How low can you lower?

[bikergrl76]

I just got my 09 FZ6R in! I'm so excited to be upgrading from the Ninja 500r.

Unfortunately I've a short inseam & need to lower this bike. I've seen a lot of people mention the Roaring Toyz lowering link. Does anyone know of any other lowering links out there that may lower it just a tad bit more than the 1.75"? Or if, once the front is adjusted as well, that lowers it even a little more ? I will be purchasing a riding boot with a bit of heel on it to help make up any difference, but would rather be able to lower it enough then search for a higher heel.

And for the smarties out there - I can't grow. I don't want a moped or a toy bike

Thanx for any info!

 

[yillbs]

I just got my 09 FZ6R in! I'm so excited to be upgrading from the Ninja 500r.

Unfortunately I've a short inseam & need to lower this bike. I've seen a lot of people mention the Roaring Toyz lowering link. Does anyone know of any other lowering links out there that may lower it just a tad bit more than the 1.75"? Or if, once the front is adjusted as well, that lowers it even a little more ? I will be purchasing a riding boot with a bit of heel on it to help make up any difference, but would rather be able to lower it enough then search for a higher heel.

And for the smarties out there - I can't grow. I don't want a moped or a toy bike

Thanx for any info!

just grow a little....

 

[MistahT]

I have the front dropped about 1.5 inches with no drop in the rear. I like the way the bike feels. However, at high speeds it feels a little twitchy, so I'm going to raise mine up to 1 inch. I wouldn't go lower than that without a rear link.

 

[latony007]

I wanted to lower too but heard conflicting reports on it and I can get to the balls of my feet so I left it. I would like to have done 1 inch though. 1.75 I would have to think if not the max would be close to it. Your pegs starting getting close to the ground at that point and I hear the handling is affected but I dounbt its anything we would notice unless your a track rider.

 

[bikergrl76]

just grow a little....

oh believe me I so wish I could!! I'm thinking I need to find a device that will stretch my legs out ha ha

 

[latony007]

oh believe me I so wish I could!! I'm thinking I need to find a device that will stretch my legs out ha ha

Nah, I say screw tall people! I can lay out in almost any car seat and go to sleep and don't even get me started on airplane seats. How tall people fly is beyond me. Im squished at 5-6.

 

[MistahT]

I wanted to lower too but heard conflicting reports on it and I can get to the balls of my feet so I left it. I would like to have done 1 inch though. 1.75 I would have to think if not the max would be close to it. Your pegs starting getting close to the ground at that point and I hear the handling is affected but I dounbt its anything we would notice unless your a track rider.

Well, my bike leans over a lot more than it used to for the same turn. At low speeds this can be very noticeable. Most riding not an issue, but in cold, wet, and with leaves and stuff you're over farther, better chance of dumping. You can compensate with body position like I do if it bothers you.

 

[JT]

you can lower the front end safely id say at about .5 to .75 of on inch. the rear just go with what the lowering link recommends

 

[bikergrl76]

Nah, I say screw tall people! I can lay out in almost any car seat and go to sleep and don't even get me started on airplane seats. How tall people fly is beyond me. Im squished at 5-6.

ha ha that is true! My husband sits squished in the airplane glaring at me, as I curl up in a ball and sit/sleep so comfortably (I'm 5'0)
It's just when it comes to buying a bike, being a bit taller would make it so much easier - it'd be nice to just get on & go.

 

[latony007]

ha ha that is true! My husband sits squished in the airplane glaring at me, as I curl up in a ball and sit/sleep so comfortably (I'm 5'0)
It's just when it comes to buying a bike, being a bit taller would make it so much easier - it'd be nice to just get on & go.

I hear you, with a decent pair of boots im good to go most the time, its just backing up that's kind of a pain. at 5-0 im not sure how you handle stops, even on one foot youd have to slide over pretty far. I would def. put in the link at that height and lower the forks in the front to match. Id also look at shaving the seat. you probably weigh nothing so you don't need all that foam lol.

 

[bikergrl76]

I hear you, with a decent pair of boots im good to go most the time, its just backing up that's kind of a pain. at 5-0 im not sure how you handle stops, even on one foot youd have to slide over pretty far. I would def. put in the link at that height and lower the forks in the front to match. Id also look at shaving the seat. you probably weigh nothing so you don't need all that foam lol.

with my last bike we lowered it enough, that with my boots on, I was able to put both balls of the feet down and was comfortable with it....as well as shaved some of that seat out. I definitely have to lower it - I'll check on shaving the seat a little to, it just didn't seem like there was enough to not end up sitting on a board.....that's no fun no matter how much you weigh ha ha

 

[nismos14]

The roaring toys is probably as low as you can go. You can take the seat off flip it over and remove the rubber grommets to remove a little bit more of the seat height as well. Problem with this bike is that it's wide in the upper seat area. I had to lower my FZ6R as I'm just 5'3 with a 28.5" inseam. I upgraded to a GSX-R and without lowering can just about flat foot it. Huge difference.

 

[bikergrl76]

The roaring toys is probably as low as you can go. You can take the seat off flip it over and remove the rubber grommets to remove a little bit more of the seat height as well. Problem with this bike is that it's wide in the upper seat area. I had to lower my FZ6R as I'm just 5'3 with a 28.5" inseam. I upgraded to a GSX-R and without lowering can just about flat foot it. Huge difference.

How did you fit on the FZ after you lowered it? Is the GSX-R as comfortable? I heard they are a killer on the back....

 

[nismos14]

How did you fit on the FZ after you lowered it? Is the GSX-R as comfortable? I heard they are a killer on the back....

Not too bad, the problem then was the sheer weight of the FZ. I couldn't completely flat foot still.

The GSXR IS a lot more aggressive but you get used to it. The GSXR is no where near as comfortable, but I love it. I do a ton of core exercises in the gym so that helps a lot.

 

[latony007]

How did you fit on the FZ after you lowered it? Is the GSX-R as comfortable? I heard they are a killer on the back....

you can also take out the plate that gives you the h/l position. between taking that out and the rubber gromets you get about 1/2 inch.

 

[rregal]

Lowering the FZ6R

I lowered my 2009 FZ6R front forks 1 7/8 ” to accommodate my woodcraft clip-ons that replaced the handlebar. I lowered the rear 1 3/4 ” to accommodate my 30 inch inseam with a Soupy lowering link. I have had the FZ6R up to 128 mph in the lowered configuration with no problems with stability. Low speed stability is better losing 5 lbs of high weight by replacing the steel handlebars and mounts with the aluminum clip-ons and losing another 5 lbs high weight by switching to a lithium battery achieving a lower center of gravity. I weigh 185 lbs and have my rear shock on number 4 which has decreased my sag in the rear. If you weigh 150 lbs or less my suggestion to you is that you change your rear shock setting to 2 or 1 from the factory setting of 3. This will increase sag in the rear allowing your feet to get closer to the ground at a stop. If you do lower both ends you will need to replace your kickstand for a lower one. I replaced mine with a T-Rex adjustable version. Do a google search ( the forums search engine not so good) and search on “FZ6R Lowered”, “FZ6R Lowering Link” and you should find all the instructions needed to accomplish this project in the FZ6R forum. My FZ6R was a swan before lowing it, now it’s a hawk.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q_SQmcPSd8"]HD How-to Adjust rear-spring preload on a Yamaha FZ6R - and test ride - YouTube[/ame]

 

[latony007]

I lowered my 2009 FZ6R front 1 7/8 ” to accommodate my woodcraft clip-ons that replaced the handlebar. I lowered the rear 1 3/4 ” to accommodate my 30 inch inseam. I have had the FZ6R up to 128 mph in the lowered configuration with no problems with stability. Low speed stability is better losing 5 lbs of high weight by replacing the steel handlebars and mounts with the aluminum clip-ons and losing another 5 lbs high weight by switching to a lithium battery achieving a lower center of gravity. I weigh 185 lbs and have my rear shock on number 4 which has decreased my sag in the rear. My suggestion to you is that you change your rear shock setting to 2 or 1 from the factory setting of 3. This will increase sag in the rear allowing your feet to get closer to the ground at a stop. If you do lower both ends you will need to replace your kickstand for a lower one. I replaced mine with a T-Rex adjustable version. Do a google search ( the forums search engine not so good) and search on “FZ6R Lowered”, “FZ6R Lowering Link” and you should find all the instructions needed to accomplish this project in the FZ6R forum. My FZ6R was a swan before lowing it now it’s a hawk.

forgot to mention the kick stand glad you brought it up. I am going to try the shock change, just turn it with the tool they gave you? it click into the next setting?

 

[bikergrl76]

Not too bad, the problem then was the sheer weight of the FZ. I couldn't completely flat foot still.

The GSXR IS a lot more aggressive but you get used to it. The GSXR is no where near as comfortable, but I love it. I do a ton of core exercises in the gym so that helps a lot.

well hopefully all my push-ups will come in handy & I can at least get a little bit of use out of the bike haha

 

[latony007]

well hopefully all my push-ups will come in handy & I can at least get a little bit of use out of the bike haha

you will be fine once you lower it, you can start with the seat stuff right now, taking off the grometts and the plastic plate takes about 30 seconds. Id take the link into a dealer to have it put on. I think mine said $100.

 

[mxw1090]

Just joined the site, but this post has most of the information I was looking for. Has anyone used the lowering springs in the front forks? Just wondering how that effects the handling. My previous bikes I just lowered the front end by sliding the fork mounts.

I've used a Soupy's Performance lowering link on a Ninja 650 I used to have. It was very easy to install, just need a rear stand or jack stands to support the rear of the bike.

Has anyone had issues with the Roaring Toys or other lowering links. I put about 20K on my Ninja with out issues, but when I traded the bike in the dealer said the link was cracked and about to break. They told me that a few days later so I didn't get to see it for myself. After that I started inspecting the link with every chain cleaning.