j_rok-84
Junior Member
Does lowering the ride height in the front affect handling? If so how?
Ride height
- Thread starter j_rok-84
- Start date
lawlberg
Booth Babe
Yes.
Bike geometry is tricky.
I'm assuming that you would be doing this by dropping the clamps down on the forks, or raising the forks in the clamps (same thing).
A little change goes a long way. (any changes should be made only a few mm at a time.)
By shortening the forks you will be decreasing the rake angle (difference between 90* and the fork angle) and the trail (distance between where the forks would hit the ground if they were to keep going in the direction they are and the contact patch of the front tire).
Decreasing the rake and trail will do two things, one of these good, one of these bad. Balancing the good and the bad is the trick, and the reason I'm not putting any numbers in here, yet.
I personally have mine raised close to 1 inch, or ~25mm(to allow for clip ons mounted above the triple clamp). The bike is definitely flickable, but it does scare me from time to time, getting a bit loose coming out of a rough corner hard on the gas. I should really invest in a damper, but for now I'll make do shortening my rear shock a little bit.
Most high end sportbikes (the FZ is an economy sport tourer and therefor has a cheap suspension setup) are fitted with steering dampers (dampeners? - semantics). This helps counteract the effect of a tankslapper, by limiting the oscillations caused by an aggressively(read: improperly) setup suspension. Most experts and opinions that I've read have said not to raise the forks more than 10-12mm on the FZ.
If you're thinking about doing this, go on youtube and watch a bunch of videos about tankslappers, read forum posts about tankslappers and try to scare yourself out of doing it, if you still want to make your bike less stable, go ahead.
tl;dr - By lowering your front end (without lowering the rear) you will make your bike less stable. You may notice performance/handling increases. If you decide to do this, be careful and only make small (very small) changes, and investing in a steering damper is never a dumb idea.
Bike geometry is tricky.
I'm assuming that you would be doing this by dropping the clamps down on the forks, or raising the forks in the clamps (same thing).
A little change goes a long way. (any changes should be made only a few mm at a time.)
By shortening the forks you will be decreasing the rake angle (difference between 90* and the fork angle) and the trail (distance between where the forks would hit the ground if they were to keep going in the direction they are and the contact patch of the front tire).
Decreasing the rake and trail will do two things, one of these good, one of these bad. Balancing the good and the bad is the trick, and the reason I'm not putting any numbers in here, yet.
- The bike will be more responsive. It will turn in quicker. Think about what the forks of a cruiser look like - long, large rake angle, big trail, and think about how they handle, not as quick/flickable as a sportbike.
- The bike will be less stable. Think about the wheels on a shopping cart. This is an extreme. Since there is such little trail on these, they like to spin around and wobble. When they get turned backwards they become very unstable and immediately spin around. This effect is increased on uneven surfaces - and is similar to what happens in a tank slapper.
I personally have mine raised close to 1 inch, or ~25mm(to allow for clip ons mounted above the triple clamp). The bike is definitely flickable, but it does scare me from time to time, getting a bit loose coming out of a rough corner hard on the gas. I should really invest in a damper, but for now I'll make do shortening my rear shock a little bit.
Most high end sportbikes (the FZ is an economy sport tourer and therefor has a cheap suspension setup) are fitted with steering dampers (dampeners? - semantics). This helps counteract the effect of a tankslapper, by limiting the oscillations caused by an aggressively(read: improperly) setup suspension. Most experts and opinions that I've read have said not to raise the forks more than 10-12mm on the FZ.
If you're thinking about doing this, go on youtube and watch a bunch of videos about tankslappers, read forum posts about tankslappers and try to scare yourself out of doing it, if you still want to make your bike less stable, go ahead.
tl;dr - By lowering your front end (without lowering the rear) you will make your bike less stable. You may notice performance/handling increases. If you decide to do this, be careful and only make small (very small) changes, and investing in a steering damper is never a dumb idea.
Yes! A couple of thing - but mainly changes the rake angle so turn in is quicker. To a lesser extent it changes the center of gravity cg moving it forward a small amount. Fall in will be effected. Lower the spring setting in the rear if you raise them more than 10 mm.
j_rok-84
Junior Member
Ok thanks guys! I also raised my forks for clip ons but later removed the clip ons and replaced them with the stock bars but I lefties the front lowered...I've never noticed it being unstable though...but how do I lower the rear? Without purchasing a lowering link (if they even make one for this bike)
lawlberg
Booth Babe
You can chop a bit off of the lower mounting part of the shock - assuming you have the tools and can tap the threads in. That'll mimic the 90 dollar inch by inch replacement you can get that is a "true" lowering link. There are threads about it here. Another way is to bump off the preload a bit, this allows for more sag, which sort of lowers the back - though then it does feel mushy in the back.
