike lean angle for the same cornering force, which makes it more engaging to ride at street amounts of cornering force (you should never be maxing out cornering potential on the street) -makes riding position more upright and therefore takes weight off of your palms for a more comfortable riding position (makes a typical supersport feel more like a Ninja 400 or R3 riding position, much more comfortable in day to day riding) -somehow being lower just instills confidence as you feel like you could put a foot down and save it more easily if you were to slip, and slipping on sudden gravel or liquids is one of my biggest fears in street riding. The only drawbacks to lowering only apply in track conditions (lean angle potential, quick flick-ability into corners, etc), and frankly there are so many setup differences between an ideal street and track bike you should just own two separate bikes anyway.

Have a friend with a lowered Concours 14. Eek, that thing bottoms out too easy, plus it can no longer support the center stand. Bummer on a long haul machine.

Always solid advice Tim.

lowering the rear will increase rake slow at corner but more steady at straits line, more suitable for chopper, and also improve the look. however you have said lowering your fz lack a bit of performer; may I know what kind of performer? Corner? Top speed? Drag race? And you said you have ride harley, have you lower your harley?

I ride a cbr600rr and can only get 1 foot down on my toes, ass cheek off to one side and been doing it like that for 2 years. Had to many sketchy calls at a stop and backing up that i finally said f#ck it and dropped front and rear 1 inch. After all the hipe and negative feedback on lowering a bike i actually like it better lowered. Front doesn't feel light when you hammer down. Easier to flick it into a corner but it does feel like you have to use more effort to hold your line. A little more stiff over bumps but not that much more noticeable than before so had to make some adjustments. I'll scrape pegs faster than before but new rearset will fix that. I only wanted to lower it no more than an inch. Atleast now i can tip toe the bike back instead of having to get off the f#cken thing or end up on a high side putting my foot down in a dip and almost dropping it. Sucks being short

At 6 1 i have no problem but good vid for the smaller rider i have to say rsm

Being only 5ft1 and thats on a good day...i have trouble just reaching the ground on 95% of bikes and i prefer and are more comfortable flat footing... And my choice bikes is limited unless i lower them..

you detailed your experience very well..good video..thanks

It's like you ask 10 different Doctors the same question, and you wind up getting 10 different answers. Anyway I have a 2021 MT-07. I bought a lowering link off of eBay and now I'm second guessing myself after seeing T-Rex makes one, some company that starts with a "P". Makes one. I'm 5'8" and I cannot sit flat footed on my bike either. Plus I'm brand new to riding motorcycles. Should I use the one from Ebay or get a brand name one? Also do I have to lower the front? I just plan on riding and having fun. No wheelies, no stunting,no off-road, nothing. Ride Safe and let me know what I should do.. thank you

This video is very good. Thank you so much.

I like it! Sounds great too.

Nice video. How does lowering the bike effect the original preload setting you had on the rear shock, do you need to adjust it after lowering?

Nicely done video 👏

Good mod Tim, I loved Dave Moss' channel but it's all gone a bit awry with all the trailers trying to get people to pay up if they want to see the whole video, kinda puts me off.

I got my klr650 it's a tall bike I'm 6ft2in lower it 1 1/2in..lot better now and I'm going put a sidecar on it so I can take my gold prospecting stuff with me

Great video I’m leaning towards your same setup do you feel maybe a high end after market shock may help with the overall performance? Also so you think you could of gotten away with 1 full inch in the front ? Thank you

Lust Racing makes top quality lowering links for most bikes to lower 30mm. They tell you how much to lower the front for good handling as well. Links are made in the UK.

awesome review, will definitely lower my bike. by the way, you said turning is reduced, by how much? i weave through traffic

Great video as usual

You deserve more subscribers ❤️

My Fz07 came lowered, only used for 400 miles but I wanted to know whether or not will effect my riding I’m a new rider and excited to get my license Trying to learn as much as I can and I’d love any input.

Only way your giving up performance is if your taking those corners like a moto GP rider😂 that bike will be fine you will be find just learn to get comfortable with the lowered stance first and then you know where the bikes boundaries are short people unite💪🏻

hi Tim, I have a cbr500 2019 I want to lower it to have more confidence riding it because I cant flat foot it, im only 5'5", I found this lowering kit from dimotiv, im confused what to get, they have 2 lowering for cbr500r, a 30mm lowering and a 40mm lowering, can you give me advice what to get? i just want it lowered to add more foot grip, not exactly wanting to flat foot it, I just thought that the 40mm is good but the ground clearance will suffer more than a 30mm, or it doesn't really have much of a difference? can you give me advice

What bike do you recommend for someone who's 5'5" ?

I might be in the same boat, heavily considering your setup. I'm 5' and about 9 or 10" and about 230lbs. Taking my class on a Harley 500cc made me appreciate the lower seat height. I've swapped out to Renthal Ultra Low bars and it really improved turning ability so maybe that could negate the heavy steering? Just kind of curious about any issues like bottoming out or scraping you might have had since this video. Mine will never see a track and I'm really interested in lowering vs trying to trade a 1 year old to me bike in on a cruiser when I still like the bike.

you don't have to lower your bike at all. most bike design for the average person height which is 5'9"

Can i only set my bike height on the resr without lowering the front shocks?

Something doesn't make sense to me, if you lower the front and back, would that decrease the overall wheelbase? If that's the case, it should be able to turn sharper radiuses.

what if you only lower the rear and not the front?

PS. Tim, when are we taking the BIG GUNS to Penwell, Texas? 😀Big Kawi vrs Big Suzuki? Sound like fun? Friday Night Lights, Motorcycle Style.

Good video bro ride safe

Did you lower the front? I want one of these as my next bike but I'm a short guy. I have a cbr300r now and am really comfortable on it height wise, so I figure a lowering kit with that bike having a 31.7 inch seat would be perfect. I just love the look of them and how they have an awesome motor without the super aggressive riding position of a supersport like an r6 or a cbr600rr.

I know there is a lot of talk about lowering a bike, but how about raising a bike? You think it would make it more dangerous than lowering?

Hi Tim. I just ordered this kit and wondering whether I need to touch anything else when using this kit. I mean any modifications?

I wanted to take z900 but my height is 5.4 so what shall I do sir should I take the 2019 model I should I buy the 2020 model or if anything be like lowering the height off seat I hope you will respond sir thank you ❤️.

Good vid- helpful

ive just got the 2018 MT-09. but im on tippy toes , ive bought the lowering kit which says it will lower it 0.8" how much do I need to to adjust the front forks? is there a ratio ?

Second!

How is the straight line stability

So if i understand correctly. You are 5.9feet tall and reduced 2inch of height?

👍

any effect on performance?

What exhaust do you have?

what is your inseam?

dam too much noise

I can't give you any pros. I can flat foot any production motorcycle so I can't help you there brother