Side Stand Options when Lowering the FJR

[doctorgary]

Very helpful link! Great pics! Will save me the cost of an adjustable kick-stand.

 

[Guitardave]

No cutting, I took a different approach. The bike is lowered with Koubalinks and the front forks raised but rather then cutting the kickstand I used a heating torch and a ballpeen hammer to straighten the lower curvature and change the foot angle. Worked out perfect. Straightening moved the foot out further from the bike which increased the lean angle and stability, altering the footpad angle ensured flat and complete contact with the ground. Kept the Wynpro pad.

Nice work.

I plan on lowering my bike also, and when I eyeballed the stand and saw that wicked bend in it,

I had the exact same idea to just straighten it out and hammer the end parallel to the pavement again.

 

[Guitardave]

I am right on the borderline of whether or not I need to get lowering links. It seems like the seat mods by Spencer are helping and the seat SEEMS to be breaking in more each time I ride. That, along with wearing some taller boots, ALMOST has me comfortable height-wise....but not quite enough. So, I am debating whether or not to install the 7/8" Kouba links. If I do, I plan on raising the forks 1/4-1/2", but my big concern is the side stand. I have read all the posts I can find about the side stand but I still can't find the right answer for my situation.
IF the lowering experiment ends up creating more problems than it caused, I would like to be able to return to the starting point and install the stock links. So, for that reason, I don't want to cut my side stand and re-weld it. I was leaning (no pun intended) towards Soupy's adjustable stand, but as another member said, I also have concerns about the adjustability and it's stability. I am probably being paranoid, but it seems that if it can be adjusted, what if those allen bolts come loose? and I find my bike on it's side in the garage one morning? The knobby end that rests on the ground also concerns me, I like the idea of a BIG flat pad on the ground. I know I am probably making it worse in my head, that's why I need some input from someone that has used Soupy's adjustable side stand, and whether they have experienced any problems?

My other direction was to go with Wild Hair lowering links, they have an 18MM set of links, that is roughly 3/4", and according to WH, I may not even need to modify my side stand, but they are twice as much as Koubas, and take 4-6 weeks to arrive from Germany

Used OEM side stands are running between $25 & $35 dollars on eBay.

They are parting out these bikes all the time. I see an abundance of side stands for sale.

It's not normally a part that gets buggered up in a crash, so they are plentiful & cheap.

I just saw one for $25 with free shipping.

 

[FJR30FAN]

Pardon my ignorance but a friend who used to have a FJR told me once that lowering the FJR would adversely change its geometry and affect handling. Is this true?

 

[Guitardave]

Pardon my ignorance but a friend who used to have a FJR told me once that lowering the FJR would adversely change its geometry and affect handling. Is this true?

Truth is it will change the geometry, thus affecting the bikes handling to some degree.

But that's mathematics.... of course things will change...... but can you get away with it?

The largest degree would be that it would shorten the suspension travel.

The 2nd largest degree would be the steering depending on the difference that you lowered

the front compared to the rear.

Lowering more in the rear will make the bike more stable in a straight line like a cruiser type bike,

and the bike won't turn in as quickly, etc.

I would think that lowering the front more than the rear would be the more dangerous proposition

because the shallow rake would be more like a dirt bike and you could potentially get into a

"tank slapper - death wobble" type situation.

Most people lower the rear more than the front only because by the time you raised the front forks

up in the triple trees, if done in the extremes, you won't have any suspension travel left.

Our concern is for riding in the street with passengers and gear etc.

Many people lower their bikes sensibly with no problems, and most can't feel any discernable difference in handling.

Now consider drag bikes ripping down the track at 150 miles an hour.

I was floored to find out that in some cases their suspensions are slammed to the ground

and in some cases the front suspension is strapped and ratcheted down to limit the travel

to almost nothing! Wow! I guess they don't want the bike's suspension unloading after the front wheel

comes off the ground at launch. It makes the bike more resistant to a wheelie. Who knew?

My friend (58 yrs old) is an extremely talented bike builder and one heck of a life long rider.

He's a demon and few can barely keep up with him. (For what ever reason, I can stay in tail light range, LOL.)

His wife and he have many bikes including identical "his & hers" Hayabusa's.

The wife's is lowered at least 2 inches in the rear and probably 1.5 or more in the front (I forgot, but's it's a LOT)

He has ridden both bikes side by side and says that he really can't feel any noticeable difference.

They are both short (5'6Z" or less) and he weighs only 130 lbs geared up.

SO.... he doesn't use up a lot of suspension travel.

If you are really heavy, your results may vary.

In the end. he told me to "lower away" and not to worry about it.

For me, it's hard to argue with his experience with the 2 Hayabusa's side by side.

I'll be getting to work shortly as I'd like to have my bike set up before the weather breaks this spring.

 

[Fred W]

"The largest degree would be that it would shorten the suspension travel.The 2nd largest degree would be the steering depending on the difference that you lowered

the front compared to the rear."

When you lower the suspension, either by swapping out the dog bone links in the rear, or by sliding the front forks up in the triple clamps, the suspension will still be sitting at the same sag point of the suspension, and will still have the exact same amount of suspension stroke. The suspension compliance and travel will be completely unchanged. It will also feel exactly the same when going in a (relatively) straight line, which is why many riders don't notice any difference.

What will change dramatically is the angle that you can lean the bike over to without hard parts touch down, which will be reduced. So your maximum cornering speed will be limited by that difference

I agree that the steering angle changes will only be affected if the front and rear are lowered unevenly. Ideally you'll want to lower the bike's ride height the same amount front and back to retain the stock handling, which is a compromise of stability vs turn-in quickness. But that can always be adjusted, whether lowered or not, via altering the preload at one end or the other.

 

[Biquer]

I lowered mine 3/4" and added an Ohlins Shock and fork springs. I notice a small change in ground clearance going over speed bumps etc but no noticeable change in cornering clearance.

 

[StephanM]

This affects a lot of people, so I'd be happy to share my experience. If I may start with the conclusion: DO IT! You will enjoy the bike a lot more. But be aware that it is a bit of trouble.

I lowered mine just over an inch at the rear and about 3/4" at the front. *Very* happy with the result. I can back out of parking stalls or the garage easily now.

Handling was *very slightly* changed (I think because I lowered the front less then the rear). Honestly it's not an issue. I had to raise the front back to 3/4" after bottoming the exhaust on a speed bump.

Replacing the links is not difficult in itself, but is tricky because you have to be creative about supporting the bike since you can't use the centre stand (it's in the way).

SOUPYS THREADED LINKS are great because it's so easy to readjust them. A word of caution though, use electrical tape to stop the nuts from vibrating loose, which they will. If you know how much you want to drop the bike, regular links are cheaper.

SOUPYS ADJUSTABLE KICKSTAND is another matter. I DON'T recommend it. 1) The foot is round!?! It digs into all surfaces except concrete. My paved parking stall is full of holes 1/2" deep. 2) It didn't fit my '07 properly. I had to use a big 3/4" nut as a spacer. That's a safety issue. 3) The adjustment screws came loose. Fortunately only one fell out completely. My fault for not using LockTite, but still. So I'm gonna look for a used kickstand on eBay and try to straighten it as described above.

Hope this helps others. Do it, but get help from a friend.

 

[angus]

If you dont slide the fork tubes up a little you are going to effect the handling I lowered a 03 and 05 had problems with speed bumps with two up bottomed out easy.