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Lowering 81 gs550l help!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cpdbld613
  • Start date Start date
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Cpdbld613

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The wife is on her toes when she sits on it so i was wondering what years/sizes shocks i could use to drop it a couple of inches
 
Cpdbld613 said:
The wife is on her toes when she sits on it so i was wondering what years/sizes shocks i could use to drop it a couple of inches
Click to expand...
Do you have the shock preload turned all the way to it's lowest setting? Bottom of the shock, stick an allen wrench in the hole and turn it. You can also drop the forks in the triple trees an inch without affecting the geometry too much. On my wife's 550T we had to reupholster the seat, so we narrowed it a little, which will help some and you can also shave a little of the top.
 
Yes, narrowing the front of the seat a bit will let her reach the ground without spreading legs so wide, but won't affect comfort while riding.

If you do want to change the suspension, here is what I did: we got Hagon shocks that are 1 inch shorter from Dave Quinn Motorsports. Then we slid the forks up in the triple clamps a bit to balance it out. My wife's 850L is now a full inch, maybe an inch and a half, lower.

CAUTION: you will reduce cornering clearance a bit, so be careful there. Also, the bike will be harder to lift onto the center stand, and will stand up straighter on the side stand. We had 1.25" removed from the centerstand and .5" from the side stand, it's all good now. :encouragement:

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Thanks steve I'll. Look into thoseshocks i was trying to keep things cheap im hoping shocks from a smaller bike will swap over
 
The problem with "shocks from a smaller bike" is that the springs will be weaker and the damping will be inadequate. Yeah, the bike will ride lower but will likely bounce like a pogo stick.

Much better to use proper springs and damping on a shorter shock body. Hagon shocks run about $215.

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