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Its all about the links - its lowered!

MotoZen

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Decided to lower my NC, got tired of shifting my body when stopping and ballerina toe-ing when backing up parking. It was so worth it! The bike is shorter person friendly now & its comfortable. I'm pretty happy.
 
What links did you get,and did you lower the front well? Have you noticed any negative effects on handling?

I lowered mine last year (Lust Racing 40mm lowering links) and dropped the triple tree down 1/2" on the front. I haven't noticed any negative effects on mine yet. The only thing that I can think of is the foot pegs scraping in a corner when the suspension compresses and my girlfriend is on the back. I usually ride with the full Honda luggage set too.
 
I lowered mine awhile back too. I used Soupy's adjustable links and lowered the front as well. It's about 3/4" lower than stock. Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems to ride better. It's probably just that I feel more comfortable being able to flat foot it now, and the fact that the center of gravity is even lower than before.
 
Do you have center stand, and if so, does it scrape or hit before your pegs? I'm thinking of lowering mine with the Lust 40mm links but want to be sure the center stand or other hard parts aren't touching down before my pegs. Thanks.
 
Do you have center stand, and if so, does it scrape or hit before your pegs? I'm thinking of lowering mine with the Lust 40mm links but want to be sure the center stand or other hard parts aren't touching down before my pegs. Thanks.

I just put on a center stand (which I want to swap for a 700S stand now if anyone is interested) so I will report back once I get some time in the saddle. And my girlfriend is visiting this weekend so I will try to get her to hop on too to test for weight.
 
Just eyeballing it, it looks like the pegs would hit first.

Edit: I have been curious about this myself so I propped the bike upright and put a piece of plywood up against the tires and tilted it up to see what would hit first. Definitely the pegs followed by the side stand lever, then the center stand. In the following photos the peg is about 1/16th of an inch off the plywood, the side stand lever is about 3/4" and the lowest point of the center stand is about 2-1/4". Nice to know the peg will give you the first warning.

20160430_173751.jpg

20160430_174602.jpg
 
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Its funny that you say it improved the ride, it certainly did on mine and I actually find it much more comfortable. I haven't noticed too much of a difference in handling, but that may be just due to the fact that I am feeling more confident on it and struggling to get a solid footing every time I stop or park. My husband said he thought it handles better as well. I am so glad I did this. I ran it through some tight intricate cone layouts the other day and boy was it fun!

I ordered Lust racing links and it was a good farkle purchase.
 
Side stand was easy, I had it cut and the guy even painted it, cost me $60, I don't have a centerstand, it would be a bit of a monster for me to haul it up onto it. But have to say lowering it made a difference.
 
I cut the side stand myself and welded a new (bigger) base plate on it. Didn't bother doing anything to the center stand. I just keep a small 2x4 block with me to roll the rear tire onto in case I need to get it up on the center stand.
 
I bought Lust racings links from the UK - they were cheaper even with shipping and duty than buying them here. I actually found the handling to be much better and funnily it made the seat more comfortable. I didn't lower the front, because we didn't drop it down that much. I went and did some police handling exercise cone layouts and I was whipping the NC around like it was a 250 and I actually find it to be more stable at higher speeds on the highway.
 
Yesterday I've received Lust Racing 30mm (1.2in) lowering links and, after honey do list, I've went on and installed them. It was quite tricky without a center stand and proper jack. I ended up strapping both sides of the bike to opposite walls and used scissor jack from the car to raise the bike. Once the new links were in place, I've also raised forks by 13mm (~ 1/2in).
I could not resist, so before Thanksgiving dinner I went to my favorite stretch of road to test the bike. With 30" inseam I can almost flat foot it. My first impression is that the bike shrunk overall, not just in height. When pushing, the front felt just a touch lighter, but that is not my concern since I do not ride past 70% of my ability. At lower speeds I felt more in control. Naturally, it is much easier to duck-walk the bike.
Most likely I will need to do something about the kickstand, even though, compared to stock CB300F, the bike leans more even after the adjustments.
Overall I like the change, since I will never take this bike off road. If I ever go off road, it will be on something like xt250.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Lust Racing.jpg

Lowering Fork.jpg

Glencoe.jpg
 
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I have some chinese adjustable lowering links from ebay on the back. I lowered the rear the max you could without the tire hitting the inner fender. I drag hard bits (center stand) when my son is on the back. When I tried to lower the front, I immediately started smacking my sump on speed bumps. Back to stock for the forks for me...
 
[...I am feeling more confident on it and (not) struggling to get a solid footing every time I stop or park...I am so glad I did this. I ran it through some tight intricate cone layouts the other day and boy was it fun!...]


I was an MSF instructor from 1992-2006 and I know that confidence can make a HUGE difference in a student's comfort level. And part of that is not having to worry about falling over when you come to a stop. Good for you and Happy Thanksgiving!
 
[...Just eyeballing it, it looks like the pegs would hit first...]

I have Soupy's Adjustable Links and I don't ride with the inside edge of my boot flush with the engine case, so in a tight turn the first thing to rub is the outside of my boot. And it seems like it happens more often in slow stuff, like making a U-turn on a narrow road, than it does in the twisties at speed.
 
All the FLATFOOTING talk I hear. Just as long as I can get both feet down! --

But yeah, one should feel confident about this. I see bullies on dualsport forums who insist anybody who does anything to lower a bike or WISHES they had a lower bike available, is a sissy. I'd really like to beat those guys senseless sometimes...
 
All the FLATFOOTING talk I hear. Just as long as I can get both feet down! --

But yeah, one should feel confident about this. I see bullies on dualsport forums who insist anybody who does anything to lower a bike or WISHES they had a lower bike available, is a sissy. I'd really like to beat those guys senseless sometimes...
I hear ya, usually these guys have height on their side and aren't 5'3" and don't have to do acrobatics in traffic when stopping. So annoying.
 
I bought Lust racings links from the UK - they were cheaper even with shipping and duty than buying them here. I actually found the handling to be much better and funnily it made the seat more comfortable. I didn't lower the front, because we didn't drop it down that much. I went and did some police handling exercise cone layouts and I was whipping the NC around like it was a 250 and I actually find it to be more stable at higher speeds on the highway.

yep. rear wheel sits lower and so the seat. same thing,but i made my own links. the drop is a bit smaller so i won't have problem with side stand and center stand.
yeah...and all this "bike geometry" scare is a nonsense
 
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