Ninjaash801
New Member
My mother rides a 2005 fxr600 and has had the seat cut, she’s 5’6 and struggles to touch the floor, any recommendations would be great thanks
Help lower!!
- Thread starter Ninjaash801
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First of all, I think I want to meet your mom. You can raise the forks up in the triple clamps 10mm. You could go a bit more, but the steering will begin to get a little twitchy. See how 10mm works.
The FZ6 uses a linkless rear suspension, so you’d have to replace the entire shock with a shorter unit...it’s not really an option. Going to a lower profile tire is an option. Instead of the OEM 180/55, you might use a 160/55-17, this will lower the bike around 12mm.
There is also the discussion of the technique of how to touch the ground with one leg. I’m 6’1”, so that hasn’t been an issue for me since I was 12-13 years old, riding full sized motocross bikes.
Tell your mom I said hi
The FZ6 uses a linkless rear suspension, so you’d have to replace the entire shock with a shorter unit...it’s not really an option. Going to a lower profile tire is an option. Instead of the OEM 180/55, you might use a 160/55-17, this will lower the bike around 12mm.
There is also the discussion of the technique of how to touch the ground with one leg. I’m 6’1”, so that hasn’t been an issue for me since I was 12-13 years old, riding full sized motocross bikes.
Tell your mom I said hi
MrMogensen
... That's me!
How to lower my FZ6?
Hey guys, So I just bought a lovely 2005 FZ6 for myself, I am a female rider, I'm 5'3" and about 110lbs. I've rode motorcycles for about 7 years now, and ride anything from my Yamaha XT 225, to my dad's Harley V-rod. The FZ6 is an upgrade from my little 2007 250cc ninja that I am selling...
Another recent thread about the same!!
gnyce
Site Supporter
I'm curious - why is this not really an option? I ask b/c I bought a used Wilbers rear shock for my FZ6 from a CL listing. The guy did mention that the bike (he had owned) had been 'lowered' by the previous owner. Sure enough, I sent the shock to the US distributor (in NJ), and they said the spring was shorter than normal (I replaced/rebuilt with a longer/heaver spring for my weight). So is it not an option b/c of cost, or because that lowers the rear but leaves the front as-is (and thus they don't maintain the same height/ratio?
The correct way to lower a shock (and the forks for that matter) is to install a spacer internal to the shock that restricts the the total travel of the shock - essentially not allowing the rod to fully extend. To that you would also use a shorter spring (equal to the amount that the spacer restricts the travel). That spring would need a higher rate proportional to the restricted travel. For example, if you reduced the travel by 0.5” and the original travel was 2.5”, that is a 20% reduction in travel that would result in a spring rate that is 20% higher - so if the original spring rate was 5 kg/mm you would now need 6 kg/mm (it gets a bit more complicated for a dual-rate spring).
So that’s shock shorting 101. The reason I say it’s not a good option for our bikes is because our bikes have a linkless rear suspension. Let me explain using a linked (cushion) suspension. Let’s say your link & cushion has a ratio of 4:1 and the bike has 5” of rear travel. That means that the shock will only need to move 1.25” to achieve the full range of travel. Allowing for overextension and other factors you would typically use a shock with 1.50” of travel in this application. Restricting the travel of said shock with a 0.25” spacer will result in a height reduction of 1.0”, and we still have 4.00” of suspension travel left. I would feel uncomfortable with less then 4” of remaining travel. That reduction in shock stroke is not significant and damping can be restored though adjustment/modification of the valve shim stack. Progressiveness in movement happens in the cushion, the initial stroke is soft, and it gets firmer as we get closer to full travel.
With a linkless suspension there is a 1:1 relationship between swingarm movement at the attachment point and shock travel. We achieve a longer travel then available stroke through the lever-arm of the swingarm (I think the effective ratio is 2:1). Progressiveness is only achieved through the shock spring itself. Less travel results in a higher ramp. While we have 5” of suspension travel, there is only (don’t hold me to this I’m going in memory) 2.5 inches of actual shock travel. So to lower the bike the same 1.00” in the above example requires a reduction of travel at the shock by 0.50”. As you know, the shock on the FZ is not rebuildable and therefore can not be modified in this method. So an aftermarket shock would have to be used.
So I say that this isn’t really viable option for our bikes because our shock choices are limited, and getting the proper damping for a shortened stroke would take an expert builder. I know shops that I would trust to do the work (such as MX Tech) but it wouldn’t be inexpensive- around $300-$400 with revalving. Add that to the cost of an aftermarket shock and you are over $1,000.
The OEM has very poor damping to begin with. Simply using a shorter spring would make for a very uncomfortable ride.
So that’s shock shorting 101. The reason I say it’s not a good option for our bikes is because our bikes have a linkless rear suspension. Let me explain using a linked (cushion) suspension. Let’s say your link & cushion has a ratio of 4:1 and the bike has 5” of rear travel. That means that the shock will only need to move 1.25” to achieve the full range of travel. Allowing for overextension and other factors you would typically use a shock with 1.50” of travel in this application. Restricting the travel of said shock with a 0.25” spacer will result in a height reduction of 1.0”, and we still have 4.00” of suspension travel left. I would feel uncomfortable with less then 4” of remaining travel. That reduction in shock stroke is not significant and damping can be restored though adjustment/modification of the valve shim stack. Progressiveness in movement happens in the cushion, the initial stroke is soft, and it gets firmer as we get closer to full travel.
With a linkless suspension there is a 1:1 relationship between swingarm movement at the attachment point and shock travel. We achieve a longer travel then available stroke through the lever-arm of the swingarm (I think the effective ratio is 2:1). Progressiveness is only achieved through the shock spring itself. Less travel results in a higher ramp. While we have 5” of suspension travel, there is only (don’t hold me to this I’m going in memory) 2.5 inches of actual shock travel. So to lower the bike the same 1.00” in the above example requires a reduction of travel at the shock by 0.50”. As you know, the shock on the FZ is not rebuildable and therefore can not be modified in this method. So an aftermarket shock would have to be used.
So I say that this isn’t really viable option for our bikes because our shock choices are limited, and getting the proper damping for a shortened stroke would take an expert builder. I know shops that I would trust to do the work (such as MX Tech) but it wouldn’t be inexpensive- around $300-$400 with revalving. Add that to the cost of an aftermarket shock and you are over $1,000.
The OEM has very poor damping to begin with. Simply using a shorter spring would make for a very uncomfortable ride.
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gnyce
Site Supporter
I followed most of that - thank you, very helpful
bigdog9191999
High-tech Redneck
not sure if it is set up the same as our 07 but i managed to lower ours easy. forgive broken pics and such it has been some time and before the forum had to switch the name some years ago.
https://www.600riders.com/threads/diy-lowering-and-a-couple-other-upgrades.22617/
https://www.600riders.com/threads/diy-lowering-and-a-couple-other-upgrades.22617/
I got a 'lowering link' and had it installed. It's been 46K miles, and no problems. I think it was this one:
it brought down the seat height by about an inch and that was just enough for me (I'm 5'4")
I understand there are some reason why this is may not be a perfect solution (see Gary's post above), but I have not experienced any problems.
Amazon.com: Soupy's FZ6 Lowering Link Kit (All Years) : Automotive
Buy Soupy's FZ6 Lowering Link Kit (All Years): Lowering Kits - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
it brought down the seat height by about an inch and that was just enough for me (I'm 5'4")
I understand there are some reason why this is may not be a perfect solution (see Gary's post above), but I have not experienced any problems.
bigdog9191999
High-tech Redneck
this is exactly what i did, i just made it myself using an oem one and cutting it down ( drilling and tapping the whole also) but i did this long before a regular option was available for these