Front fork raise - step by step report with pics

[mokusbajusz]

required tools: 10 mm wrench, vernier caliper
http://lh5.google.com/image/registr1234/RiemRccYY3I/AAAAAAAAA4M/p6Z-Ucz-06Q/s800/P4150181.jpg

while on center stand, support the bike with a jack or a suitable log so the front tyre does not touch the ground
http://lh3.google.com/image/registr1234/RiemQ8cYY2I/AAAAAAAAA4E/iNLbTvh0e_E/s800/P4150180.jpg

measure the initial stock setting, so later you can set it back if needed
http://lh3.google.com/image/registr1234/RiemR8cYY4I/AAAAAAAAA4U/QPVdOwnH_90/s800/P4150182.jpg

maximum possible raise is about 1.5 inch
http://lh5.google.com/image/registr1234/RiemQccYY1I/AAAAAAAAA38/hkUzWK_4Ryw/s800/P4150179.jpg

first loosen the lower screws of the fork
http://lh5.google.com/image/registr1234/RiemPccYYyI/AAAAAAAAA3k/NLoJH8BfGYk/s800/P4150174.jpg

secondly loosen the upper fastening screw
set both forks to EXACTLY the same height, be careful to avoid hitting the handlebar with the spring preload setting screw
http://lh5.google.com/image/registr1234/RiemTccYY8I/AAAAAAAAA40/i0d4s_1aNqU/s800/P4150188.jpg

secure the fork fastening screws in reverse order

ensure the new setting does not obstruct the free travel of the fork

Click here (http://picasaweb.google.com/registr1234/FrontForkRaisingDL650VStromK6) for entire album.

[Fourvalve]

Thanks for How-To and pix!!![/i]

[nighthawk]

Nice report and pics, but.............what exactly is accomplished by doing this?

[mokusbajusz]

Nice report and pics, but.............what exactly is accomplished by doing this?

I tried to lower the bike as most of the folks do here who have 30" or even shorter inseam like I do. I do not have lowering links yet, so I started with the front as that does not have negative impact on the bike's behaviour.
And I thought if I put a report here it can be useful for someone else who also fight with our lovely monster. To be honest it made not a big difference in "flat footing" but the curving behaviour become better. So my next project will be the lowering link. Of course with a report such as this one.

[BlueLghtning]

Nice report and pics, but.............what exactly is accomplished by doing this?

I tried to lower the bike as most of the folks do here who have 30" or even shorter inseam like I do. I do not have lowering links yet, so I started with the front as that does not have negative impact on the bike's behaviour.
And I thought if I put a report here it can be useful for someone else who also fight with our lovely monster. To be honest it made not a big difference in "flat footing" but the curving behaviour become better. So my next project will be the lowering link. Of course with a report such as this one.

What makes you think it doesn't impact the bikes behavior? Maybe not totally negative, but you just changed the entire geometry (rack & trail) of the front end of your bike. I'm a new strom owner myself, but I've got lots of experience on the track and with full fledge sportbikes. Dropping the front like you did quickens the steering and tends to make the bike more unstable at speed. If you get too far, you totally loose the feel of the front in the truns.

Now, granted the strom has no where near the aggressiveness of a rake as a sportbike, so you probbably won't see too much, but I just didn't want to you to think or give others a false impression that what you changed did not affect the bike in some shape or form. Exactly how much is the true question. 1.5" seems like a lot when I could tell 5mm on some of my bikes when I changed the fork height.

Nice write up though on how you did it.

[foot]

I would think lowering the front a bit would help the cornering considerably.. I come from a sportbike/track background as well, and while the Strom does pretty good 'for what it is' in the corners, i found myself plowing the front end mid corner-exit, when opening the throttle.
1.5" seems like a ton, but i'd guess that the strom is much less sensitive to the adjustment than pure sportbikes.

[mokusbajusz]

What makes you think it doesn't impact the bikes behavior? Maybe not totally negative, but you just changed the entire geometry (rack & trail) of the front end of your bike. I'm a new strom owner myself, but I've got lots of experience on the track and with full fledge sportbikes. Dropping the front like you did quickens the steering and tends to make the bike more unstable at speed. If you get too far, you totally loose the feel of the front in the truns. Now, granted the strom has no where near the aggressiveness of a rake as a sportbike, so you probbably won't see too much, but I just didn't want to you to think or give others a false impression that what you changed did not affect the bike in some shape or form.
I agree with you that I have changed the geometry. I did not stated I haven't. If it seems I gave false impressions other, I am sorry, didn't want to.
Exactly how much is the true question. 1.5" seems like a lot when I could tell 5mm on some of my bikes when I changed the fork height.

Well maybe I was not enough clear, but check it again I wrote "maximum possible raise is about 1.5 inch". I wanted to say this is the allowed maximum without hitting the triangle by the lower part of the fork when it moves up.
I did not raise it so much, only by 15 mm (0.59") and maybe because I am not so experienced as you are I do not feel too much difference in the behaviour.

[mokusbajusz]

i found myself plowing the front end mid corner-exit, when opening the throttle. I felt something similar before (a bit less) but also after (a bit more) the raise. Anyhow maybe my bad english will not allow to express well but that is a BIG difference in curving behaviour compared to my prevoius bike the VF 500 (Interceptor in the US). When I went into a curve with the Honda I usually released a bit the throttle (engine brake), the bike fell down without any help or body movement. From the middle of the curve slowly opening the throttle the bike started to stand up, also without any other trick. When I only cruised in a curve (no brake, no acceleration) the bike just followed the line. This kind of curving behavoiur I have never experienced on the DL neither before nor after the raise of the forks. It curves absolutely neutral wether you brake, cruise or accelerate. For me it is a bit (a LOT) strange and need to get used to it. I always need to play with it to keep her on the line because I always wait for the fall down or stand up. Well after some (hundreds or thousands of) miles it will become the natural behaviour and the other will be strange.
I have never been educated by any track-expert biker, so I wrote it surely not workmanlike but these are my observations, after 15 years and some thousands of miles of riding a few machines.

[grimel]

What makes you think it doesn't impact the bikes behavior? Maybe not totally negative, but you just changed the entire geometry (rack & trail) of the front end of your bike. I'm a new strom owner myself, but I've got lots of experience on the track and with full fledge sportbikes. Dropping the front like you did quickens the steering and tends to make the bike more unstable at speed. If you get too far, you totally loose the feel of the front in the truns.

Supposedly, dropping the front 1/2 in makes it more stable in a crosswind and quickens the turning. I dunno, but, it's a "common" modification to get the V railing the corners better and felling like it's planted better on the slabs.

It's on here somewhere.

[zed88]

Wow! Dropped the front 3/4" of a inch after lowering the rear 1 1/4" of a inch. What a amazing difference on the road. Wow its like a whole new bike. I"m glad I did it and strongly suggest everyone else who uses lowering links balance out the front.

[Mc2guy]

I have experimented with different levels of fork raising and found about 16mm to be perfect for me (about 5/8"). My reasoning for the mod was to move more weight forward onto the front wheel. I have long (think gorilla) arms so the stock set up had me feeling like I was "hanging" on to the bars. I raised the forks in conjunction with a lower handle bar (moose cr). The combination has affected the handling tremendously and allows me to ride the bike more like a sport tourer, and less like a dirt tracker. In other words, I can carry more speed through the turn now whereas previously it was much slower into the turn with massive throttle out, getting the rear wheel squirrely (sp?).

It is also much more confortable to me to have my weight slightly forward and into the wind instead of straight up and down which puts stress on my back, abs, and especially my neck.

I have the rear at max preload to accomodate my weight (and I need to get some raising links). You may loose a mm or two in clearance, but being able to ride the bike with more weight on the front alleviates the loss and I barely if ever touch a peg feeler despite riding fairly quickly in the twisties.

As others have said...it's no sport bike, but it can handle its own in the curves at sane speeds. Best of all you can hop a curb when necessary w/out to much drama.

[TexasShadow]

Wow! Dropped the front 3/4" of a inch after lowering the rear 1 1/4" of a inch. What a amazing difference on the road. Wow its like a whole new bike. I"m glad I did it and strongly suggest everyone else who uses lowering links balance out the front.
I just did the exact same last weekend. But now I can't get the bike up on the centerstand. It is too vertical on the sidestand for my comfort. I know a gust of Texas wind would knock it over.

I'm a whopping 126 lb dripping wet and dont weigh enough to push-foot the lever down and get it on the centerstand :(
(lowering the chassis has altered the geometry of the bike and changed the leverage of the centerstand).

Suggestions??

[greywolf]

to make sure all of your weight is on the lever, pick the other foot off the ground. that also gets your body in the right place. most people stand too far away from the bike. i was able to put a full dress 1100 yamaha on the center stand back when i weighed 155lbs. another trick is to keep your arm extended and straighten your body to lift. sometimes that means finding a different place to grab the bike.

[mokusbajusz]

Listen to Greywolf TexasShadow!

I do the same.
Put my whole bodyweight on the stand's lever with my left foot picked off the ground and grab the luggage rack's handle. The far you grab the bike from its front the easier to pull it. Avoid to pull the the bike back grabbing the handlebar just use your weight and do like a spring that would pushes away the bike's rear end and the lever. Your body is the spring.

[Paper]

5/8" to 1 1/2"?!?!?!?!?!
I thought the typical amount was less than 1/4"??

I've yet to make my change (bikes in the shop for TB sync and valve adjust) but plan do the change as soon as I get it back.. I think I'll look at 1/2" to start..

I'm after the change to help steering.. I'm double of TexasShadow's weight, and have long legs, so it's not a lowering issue by any means..

[Cheff]

I'm a whopping 126 lb dripping wet and dont weigh enough to push-foot the lever down and get it on the centerstand :(
Suggestions??

I don't have a center stand on my V, but I have had a few big bikes with CS. I have always put the bike on the stand while standing on the side of it, not while on it.

My Buddie got a V-max recently and could not get it up on the stand, he was trying to do it while straddling the bike. I had a good laugh watching this 250lbs guy trying to wrestle the V-max on to the stand. I got up side of it, put my foot on that stand and stood on it, up it went with hardly any effort. I only weigh 180, so weight has nothing to do with it. Its finesse that gets a bike up on the CS. :)

[zed88]

I'm 150 lbs and can get the bike (while lowered front and back) up on the centerstand with almost no effort. Its all about the technique used. If your having to muscle it up your doing something wrong.

This is from nebcom.com
"Ever the problem for the beginner, it's always worse for the short rider who has little leverage, and often lacks the strength to muscle a bike onto the stand. Take heart: ANY centerstand can be conquered with technique and timing. Many tall and strong riders never develop a technique and just rely on brute force.

Centerstanding is a whole topic and flame war unto itself, so just a rough outline of a basic method follows.

- Lower the bike's centerstand with your right foot until both "feet" of the centerstand touch the ground. You may need to let the bike go over to its right farther than feels right!

- Left hand on the handlebar, right hand on a grab spot by the seat, press with your right foot as though you are stepping down, and guide the bike backward, not so much up.

- When it reaches its highest point, press even harder with your foot and pull backward.

Imagine that there is a STRAIGHT LINE from the point where your toe hits the centerstand lug to the point where your hand is. Simply increase the LENGTH of the straight line and think of nothing else.

You can't, and shouldn't, *lift* the bike onto the centerstand. With practice, you'll be able to feel when the bike is at the high point where giving it an extra push will get it onto the centerstand. Every bike is different, too. Keep at it, try every time you park the bike, and eventually you *will* be able to do it every time."

Maybe we shoudl take some pictures. All I can say is stand close to the bike, and just push back and not up.

Let us know how it goes.

[Dale Walker]

I lowered Mine 15 mm and it turns quicker and handles great, try that.


Also be sure to torque all the pinch bolts not just crank down on them with a box end. Thats ok to lightly snug but not to tighten.


Use a small 3/8 th drive torque wrench

16 to 18 ft lbs is fine


Dale


:wink:

[BillJones270]

Nice writeup!

[ImOk]

Wow! Dropped the front 3/4" of a inch after lowering the rear 1 1/4" of a inch. What a amazing difference on the road. Wow its like a whole new bike. I"m glad I did it and strongly suggest everyone else who uses lowering links balance out the front.

Just curious. How did the lowering links affect the sidestand? Does it set the bike at a different angle?

[LarryB]

Just curious. How did the lowering links affect the sidestand? Does it set the bike at a different angle?

I just lowered mine, and the sidestand does leave the bike fairly upright. My next move is to grind a bit off the stand where it contacts the stop, which will allow the stand to rotate farther forward and allow the bike to lean a little more. I suppose another method would be to grind some off the foot of the stand, although you'd have to be careful with that.

Someone mentioned this problem and solution on another thread. The reason to grind the stand itself rather than the stop is so that if you were to put the bike back up to stock height, you could replace the stand and return to the original lean.

My links lowered the rear about 2", and I dropped the forks about 22mm. So I've probably slowed down my steering some, but I'm not much of a corner carver anyway. I did dial some preload back into the rear since I'm such a fatty-fat-fatso.

[greywolf]

The part containing the stop is also replaceable and less expensive than the stand.

http://images.powersportsnetwork.com/fiche/images/Suzuki/2002/Motorcycles/7229_36.gif

[zenwhipper]

Here is an article on quickening the V-Strom handling:

http://www.motorcycledaily.com/14may03vstromlongterm2.htm

They indeed raised the forks by 15mm (5/8") to quicken things up.

Scott

[jawmail]

Do you need to take the fairing off for this or can you raise the forks w/o removing the fairing

[SCraig]

Do you need to take the fairing off for this or can you raise the forks w/o removing the fairing
Nah, just reach down in there with a 10mm socket. The bottom bolts were easier for me to get to from the bottom but the others can be reached from the top.

[shelbyclay]

Lowering my 650 helped a lot in getting my feet planted. With 28 inch inseam, I need all the help I can get. I did not get the full effects though, until I lowered the front an inch and a half too. I love it now
that I can back it out of the garage while sitting on it.
I had to chop the kick stand all the way to the loup and grind some off the stop before I was satisfied that it was parked securely. Had the local mufflershop weld a large washer to the end so it wouldn't dig into the ground.

My son tried it and put the 1 inch links on his DL-1000.

I bet I could put the kickstand down from the far side of the bike now if I had to.
http://www.stromtrooper.com/forums/showpost.php?p=106680&postcount=37