GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

Main Area => General GS500 Discussion => Topic started by: tampa1 on September 17, 2003, 08:31:48 PM

Title: Lowering
Post by: tampa1 on September 17, 2003, 08:31:48 PM
Does any one know how to lower a 01 gs500. Or does anyone know of a swing arm to lower it.
Title: Lowering
Post by: werase643 on September 17, 2003, 08:55:16 PM
make longer dog bones.....

bar stock from home depot/lowes/hardware store...
shape them to kinda look like stock items
drill holes 1/4 inch further apart to drop seat height about 1 inch
its either a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio
....
1/2 inch further apart for about 2 inch drop....
Title: Lowering
Post by: Rashad on September 17, 2003, 10:06:28 PM
is there any way to make it taller?

The reason i ask is that i think the tail of my 91' is too low.. or will a certain shock swap take care of this? I think the newer style gs's look nicer in the ass end of things.
Title: Lowering
Post by: Ed89 on September 17, 2003, 11:15:06 PM
A longer shock will raise the a$$  :mrgreen: .  I got a Kat 600 (750? forgot which) bought form Srinath on my 89 GS and it raised the a$$ this much: when on center stand, the rear wheel just touch the ground.  So measure how much clearance you have now on with your stock shock on center stand--that's the amount the Kat shock will raise the rear end by.

Cheers,
e.
Title: Lowering
Post by: rjsjr on September 17, 2003, 11:56:12 PM
To lower the bike you can also install a corbin seat (firmer, lower effective height for the rider) or install a bandit 6 shock which is a bit shorter than stock while having similar performance (according to srinath, I went with a Kat600 which raised the seat height a bit - helpful for me).
Title: Lowering
Post by: JamesG on September 18, 2003, 05:45:27 AM
Any of the GSXR shocks that fit will raise the back by an inch or so.
Title: Shorter...
Post by: The Buddha on September 18, 2003, 06:57:11 AM
Or shorter dogbones...To lower it...would someone please try flipping the linkage. The other good way to lower it is by putting a shorter shock. I had some last year from a vtr 250 or 250 ninja. Well made and decent shock...and easy to put in and easy to reverse it...
Cool.
Srinath.
Title: Lowering
Post by: Dana on September 18, 2003, 06:55:53 PM
I finally finished the lowering of the bike complete with kick stand.

With the holes drilled at 7 5/16" center to center on the dog bone that gives you a 1 3/8" drop.

As for the bones you don't have to make them look like bones. I laid the stock linkage on to the aluminum part and traced around it with a thick sharpie. that probably added about an 1/8" to the stock piece. I only trimmed the back side because you need clearance between the linkage and the top of the swing arm. If you're worried about weight you can do the other side. The aluminum pieces are still lighter than the steel ones.

I cut the aluminum with a hand grinder fitted with a cutting wheel but I guess you could do some relief cuts with a hack saw. I then dressed it up with a 4" belt sander, They sure do get hot!! After that I used a palm sander with 220 grit paper. Then I hit it with some aluminum polish. You really don't need to spend to much time finishing them because you really can't see that much of the linkage.

I had a local guy cut an inch off of the kick stand and he welded on a new foot. The bike needed more lean while parked.

Here is the link to the photos:

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/vzuke/lst?.dir=/Donna%27s+Bike&.view=t

MRPMotorsports.com is a link to a guy that helped me out.

Dana out.
Title: Lowering
Post by: JohNLA on September 19, 2003, 12:09:08 AM
That kick stand looks real good.
Title: Lowering
Post by: pantablo on September 19, 2003, 12:36:27 AM
That stand is clean...much better looking than my extended one came out. Nice 01 you got.

Did you do anything to lower the front to level the bike back after lowering the rear? Or haven't noticed any handling difference?
Title: Side Stand
Post by: Dana on September 29, 2003, 05:20:21 PM
Sorry it took so long to get back to you.

Visually it doesn't really change the look of the bike. I've only ridden it once after the drop and I didn't really notice any change in handling.

Now I just have to rejet the bike to get rid of that slight hesitation just off of idle.

Dana out.