Anyone had a lowered bike?

[AndyL]

Between not being tall and having dodgy joints getting on the fazer is sometimes quite a challange. I can get on it ok on flat ground but when slopes are involved I start to struggle. Given my knees I would also don't fancy reducing the distance to the pegs, if anything increasing this would be best (this is only an issue on longer rides).


I'm fairly light and won't be carrying a pillion so I don't think the back end being softer is much of a concern. I'd like to take it camping so may have kit on the back.

How much lower can you safely get away with?
Will lowering it make it easier to get upright on a slope? (this is sometimes tricky with a full tank plus tankbag and topbox). I was wondering if it being slightly lower would give me more leverage.


I saw this thread
http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php?topic=8174.0
but thought if I lowered the seat my knees might not thank me, lowering the whole bike would also lower the panniers if I got a pair.

[noggythenog]

Hey buddy


I cant say any more than ive already said in the thread.




But i still have those lowering dog bones if you want them.

[Mark YPVS]

my fazer had a lowered seat and it was painful on my dodgy knees as they were bent more (im 5ft 6) I fitted a standard seat and it was much better however my brother in-law also has dodgy knees (and the same height) found the standard seat caused him painful knee joints so he got a lowered seat which solved the pain, but his rear shock seems very hard so im going to soften it next week as the bike doesn't squat at all when he sits on it ( 10 st )
I think the Fazer is wide to sit on as opposed to being a tall bike as I can flat foot on my R1 easily but not on the Fazer,
I think if the bikes comfy for you lower dog bones would be a good bet?
Mark

[AndyL]

My main problems are getting on and off (I have to wing my leg over the pillion seat) and getting the bike upright when it's got a full tank and luggage.  I tend to end up with my right foot down if stopping on a slope for a junction instead of the left foot down.  It it was just getting on/off I might just remove some foam from the pillion seat.


I think dogbones are worth a try. How much would I need to chop off the side stand?

[andybesy]

Might be a silly suggestion but if the main problem is getting on and off the bike hows about a shorter or otherwise customised side stand?

Andy

[AndyL]

I thought it might fall over. Also it might be even harder to get upright from the side side when loaded down.

[andybesy]

True, yup silly idea

[kebab19]

If it's lowered, so is the centre of gravity...more of a challenge to get off the side-stand.

Do you stand on the nearside peg when you're mounting the bike or do you swing your leg over from ground height?

Personally I wouldn't lower the front & back more than 10mm but you may *just* get away with 15mm. The centre-stand will then become a boll1x to use, may as well take it off unless you carry a plank of wood about with you.

You could take some foam out of the seat and removing or trimming down the rubber bungs under the seat would take another few mm off the seat height.  There are  also alternative Vario footpegs on ebay that can lower their  height up to 30mm so your knees wouldn't be bent as much, but of course they would touch down sooner through the corners. Bit of an eye-watering price too to be honest - Item # 200864803816

Finally, if desperate you could resort to lower profile tyres eg 120/60 front although you could then run then into other handling issues

[AndyL]

I've been standing on the ground rather then the footpeg. Why would a lower centre of gravity make it harder to get off the side stand? The same weight would be moving yes for a given angle.


I've seen the lowering pegs. I thought about lowering them but I thought I'd spend more time getting more relaxed on the bike first (or possibly tinkering with the seat to sit slightly further back)

[noggythenog]

Im a bit confused now....not difficult though :rolleyes


All i know is that the lowered bike sat almost upright on the side stand & was hard (er) to get on the main stand but not impossible & i was a complete newb.......in comparison i have totally jacked the bike up now & it leans way over on the side stand & is almost too easy to get on the main stand.




Andy your original question about will it make it getting upright easier on a slope.....what do you mean???....i mean surely when parking up on a road then you choose the angle to best suit getting off & on the bike & to allow the bike to not fall down......what exact circumstances are you on about....is it campsite scenarios you refer to????.......just that im thinking when lowered the bike is already pretty much upright on the side stand so why dya wanna get it much more so coz youll be going the other way then.








& like the previous thread shows......the hero blobs & then the pegs were seriously focced.....you cant lean as much....but handling is solid within those lean angle limits.




I think im reading this all wrong though i must be so apologies if i aint getting something simple.

[AndyL]

A campsite would be one example. Everytime my Dad has parked it up he's put it on a camber where it leans over a bit more then I tend to leave it. The result is the seat is high compared to where my foot is, I expect this to me harder at a campsite though.


I was assuming if I put longer dogbones on I would need to cut the side stand down so that the bike leans at the same angle. I must admit I hadn't thought too much about getting on the centre stand, I haven't managed to that anyway.

[JoeRock]

Andy, how tall are you? (more importantly inside leg?) The Fazers really not tall or heavy (although appreciate if you've bad knees it might be different) - so it really shouldn't be that difficult to get it off the sidestand even parked on a hill. I'm wondering if it might already have been jacked up? (it is a relatively common mod)

[AndyL]

I'm about 5'7" In some cases I take a short leg in trousers, sometimes get away with regular. I don't have too much trouble once on the bike but due to the joints I'm swinging my leg over the pillion seat.


I'm fairly sure it hasn't been jacked up. I've sat on a couple of FZ6 which seemed to be roughly the same, maybe a touch higher the the XJ6 I sat on.


I'm not heavy but figure there are plenty of women that don't weigh any more then me managing bikes so maybe more practice is needed.