After riding and talking to Sargents(they said the could get about an 1"), I have ordered the lowering links from Diamond. I also ordered a Suzuki gel seat.
If I got a shop to change the links and adjust the stands, what would be a fair price?
You mentiond lowering the front "a bit". in the clamps. If I'm dropping 2" in back, what would be good for(and how to do this) the front?
After checking prices tomorrow, I may have to do this myself. Bear with the ignorance, I'll get around the learning curve eventually
Hey!, Caught your post about the 600 lowering issue. We bought a 02 600 for my wife about a year ago, had 3200KM's on it, for just under $6000 CDN. mint, blue. nice shape, didnt stay that way long though.
Despite Diamond powersports claims of lowering the bike within 3 positions with their lowering links, 1, being stock, 2, being 2" lower and 3, being 4 inches lower, this was not the case I assure you.
We had them installed on what we thought was the middle hole/setting, should of been 2" lower according to DPS specs, right?.. wrong! it was closer to 3" maybe a little more lower when all said and done.
I know this because my wife also is vertically challenged, 5'2"?. I thought 2" from stock would be great for her little legs...NO!. while it did indeed lower it quite some indeed, it also caused her rear to bottom out under bumps/railroad crossing etc. we had the front lowered a bit, about an inch the same time as this first operation, in the sense that it would level the bike out. well even though it had been lowered an inch in the front, the bike was very unstable in cross winds and the handling dynamics were, shall we say, eeewww!. plus the headlight shone directly in my sideview mirror whilst riding staggered ahead of her on my own B12. Ouch!. it also managed to piss off many an oncoming motorist!
so we lowered the front about 1/2 inch more, solved the headlight problem, made it look like a drag bike mind you, (all I needed was a longer swingarms and "walla" lets go to the track! LOL!
While lowering the front more took care of many of the handling quirkiness we previously had, if it didnt bottom out enough before it did now!. I even maxed out the preload/shock to its stiffest setting!. but now, we in the end decided that A, were gonna have to raise the bike somewhere in between what DPS said was 2" lower and that of the factory position,
( either that or make the bike a rigid! 
) so I took it upon myself to fabricate some links at a local weld shop. $50 later, walla!. However, when getting them installed, the bike shop showed how the difference between the "so called stock setting" on the DPS links and the ones i had made up were only, maybe a MM diff?.. How so I thought, I took all my msnts from the factory links and the middle rung on the DPS links and came up with the mid range setting, Or so I thought. It should of made the bike 1 and 1/2 inches lower, seeing the DPS links on the middle hole mad e it 3".
NO!, the "stock" setting on the DPS links actually made the bike 1" lower than factory setting. A little tall for Barbara, but, maybe if we softened up the preload/shock a little ?.. this helped, plus I managed to get a hold of a factory gel set off e-bay, (paid more than retail though, seeing that it was discontinued recently, and I know it effectively lowered the riding position 1/2 to 1 inch again, since a fellow rider "Bazza" had the same seat, I couldn' afford
not to win the auction.
So finally, the bike is good, maybe a little dodgey sometimes (more for me than for her) as I still get a little nervous with her tip toeing round the streets of Edmonton on occasion. however, she is a lot more comfortable on it now that its balanced... 1" lower in the rear, 1' lower in the front. EVEN! it handles great now, fun LITTLE bike!, especialy since we had Dale Walker's jet kit put in. really warmed it up and evened out the midrange, effectively put more torque down low where you really need it.
Now you may be saying, didnt he say earlier that the bike "
didnt stay that way long though?". yes i did. During this fine, or rather, ROUGH tuning process, the bike went down several times, mostly at low speeds, (fortunately) and the other, more substancial time was on a clover leaf merge-on where she hit some gravel before the winter clean up. So yes, you see why Im nervous, after all, this is my wife were talking about!. Im the one who urged her to get out of that little "650 Savage 1 lung"and onto a Bandit!. so she could keep up!. .. Guilty?..
Yup!Shes good now though, Only $2100 CDN to fix mostly cosmetic pieces, grazes and scrapes and cracks in plastic. comprehensive insurance got deleted AFTER this incident!.. wow that was close!.
but fair do. she fairly confident now, and I now need to give her more credit than I currently dish out, as she had to overcome a fairly major hit!, something I havent had to do .. Yet!
Simon
Oh, by the way, Thinking the links would effectively lower the bike 2", I had the side stand shortened 2" also, by a metal fabricator/welder in town here, (the local bike shop won't do the job... legalities!). Now I wish I had only 1-1 & 1/2 inches taken out instead as the biike currently leans a little too much, but rather that than too little!.. Oh the weld job cost me also $50 CDN.
Topic: My new 6oo (Read 6166 times)