implications of moving front end down 1/4"

[redial]

Hello,

quick question for you guys. the PO of my bike had the suspension set up by a "suspension guy" it seems to run very fine. I like it a lot more than my friends monsters setup. Whether thats quality of parts, or the setup itself, i cannot say.

I got new clipons and the retarded things are a lot taller than my old ones, and i didnt realize it until i was about to bolt them on. Basically i need to move the forks up in the triples about 1/4" to get them to fit (gsxr front end btw)

what are the consequences of this on my suspension? should i look into lowering the rear 1/4" as well to even out the "rake" as i say in car terms, not sure if its the same for bikes.

right now the bike SEEMS* taller than my friends 620, and i like the height being 6'2 or so.

any ideas?

thanks in advance guys
-scott

[hypurone]

Basically, that will "quicken" the steering a bit. You may find that this really improves the bike, especially as it "seems" tall to you. There really is no "danger" unless you feel the bike steers too quickly now. Things may be sketchy if it is nervous already.

The other things to check are: do you have room on the forks (ie; they don't taper down and you don't have suitable clamping area) and will you contact anything with the front fender under hard braking...

[redial]

cool, just the info i was looking for. thanks for reminding me to check clearances as well.

i think i have room on the forks, as thats how my last clipons were installed (the gsxr forks are quite a bit taller than stock, and stick out a good deal already)

but i will be sure to check and make sure nothing clips anything else under full suspension compression.

wish me luck! 

[stopintime]

Maybe you would feel better if you measure the length of your fork, compared to stock. Measure from bottom of the lower triple down to the axle. If your set up is similar to, or longer than stock - no problem lowering the front. If the front is already lower than stock - at least be cautious when you learn to ride with a quicker steering response.

I did my rear suspension, which put my bike's rear where it should be (an inch higher) - the front was lowered 10mm to make room for my SpeedyMoto top triple. It was a little scary in the beginning (much quicker), but now I love it.

[Raux]

Maybe you would feel better if you measure the length of your fork, compared to stock. Measure from bottom of the lower triple down to the axle. If your set up is similar to, or longer than stock - no problem lowering the front. If the front is already lower than stock - at least be cautious when you learn to ride with a quicker steering response.

I did my rear suspension, which put my bike's rear where it should be (an inch higher) - the front was lowered 10mm to make room for my SpeedyMoto top triple. It was a little scary in the beginning (much quicker), but now I love it.

yeah i was wondering if you raised the front again or what... so you got used to it? do you have a steering damper?

[redial]

I did my rear suspension, which put my bike's rear where it should be (an inch higher) - the front was lowered 10mm to make room for my SpeedyMoto top triple. It was a little scary in the beginning (much quicker), but now I love it.

erm i think we may have determined where i lost the 1/4" (or at least some) because i was installing a speedymoto triple at the same time as the clipons as well,

I will take some measurements and post up so you guys can comment


edit: ok it was hard to get useful values because my bike is on a rearstand just in front of the rear axle without front controls, and the other was on a sidestand
but...

              triple thickness           middle of axle to top of fork tube         just outer fork tube         ground to bottom of triple       rear axle to grab rail     clipon height
STOCK      just under 1"                              27"                                           18"                                   27"                                18"                   3cm
MY BIKE     just over 1"                            27"                                             19"                                   27"                                 19"                    4cm


so the stand may have moved some of the weight slightly in front of the rear axle, loading the front a little and letting the rear loose a little

but it looks like my rear is a tad higher than stock, and the front forks are longer but they ride lower on the sliders (or maybe just loaded a little due to the stand)
also the forks are slid higher than the top triple to offset both the longer outer tubes, and also the fact that my front tire is a 120/70/17 instead of stock 120/60/17
leaving the height from the ground to the bottom triple the same as stock, or possibly slightly higher due to the load from the stand

[stopintime]

...............................

edit: ok it was hard to get useful values because my bike is on a rearstand just in front of the rear axle without front controls, and the other was on a sidestand
but...

..............................
     
leaving the height from the ground to the bottom triple the same as stock, or possibly slightly higher due to the load from the stand

I couldn't read your chart on my screen, but let's see .....

The other bike, being on a side stand will measure higher because the side stand takes a little load off the front.
Also, how can you measure from the ground up if it was leaning over (on the side stand)?

Let's say you have the right measurement from the ground despite the leaning over issue - you should deduct some height because of the weight taken off the front because of the side stand.

Your measurements, plus my considerations, both indicate that your front is higher than stock - quite a bit higher in fact.
So, you "should" be fine lowering the front to make room for your clip ons. Just be careful while getting used to it.

WARNING:  I'm no expert. This is all "should work" theory. Your measurements might be wrong.
(I'm just trying to follow your thoughts and supply mine. Two heads better than one ??)

[redial]

(I'm just trying to follow your thoughts and supply mine. Two heads better than one ??)

indeed, thats all im asking for, and i appreciate the input. i will try to get a friend to help me stand the stocker so we can get more exact measurements.

and ill try to post a picture once the front is put back together. waiting on a stupid throttle cable from ducati