Lowering front end for more aggresive look?

[Little Miss Dangerous]

Thanks for that! Will do

 

[BF12fz6r]

2 inches in the front with Roaring Toyz rear lowering link.

 

[MistahT]

I plan on taking this plunge in the next few days and dropping the front.

Question for those with more experience than me: To add clip ons, how much do the forks NEED to be dropped? I only say that because a lot of 250 guys drop the front to add real clip ons, but the only have 50% or 75% of the fork in the clip on clamp. If I don't want to go any lower than 1.25 or 1.5 inches in the front, would it be safe to have 1/2 an inch of clip on not gripping the fork?

 

[Scott_Thomas]

I plan on taking this plunge in the next few days and dropping the front.

Question for those with more experience than me: To add clip ons, how much do the forks NEED to be dropped? I only say that because a lot of 250 guys drop the front to add real clip ons, but the only have 50% or 75% of the fork in the clip on clamp. If I don't want to go any lower than 1.25 or 1.5 inches in the front, would it be safe to have 1/2 an inch of clip on not gripping the fork?

I believe you need to drop the front an inch and a half. I may do it this weekend to see how I like it. If I like it I'm gonna get the woodcraft clip-ons. If I don't like it I will go with Convertibars which are adjustable enough to go under the triple. More $$$ though.

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[Marthy]

I believe you need to drop the front an inch and a half. I may do it this weekend to see how I like it. If I like it I'm gonna get the woodcraft clip-ons. If I don't like it I will go with Convertibars which are adjustable enough to go under the triple. More $$$ though.

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Going that much (1.5") without a rear lowering link is quite a lot!!! When I got the lowering link I lowered the front at 1.25" and it was way enough. More than that the front end was bottoming on the front fender. If going that low is the only way, get a stiffer front spring for extra support (front end will dive less = more support) and still use a lowering link.

 

[MistahT]

Going that much (1.5") without a rear lowering link is quite a lot!!! When I got the lowering link I lowered the front at 1.25" and it was way enough. More than that the front end was bottoming on the front fender. If going that low is the only way, get a stiffer front spring for extra support (front end will dive less = more support) and still use a lowering link.

I want the bike to turn in faster. Wouldn't dropping the front and rear equal amounts give you the same handling as factory?

 

[Marthy]

I want the bike to turn in faster. Wouldn't dropping the front and rear equal amounts give you the same handling as factory?

Changing rake on a bike, or a car for that manner is very sensitive. Mine is drop about 3/8" and it's good enough to feel a change. Maybe the bike can handle a bit more but not 1.5" without a rear link. I think if I'm right, please someone can correct me if I'm wrong... with the link the suggested front drop is .75 -1.00" I ran 1.25" and it was good.

The thing is you don't want to totally unload the rear under braking. You still want to have the rear stable enough so you still have traction when you get back on the gas.

Ask jonkerr, he tested the changes and he's probably one of the most experience guy in the twisties and track day on this forum. He might be able to guide you much better than me.

 

[Scott_Thomas]

Going that much (1.5") without a rear lowering link is quite a lot!!! When I got the lowering link I lowered the front at 1.25" and it was way enough. More than that the front end was bottoming on the front fender. If going that low is the only way, get a stiffer front spring for extra support (front end will dive less = more support) and still use a lowering link.

Yeah, I hear ya. I keep hearing it both ways. Some say it rides great, others say it's dangerous. Jon did say it felt unstable. I may just go with Convertibars then.

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[JT]

Changing rake on a bike, or a car for that manner is very sensitive. Mine is drop about 3/8" and it's good enough to feel a change. Maybe the bike can handle a bit more but not 1.5" without a rear link. I think if I'm right, please someone can correct me if I'm wrong... with the link the suggested front drop is .75 -1.00" I ran 1.25" and it was good.

The thing is you don't want to totally unload the rear under braking. You still want to have the rear stable enough so you still have traction when you get back on the gas.

Ask jonkerr, he tested the changes and he's probably one of the most experience guy in the twisties and track day on this forum. He might be able to guide you much better than me.

yes most will say drop it a little bit not too much numbers marthy suggested are about right

Although John had ver strong arguments as to why you should not drop it at all.

Lowering the front only will make the bike turn in much more quickly. I've thought about playing with this. Be careful with how much you go with. You can make the bike very unstable when you decrease the rake too much.

Lowering the front or raising the rear will quicken the steering. And it doesn't take much to make a big difference. You need to be dealing with millimeters not inches here. Start with 5mm and test ride, if it's still not quick enough proceed at 1-2mm increments until you get it where you want. Most bikes never go more than 8mm or you get into Unstableville...

Ever heard of a tank-slapper? Imagine coming out a curve rolling on the gas and suddenly the handlebars are oscillating wildly back and forth so hard that it's going from lock to lock - hence "Tank-Slapper"... Trust me - you DO NOT WANT TO EXPERIENCE THIS! It's the reason race bikes and many SS bikes (which are set up to be as aggressive as possible) have steering dampers.

If no one has experimented with the FZ6R to see how much front end lowering the bike will tolerate without becoming unstable you are potentially making yourself a crash test dummy. Don't ask me how I know this

Any modifications to the suspension like this should be done in very small increments.. Not trying to be fatalistic, but you are venturing into uncharted handling territory with your bike and the consequences can be painful...

 

[JT]

one more ....

Nearly a score ago, in an attempt to get my ZX6R to turn in a bit quicker, I decided to approach my suspension adjustments in the typical way a 22 year-old would: If a few millimeters is good - an inch or so would be waaaay better! Didn't even measure it, just dropped them a bit and gave it a test-run.

All was fine for couple of miles, then speed-shifting into 3rd gear with the speedo needle somewhere north of 80 - the front end got light and Away We Went! I would've never believed the handlebars of a motorcycle could fly from lock to lock so violently. It started as a minor wobble, and my ignorant attempt at being a human steering damper only made it worse.

I, by what could only be divine intervention, walked away unscathed as things went awry (then corrected) so fast that the only input I really had was blurting a string of expletives while simultaneously praying and clamping my sphincter tight enough to suction myself to the seat (only way I can figure I actually stayed on the kicking mule I'd created)...

In 35 years of riding, it is to this day, the wildest ride I've ever had on a motorcycle - dirt or street - and it only lasted a few seconds. Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy - and certainly not on a fellow motorcyclist...

http://www.600cc.org/forum/f89/raising-forks-19281/

Raised my forks (lowered the front end) by about 12mm. Made a HUGE difference in turn in. Did not notice any negative handling at all.

This was before the spring upgrades. When I had the new springs in they changed it to 8mm and that was great with the stiffer springs.

On my R6 now, they are raised only about 5mm or so. The rake is different then the FZ anyways, so it does depend on the bike and the rake you are starting out with.

If you are doing this, like stated before... Please only go at 5mm to start and only go very small increments more if you feel you need. It can get very dangerous with too much! :thumbup:

 

[Ricenoodle]

interesting, i want to do this but so much pros and cons, i'm not sure, i'd like to it to turn in quicker but i don't know if it's worth the hassle or danger. Does this have to be done with fairings off?

 

[abyss1406]

you dont have to take off the fairings, just to two top covers to get to the lower triple tree bolts. and you have to adjust your head light up like 10 whole turns or something to that effect

 

[MistahT]

I didn't take anything off. I decided to go right for 1.5 (well, went for 1 inch but its hard raising it back up) and thinks its too far. The bike gets a little shaky at high speeds for me. Another good/bad is you can practically steer the bike with your feet. I plan on bringing mine back up to one inch OR adding a lowering link so the 1.5 drop will let me add clipons

 

[Scott_Thomas]

I didn't take anything off. I decided to go right for 1.5 (well, went for 1 inch but its hard raising it back up) and thinks its too far. The bike gets a little shaky at high speeds for me. Another good/bad is you can practically steer the bike with your feet. I plan on bringing mine back up to one inch OR adding a lowering link so the 1.5 drop will let me add clipons

Are you sure they are perfectly even? I have woodcraft clip-ons with 1.5" drop and have no problems at high speed. I know a few have and some haven't. Seems that most is caused by uneven lowering. Even being off a little bit can through off the bikes balance. Just my $0.02.

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[BradSPE]

I agree with Scott. I have the Clip-ons and the bike lowered to 1.75" to get it work. 1.5" didn't really work due to a slight up slope on the medial side of the triple tree when lowering necessitating a need to get that last quarter inch. You will know what I mean if you go look at the bike. That being said. Mine is stable at high speeds and in corners. I will say that it definitely dives into turns more aggressively but I feel as though I lost some stability in turns only. Maybe that is just me getting used to the new feel of the bike.

I bought the lowering link and kick stand from roaring toyz and will be installing that. I will let you know how it affects the bike following.

 

[Lilday]

I've lowered mine 10mm to give the throttle cable some slack (it was a little tight with the new bars).

I wouldn't lower it any more.

Even with the stock height I dinged the exhaust headers whilst bumping down from a sidewalk.

Of course - our bikes aren't meant to bump down sidewalks, but I do that pretty often when parking around university/in the city.

 

[JT]

ive had mine lowered 2". not advisable but I did max it out then (top end speed) and did not feel any stability issues.

 

[MistahT]

I tried very hard to make mine at EXACTLY the same drop. If it's off at all, it's by less than 1mm.

Btw, with the stock kickstand, sometimes I worry it's gonna tip over, especially with certain surfaces and angles. Gotta get a new stand if you lower.

 

[Scott_Thomas]

I tried very hard to make mine at EXACTLY the same drop. If it's off at all, it's by less than 1mm.

Btw, with the stock kickstand, sometimes I worry it's gonna tip over, especially with certain surfaces and angles. Gotta get a new stand if you lower.

Yeah, agree about the kickstand. I like that the bike isn't leaned over so much while parked, but like you said if the surface is uneven it can cause problems.

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[Ricenoodle]

I tried very hard to make mine at EXACTLY the same drop. If it's off at all, it's by less than 1mm.

Btw, with the stock kickstand, sometimes I worry it's gonna tip over, especially with certain surfaces and angles. Gotta get a new stand if you lower.

This is needed with even just the front lowered?