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Lowering & Restricting


bobh

bobh

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Nov 27, 2015
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Oxon
An acquaintance is interested in buying my MT-07 (I'm moving on up to an -09). But she would need it to be lowered by about 25mm (an inch in old money) and restricted as she only has an A2 licence.

Has anyone here had all that work done by a dealer on an MT-07, and if so, approximately how much did it cost?

Thanks in advance - Bob
 
Few ways to go about it. You can purchase the lowering spring kit from hyper pro. It will further reduce by 20mm.

It consist of shortening the rear shock and both front fork spring are shorten and changed from linear to progressive.

You can also get the streetbox kit which comes with the physical shock.
 
bartho said:
What you need is this
DIMOTIV Moto Gene -- Lowering Kit
Click to expand...

That's another way to go about it.
However, I for one am skeptical about "dogbone" or lowering link as some may call it.

Reason being is that the dogbone only lowers the rear while keeping the front height unchanged.
This will unintentionally result in an ergometry change in the bike itself.

Dogbone is the easiest way to go around, but should you ever need to, do remember to lower the front as well.
 
We used to fiddle with front fork steering geometry on Motocrossers by slackening the triple-clamps and raising or lowering the forks within the clamps. MX riders did it to achieve faster or slower steering, depending on the track, but maybe we could do it on the MT-07 to equalise the front/rear ride height, following a rear-end lowering kit. If the rear is lowered we certainly must lower the front too, otherwise the rake, trail and castor will be wrong.
 
Last edited:
Last week, while visiting the yamaha dealer, he had a customer's moto cage with raised forks (about an inch). I asked about it and he said they made it for a lightweight girl with no problems so far. On the back they had just gone to softest setting in pre-charge. Not ideal but it worked so far with no problems.

Enviado desde mi LG-H735 mediante Tapatalk
 
Hmm. Raising the forks will decrease the head angle, reduce the trail and shorten the wheelbase, making the bike turn quicker. It will be slightly more twitchy but combined with a soft saggy rear end (the bike's not hers) she will probably be fine and soon adapt to the difference, if indeed she notices it at all.
 
Thanks for the interesting replies. All food for thought, and I'm sure it's potentially useful info for some members.

But to be honest, in my case, I'm going to either sell the bike to her as it is, for her to get modified by a dealer, or if she doesn't go ahead with the purchase, I'll trade it in for an MT-09 on Friday.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of it, with the bike at its standard height, she had difficulty getting her leg over the pillion seat. And although she could get the balls of her feet on the ground, she isn't confident that she could deal with real world situations where there is camber, gravel, potholes etc. Now I have exactly that situation on my DRZ400 trailie, but in my case a) I'm a more experienced and hence confident rider and b) I'm not too worried about dropping the bike, as trailies are built to take it. It's all a question of confidence and perception.

So, to return to the original question, which was basically "How much would a dealer charge to do it?"
 
Hi
I lowered mine 2" (50mm) with the T-Rex lowering link, lowered the front 37mm - no noticeable difference with handling. We did it at home as husband and son are quite handy with the tools, and had lowered both their zx-14's as well. I could not get any more than the end of my big toe on the ground before and could not get the bike off the side stand, now I am on the balls of my feet both sides and feel quite secure.
 
lowered mine with help from hyperpro when mt-07 was released. they changed the spring and internal fork springs which took 20mm off. you will also need a shorter side stand so the bike isnt standing up when you park it.
the hyperpro kit got rid of the bouncy front end and has made the bike very hard and aggressive but i like it like that. had the go on a mt-09 with the same kit and it rode just as aggressive.
£80 for the rear spring £120 for the fork kit. side stand available on ebay also.
 
bobh said:
An acquaintance is interested in buying my MT-07 (I'm moving on up to an -09). But she would need it to be lowered by about 25mm (an inch in old money) and restricted as she only has an A2 licence.

Has anyone here had all that work done by a dealer on an MT-07, and if so, approximately how much did it cost?

Thanks in advance - Bob
Click to expand...

When you get ur 09 come and join the 09 forum, drop me a line and let me flash it for you
 
Well, after being all positive about buying my MT-07, she dropped out at the last minute, apparently because it wasn't possible to lower it by more than 1". Shame - I think that would have been more than enough, but then it's not me that would be riding it.

So the dealer that I traded it into today has got a real bargain, even though I took off a few of the extras (I'll post these separately). But I'm happy with the deal - although I've only ridden the MT-09 the 40-odd miles home I've gelled with it already.

And definitely be joining the MT-09 forum, tt, but not sure it needs flashing - it feels more than grunty enough out of the box.
.
 
As a member of the Vertically Challenged Featherweight Brigade (5'6", 29"leg, 10stone), I have decided to lower the bike slightly. In standard trim I have no problems whilst riding but occasionally feel vulnerable when manoeuvring very slowly in traffic or man-handling in and out of the garage. Lowering the centre of gravity and enabling feet to touch the ground more securely has improved things for me.

I opted for the Soupy's lowering link:-

View attachment 3027

This turnbuckle design uses left and right-hand threaded Rose-type joint ends. When installed, the ride height can be adjusted anywhere between minus 1" and minus 4" by turning the centre turnbuckle section. This link replaces the lower dog-bone rear suspension link.

Support the bike so that the rear wheel is off the ground and the suspension is fully relaxed. I used tie-down straps between the frame and my garage overhead beam. I also has straps between handlebars and garage walls, thus holding the bike from moving side to side. I also had a paddock stand in place on the rear wheel and scissors jack under the sump.

Remove both silver side trim plates (2 screws + 1 grommet). Remove the top bolt from the original dog-bone. The paddock stand helps by easing the weight during bolt withdrawal. Remove the nut from the lower dog-bone bolt. Remove the two side-stand bolts and let the stand hang free. On right side of bike, remove the main rear suspension swinging arm nut (22mm). On left side, remove the main lower fixing bolts to the side plate for the swinging arm pivot. Carefully drift the main swinging arm bolt from the right side until it just allows the left side plate to move left about 30mm. Now try to withdraw the lower dog-bone bolt. It may be necessary to tap the main swinging arm bolt a little to achieve more clearance. Once the lower dog-bone bolt is removed, wangle the link plus its sleeve and bearing out from location.

Fit the Soupy's links as per simple instructions. Reassemble and retorque.

View attachment 3028

Before fitting the new adjustable links, I confirmed that they were both identical in length. Once fitted, it is important that adjustments are made identically to both links, to avoid stress and twisting.

I have set mine so that my seat height is now 30mm lower than stock. Original seat height was 795mm. Mine is now 765mm. I have lowered the front end by raising the forks in the triple clamps. Theoretically I think this drop should be about 22mm to maintain rake. However, I have started with 13mm to maintain good fork damper travel. Once I am happy that the forks do not bottom out against the oil seals, I might lower the front end a bit more, to restore the steering response. Ground clearance to the Akro is about 100mm.

Initial roadtest was good. The bike feels less top-heavy and was noticeably easier to ride in tight circles in an empty car-park. Handling at speed was totally stable and the bike felt safe and confidence-inspiring. I do not know yet whether the turn-in response has dulled but lowering the forks would fix this.

My personal opinion, which I have expressed to Soupy, is that the kit would be better if it covered the range from stock height (zero change) to minus 3". Then, once fitted, the link could stay on the bike and suit all riders by simply adjusting. Lowering much beyond 1.5" (38mm) can induce interference issues with other parts. I will report back after my big ride-out on Sunday.
 

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Quick update. I made another slight adjustment to the front forks and have raised them in the triple-clamps by a further 7mm, making a 20mm rise in total. This has lowered the seat height slightly, which now sits at 760mm. I did over 200 quick miles on Sunday with my local RoSpa club and the bike handled superbly. The lower centre of gravity has noticeably improved all low and intermediate-speed handling, plus I have better 'footing' for my short stature. The bike no longer feels so top-heavy and it is now easier to execute U-turns, for example. I still have about 15mm of fork travel remaining before the fork seals hit the top triple clamps. The reduced ground clearance has not caused any scraping or bottom-out yet.
 
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