What effect if any will lowering have?

[00busaTX]

I know what is needed to lower the busa but my question is what ill effect will it have on the handling?  I am only 5'7" tall with a short inseam.  I can touch the ground but I am worried that if I ever straddly a small dip on the bike, it might be bad.  

I am just trying to weigh the pro's and con's of lowering, and also should you lower the front and rear the same?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[VaBusa]

I'm 5'7" and got sick of dropping my bike in the driveway...

It's been lowered 2 inches in the front and in the rear and I didn't notice any difference in the handling at all...I'm just an every day rider, not taking it to the track or hitting the twisties every day, but for every day riding, there's little difference if any...I have not dropped the bike since, so that's always a plus

Only thing I have to be aware of now is when I'm traveling over speed bumps - be sure to stand on the pegs before you go over 'em because the belly pan will scrape since it's been lowered...

Also, consider investing in a Tobin seat...the stock seat is cut and it drops you down a bit more...that might be an option should you not want to lower it...

Good luck!

 

[VaBusa]

P.S. if you do lower it, consider doing the kick stand mod to avoid the bike toppling over. I have not done the mod (you cut the stand), but many here will tell you that they learned the hard way that a lowered Busa tends to like to fall over...

My bike, lowered and with a Tobin seat...

 

[DR1300R]

I'm 5'11" and I had my 1st Busa lowered 1" front and rear and NO ill effects with very aggressive street riding..
Now I'm no Rossi by any means but you'll ok with even a 2" in the back and 1 3/4" in the front.. also a Tobin seat should be on your list..

 

[DR1300R]

Yea what Vabs said..

 

[VaBusa]

(DR1300R @ May 31 2007,11:10) Yea what Vabs said..

Shorter Busa riders UNITE!

I will add that having the bike lowered was plenty...the Tobin seat on top of a lowered bike was a bit to get used to, but it's worked out fine and I'm used to it now...

I think I could have lived with either the lowering links/dogbones only OR just a Tobin seat and had the same outcome...happenstance led me to having both because I wanted a custom seat years later

 

[Sloto200]

I'm 5'7" as well and i first lowered the rear only and it made the bike drive like a plow in the corners... i lowered the front with 3/4 reaper risers and it helped out alot. If you do lower it make sure you do the front and the rear and preferably the same distance.

 

[NearDeath]

(00busaTX @ May 31 2007,01:01) I know what is needed to lower the busa but my question is what ill effect will it have on the handling?  I am only 5'7" tall with a short inseam.  I can touch the ground but I am worried that if I ever straddly a small dip on the bike, it might be bad.  

I am just trying to weigh the pro's and con's of lowering, and also should you lower the front and rear the same?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

If you take the turns like I do, there is DEFINETLY a difference... I am 5'8" and had her lowered 2" in the back and 1" in the front...

PROs
1. Love the way it feels on straight aways, it feels steady and nice to be able to put my feet on the ground... hahahaha

2. Dives into the turns which is kind of nice...

3. Looks good...

CONs.
1. You really have to push the bike down in the turns to get her to lean over at a good angle. If you are in the twisties, you will get fatigued quicker.

2. Obviously isn't going to lean as sharp, so you loose some leaning abilities wiht the lowering.

 

[06limited1st]

Yea Im 5'6" and I lowered it 3 in front and rear and it feels so much more comfortable to ride..  Gotta tighten up the rear dampener tho if you wanna put a passenger on otherwise you'll scrape the undertail on bumps..

Also the limiting of cornering but who are we kidding, we're not MotoGP stars otherwise we woulda got a K7

Oh yea, forgot to add that I put on the shortie kickstand so I didnt need to do the kickstand mod

 

[dadofthree]

Alright I understand that standing up transfers some of the weight from the rear to the center of the bike, but I don't understand the physics of taking away the handling of the bike, unless lowering the bike upsets the operation of the front and rear suspensions. I do however understand that the pegs and plastics might drag sooner because they have been brought closer to the ground.

If lowering does upset the suspension; can it be adjusted away ?

I have heard of guys raising the rear an inch for more clearance in the twisties, but I've also read where folks road the twisties fine with the bike lowered.

 

[Sloto200]

I believe that the reason the handling "goes away" so much when you lower is because you are changing the rake of the front end. You start messing with the rake of the front end and it throws the geometery off and the bike handles much different.

 

[Powers739]

What effect if any will lowering have?
It will be closer to the ground...

 

[solarbarack]

(Sloto200 @ Jun. 01 2007,18:03) I believe that the reason the handling "goes away" so much when you lower is because you are changing the rake of the front end.  You start messing with the rake of the front end and it throws the geometery off and the bike handles much different.

Bump

 

[Learjett]

(Powers739 @ Jun. 01 2007,21:36) What effect if any will lowering have?
It will be closer to the ground...

 

[nitrousjunkie]

Big difference and you loose clearance.I have to swap out air filters mine is so low,My big K&N hits so I have a shorter 1 I use sometimes if I know I'm gonna be hittin some corners.

 

[jpracecraft]

(dadofthree @ Jun. 01 2007,12:31) Alright I understand that standing up transfers some of the weight from the rear to the center of the bike, but I don't understand the physics of taking away the handling of the bike, unless lowering the bike upsets the operation of the front and rear suspensions. I do however understand that the pegs and plastics might drag sooner because they have been brought closer to the ground.

If lowering does upset the suspension; can it be adjusted away ?

I have heard of guys raising the rear an inch for more clearance in the twisties, but I've also read where folks road the twisties fine with the bike lowered.

I lowered 1.5 in rear and 1" in front with a soupys kit. And it did get loose in turns. I went up 3 clicks from stock tighter all around and it tightened right up. I may back it of a little. But other than distance to ground I do believe its completely adjustable. WEll, unless someones 5.7 and 350 lbs.

 

[SANDFLEA85]

I was -3" front and back when i first bought the bike, after a bit i raised it up 1" to -2 and then another inch so now it is -1" and i cant tell you why but its like nite and day in the turns,before it was a bitch turnin and now its so much easier

 

[kd185]

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if you lower the rear more than you lower the front you take weight away from the front and its going to want to push
if you lower the front more than the rear your adding weight to the front which should give you a good feeling under braking and handling (maybe a little twitchy in the twisty s) BUT you going to lose traction especially when you banked over due to the lose of rear weight
some of this can be correct for handling through ride height, sag, rebound and damping adjustment but your still going to have the lose of weight affecting the traction on the rear tire
theoretically for street uses if you were to lower the front and the back equal amounts you shouldnt notice and lose in handling
actually might feel a slight gain as the center of gravity and the center of mass are lower to the ground
and for the most part you can lower the rear as much as you feel comfortable dragging parts again as long as you adjust for the front weight transfer

 

[Charlesbusa]

If you are a normal rider, no difference.

If you are an agressive rider, you will lose valuable ground clearance. The Busa doesn't have tons of ground clearance to begin with. There are a few members with scraped fairings and hard parts.

You have to decide on whether you want to be on your toes or have more ground clearance.