Lowerin' Wilber

[FJRocket]

When I ordered my Wilber rear shock, I hesitated to get it lowered. Since I'm pretty short and can't touch the ground flat footed, I almost went for the max down. But opted for the stock. Being bored last night, I decided to drop the shock and change it to see what it was like. Propped up the tire on the center stand, off come the dogbones, out comes the lower bolt from the Wilbers. I took a 22mm wrench and loosened the lock nut. Then I removed the yoke off the bottom of the shock. I threaded it back in just to see how far it would go. About 1/2 inch is all I could get. I thought that wasn't very much, but then again, I thought perhaps that wasn't much of a change in the geometry of the bike, so a little may be just enough. I tightened everything back up and took the bike off the centerstand.

Now I can ALMOST touch flat footed. Sitting on the bike feels wierd. The shield seems more in my face (well.. higher) and the bars do seem a bit higher. But my foot position is noticeably better.

The test ride was really nice. Once I settled in on the bike, I felt a bunch more sure footed. The bike did seem a bit wierd at first, but it wasn't a big transition. Feels pretty good the way it is. Probably set the headlights down a bit and ride it this way for a while. Bet I scrape the feelers now, though. I guess they're effectively about 1/4 inch closer to the ground, so it's a high probability.

I was thinking about dropping the front forks down to match the new Wilbers position. The only thing I can see negative about that is getting my horns and the triple tree closer to hitting the Superbrace. Anyone have any thoughts about lowering the fork and resuming the stock geometry? I'm going to try riding a bit without making the change, but I wonder how much, if any, performance change (given my mediocre skills) that I might notice. Also, if anyone has lowered their forks, I'd like to hear about their experiences.

Thanks!

 

[twowheelnut]

A low rider FJR, eh? When do the spinners go on?

All my friends know the low rider

The low rider is a little higher

The low rider drives a little slower

Low rider, is a real goer

Hey

Low rider knows every street, yeah

Low rider, is the one to meet, yeah

Low rider don't use no gas now

The low rider don't drive too fast

Take a little trip, take a little trip

Take a little trip and see

Take a little trip, take a little trip

Take a little trip with me

-War

 

[yamaholic]

Rocket-

Yes, I assure you that matching the front end is the right thing to do! You have effectively shifted the weight rearward which will cause the front end to push in fast curves as well as causing front end braking traction to suffer. The front may seem higher due to less static weight on the front end, thus the springs will push the front end higher.

You have a few options.

1.) Minimize spring preload up front. Not really the best option, IMO.

2.) Raise forks in the clamps about 8mm. Yes, you do run the risk of the brace tagging the right side of the inner fairing, right next to battery. I did this well (for other reasons) and it did touch down when hitting my driveway "bump" while turning left. They never touched the horns. You can compensate by stiffening the springs back up. I have since put them back to the stock position as I was concerned (very, concerned) about rupturing the battery.

3.) Ask Wilburs, Ohlins, or race tech to make you a set of custom lowering springs. Shouldn't be that expensive. However, I'm afraid it may have the same effect as #2 above. You could also cut down the fork springs, but I'm afraid I can't really help with measurements or how to do this correctly.

What you did on the wilburs was alter the ride height. That 1/2 of threaded area translates to much more due to the linkage translating that into wheel movement. If you look at how much travel the shock shaft has, this is much smaller than the wheel travel. Now you didn't change this, only the shock lenght, but the effect is the same. Normally you go the other way to increase front end traction for better handling (which is what I will do shortly) or to balance out the front springs.

My advice is to put it back to stock, bring your riding boots into a custom shoe maker and ask them to extend your sole so that you can get a foot or two down. A Dr. Scholl insole (the gel type) may also help by 1/4" or so, provided your boots are big enough inside to keep your foot happy. Another option is a custom seat with a lower overall height with a thinner side profile so that you aren't standing there bowlegged. Then again, I'm 6'2", so I'm only speaking from what I've read, not experience on the shoe/dr scholl/seat pieces.

You definitely do not want this setup as is for the upcoming Ohio Spring Ramble (OFR)! I know there are not a lot of curves out your way to test locally, but I promise that you'll need all the front end traction you can muster on the OFR as there will be uphill, downhill, off camber, and deceptive curves that will require the suspension to be balanced. I guess that is my point..right now you are very out of balance on the suspension.

 

[FJRocket]

Thanks for that, Yammy. The front end does feel a bit lighter and I understand what you are saying. Although I had no technical knowledge of what would happen leaving the back end down and the front end stock, I had an idea that there would be consequences with a geometry change, which is why I got the Wilbers as stock.

I may lower the forks 8 or so mm and see what happens. I'll be sure to stiffen up the front end a bit. Maybe raise the rear up a little, too. After I settle into my saddle, I can touch pretty much flat footed. It's a nice sensation, and I may try to keep it. Rather touch tippy toes than get platforms, though. I'm pretty much used to it, but still would like to get a good foot down if possible.

I don't have high hopes of being able to hang with you guys in Ohio, anyway. You bet I'm gonna be taking no chances regardless of my setup.

Anyone gone through the same process and had the above mentioned consequences?

 

[Mogan]

I'm another vertically challenged fella and I bought my Wilbers lowered 30mm. This turned out to be too much so we adjusted it upward (not sure exactly how much).

To balance the front end I we played with a few different fork adjustments, settling on a 6mm adjustment (raising the forks through the triple clamp). Handles very nicely as far as I can tell.

 

[FJRocket]

Ok, I lowered the forks about 8 mm. We'll see how that works. It sure doesn't take very long to make these changes. I'll carry my tools and have it all well tested before the Fall Ramble in Ohio.

 

[Mogan]

One good piece of advice I got was to move slowly in making adjustments. A mm or two can make a big different in handling.

If you're a movie fan, name this picture:

"...small moves Ellie. Small moves."

 

[FJRocket]

One good piece of advice I got was to move slowly in making adjustments. A mm or two can make a big different in handling.
If you're a movie fan, name this picture:

"...small moves Ellie. Small moves."

Contact. Love that show.

Well, I already made the big move in the rear end, now it's time to see if I'm able to compensate in the front without screwing things up. Especially ME!

 

[Mogan]

GOOD MAN! One of my favorite movies.

Bonus lines:

[when riding my FJR] ... I had an experience!

**********

Are you suggesting the remaining 95% of us are delusional? [hell yes!]

 

[FJRocket]

Having set my Wilber rear shock short as possible (1/2 inch shorter), I dropped the Forks about 8-9 mm to "balance: the bike. Test rode it. Seemed fine. Went for "the big test ride" to MO for a rally. Now what I notice is that when I get hard into a turn, the handlebars want to wagle a bit. I was told that it is due to the rearend coming up and down. Besides the ultimate solution to raise the rear end back up to fix this anomalie, what would be the best shock adjustment to fix the problem? On the Wilbers is it just a Matter of clicking back the dampening on the rear, or should I lower the front a touch more?

 

[smitty141]

Matt, just watch your battery. The fork guards on your superbrace might hit the bottom of your battery. Don't ask how I know this...(I removed mine) Smitty