tribal
Moto Hobo Gypsy Vagabond
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2006
- Messages
- 889
- Ride
- 2005 Rocket III & 2015 Rocket III Roadster
This write up is dedicated to those who did this mod before me - BusaJack, Sully, RiderRocketMan, Step1 & others.
The purposes of lowering a bike are many but by lowering the front end you should increase cornering agility. Do this mod at your own risk though
and you should never make drastic changes and try to push the limits - go slow and make incremental adjustments...
Steps to lower your rocket:
1. Research, select & install your shorter rear shocks (or not). See other posts for replacing rear shocks. Mine were 1/2" lower than stock for my
shorter inseam.
2. Place lift under engine and lift the bike just enough to take the pressure off of the
front forks - do not raise it too far (forks should still be partially compressed).
3. If you have a wind screen fixing kit that attaches to the forks you will need to loosen the bolts to allow the forks to raise up. Here is an example - loosen
bolts A and B on the left and right side or remove them altogether if you wish until you get the forks set where you want them.
4. Loosen the 6 fork pinch bolts depicted as C, D, and E in this photo (repeat for left & right side). Depending on the amount of pressure the forks should rise up within the triple tree.
5. Slowly lower the bike until the forks (shown as item F) reach the desired
distance to be lowered (G in photo). You should set one side, snug it down, adjust the other, and then tighten all 6 bolts to spec.
6. Tighten up wind screen fixing kit if that applies to your situation.
Take a test drive and repeat steps 2-6 until the optimal lowering height is reached.
This is another view with 3/8" lowered front forks (will go more):
Others have gone down to 1.5" or more.
Again, use caution when making modifications that impact the handling characteristics of your ride.
The purposes of lowering a bike are many but by lowering the front end you should increase cornering agility. Do this mod at your own risk though
and you should never make drastic changes and try to push the limits - go slow and make incremental adjustments...
Steps to lower your rocket:
1. Research, select & install your shorter rear shocks (or not). See other posts for replacing rear shocks. Mine were 1/2" lower than stock for my
shorter inseam.
2. Place lift under engine and lift the bike just enough to take the pressure off of the
front forks - do not raise it too far (forks should still be partially compressed).
3. If you have a wind screen fixing kit that attaches to the forks you will need to loosen the bolts to allow the forks to raise up. Here is an example - loosen
bolts A and B on the left and right side or remove them altogether if you wish until you get the forks set where you want them.
4. Loosen the 6 fork pinch bolts depicted as C, D, and E in this photo (repeat for left & right side). Depending on the amount of pressure the forks should rise up within the triple tree.
5. Slowly lower the bike until the forks (shown as item F) reach the desired
distance to be lowered (G in photo). You should set one side, snug it down, adjust the other, and then tighten all 6 bolts to spec.
6. Tighten up wind screen fixing kit if that applies to your situation.
Take a test drive and repeat steps 2-6 until the optimal lowering height is reached.
This is another view with 3/8" lowered front forks (will go more):
Others have gone down to 1.5" or more.
Again, use caution when making modifications that impact the handling characteristics of your ride.