lowering links - ride report

[hansenj32]

[b]As we're moving into the cold months here in NE Ohio, I'll be going from my Tourmaster Transition coat in bright yellow to another Tourmaster jacket designed for colder temps in black. I hate to give up the conspiquity of my yellow coat and am thinking about adding a hi-viz yellow or green vest, but am wondering about flutter. For those of you who wear safety vests, is there much, if any, problem w/ flutter or ballooning?[/b] [b]Jake[/b]

[David Critchley]

You can get "Vests" that are just the reflective cross straps and belt. I have one but have not worn it yet. DC D Critchley

On 05/10/2010 10:16, hansenj32 wrote:   [b]As we're moving into the cold months here in NE Ohio, I'll be going from my Tourmaster Transition coat in bright yellow to another Tourmaster jacket designed for colder temps in black. I hate to give up the conspiquity of my yellow coat and am thinking about adding a hi-viz yellow or green vest, but am wondering about flutter. For those of you who wear safety vests, is there much, if any, [/b] ,_._,___

[dougtyrone@aol.com]

Not an issue, I wear my orange safety vest over my ballistic jacket.

[RobertWichert]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Well, Ed, I'll be sure to worry about it bottoming out.  It seems to be far too much clearance to go to zero, but we'll see. If I need to "restore" the kickstand I'll probably just get a piece welded on or weld on the old piece.  I bought a center-stand but I never installed it because I didn't want to add weight. Wish me luck! Robert P. Wichert P.Eng +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 ========================================================

On 10/7/2010 6:48 AM, fasteddiecopeman wrote:   Robert, When mine was lowered (1 1/2", and I'm 180 pounds or so) I found it would bottom on the engine guard as I rode thru gentle 'whoops' on dirt roads. Because I have a center-stand it would take a lot of the 'brunt', transferring it to my footpeg bolts which then failed, and I upgraded them from p*ss-ant 8mm square nuts and bolts to 10mm hex grade 8, and they've been fine since. I also raised the KLR back to stock and welded a piece back into the side-stand. Wanna buy a center-stand for a lowered bike...? Cheers, Ed --- In DSN_KLR650%40yahoogroups.com, RobertWichert robert@... wrote: > > I don't put anything heavy on the back, but I guess I could put my > wife on there and try it! > > It doesn't hit the skid plate on the road though, I'm sure. That's not > even possible on the flat, is it? > > As I said previously, the steering actually feels more stable, but I > guess if you had mucho weight on the back, that would mess it up big > time any way. > > > > Robert P. Wichert P.Eng > +1 916 966 9060 > FAX +1 916 966 9068 > > > > > > > > > > ======================================================== > > > On 10/5/2010 9:54 PM, stuart sullivan wrote: > > > > Robert, i did all the above or i guess the below with the lowering > > links but i ended going back to stock as i found that after i loaded > > up the bike as in aluminum side panniers,top trunk,"blah blah" the > > bike was kissing the tarmac every chance it got even with the preload > > cranked right up and i to had an upgraded the skid plate"Good > > thing",course if you don't have the cases on then it might be Ok. > > > > I did not drop the forks in the clamps at first but found that the > > stearing was shall we say a little light so i took them down about the > > same amount as the lowering links 1 3/4",i ended up taking 2'' off the > > top of the stock seat not the perfect solution but i can now get both > > balls of my feet down,i did drop it while parked on a slight off > > camber bit of dirt on the weekend and you always feel like a > > "Twit"when it happens but it's just something you have to live with i > > suppose when your vertically challenged. > > > > > > ; > > Stu. > > > > P.S.I'll probably go with a lower after market seat next year or some > > platform boots"Not". > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > > To: DSN_KLR650%40yahoogroups.com > > From: robert@... > > Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2010 18:05:38 -0700 > > Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Lowering Links - Ride Report > > > > OK, so I decided to try the lowering links. This was based on the > > following: > > > > 1) By the time I got my foot down, the bike was so far over that it > > was hard to stop. This made me fall. > > > > 2) If the ground sloped away, I couldn't catch the bike. This made > > me fall. > > > > 3) When I fall, 2" less to fall would be good. > > > > 4) I don't ride fast enough to bottom out the shocks or the forks. > > > > 5) Lower CG can't be all bad. It might corner better. > > > > 6) I'll put a better skid plate on anyway to make up for the lost > > ground clearance. > > > > So upon first sit, it seems more than 2" lower. I mean, it's easier to > > swing over, it feels lower, and it even feels like my legs are bent more > > when I'm sitting with my feet on the pegs. This cannot be true. > > > > It also feels like the front end is pointed up. I guess it is. > > > > Riding is feeling normal in about 50 meters. The front end does seem to > > be pointed up though. > > > > On the freeway, it is actually MORE stable in winds and wakes. > > Noticeably so. More rake and trail should do that, and it does. > > > > I "may" lower the forks in the triple tree, or maybe not. I can only > > see 1" free distance there, and I kind of like the stability on the > > freeway. > > > > I cut off the kickstand and now I need to get a new bottom piece welded > > on. I have a PVC pipe plug in there for now to spread out the load a > > little. > > > > All things considered, it feels great. > > > > Progressive sells a "One-Inch-Lower" rear shock. Would that put me down > > another inch, for a total of 3" lower than stock? > > > > Nobody sells lowering forks. > > > > Just to clarify, I could always reach the ground and I could always get > > on the bike with no problem. I am just not good enough to always ride > > standing up on the pegs and balancing. I have to put a foot down, and > > with the standard height, I was always too far over and the damn thing > > is too heavy to save. So for me, lower is better. > > > > -- > > > > Robert P. Wichert P.Eng > > +1 916 966 9060 > > FAX +1 916 966 9068 > > > > ======================================================== > > > > > > >