1.25" lowering links/ sump guard opinions sought

[arthur]

Hi,

I did use the search function before posting. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether lowering 1.25" is too much? (I don't want to wear inserts as I vary rarely wear riding boots0

AND as I intend to lower the bike then it seems the low sump becomes even more of an issue. Any opinions on the most durable/ effective sump guard?

 

And finally, whoever had the idea of using a Mazda drain plug is a genius -

thank you in advance

(sorry I'm posting so much - new bike and all that)

Today I will likely take two hours and two ferries so I can get to a piece of road where I can FINALLY open the bike up a bit - over 6000rpm

[OZVFR]

I definitely wouldn't recommend 1.25" on stock suspension.

Is the seat in the low position? How short are you?

The bike carries it's weight quiet low, and once you get used to it, it's a lot easier.

Ride it for a while and decide then.

[arthur]

5 hours ago, OZVFR said:

I definitely wouldn't recommend 1.25" on stock suspension.

Is the seat in the low position? How short are you?

The bike carries it's weight quiet low, and once you get used to it, it's a lot easier.

Ride it for a while and decide then.

yes, you probably have a good point. I will give it more time.. I am 5ft 8 ....30" inseam I can get all of my toes on the ground - icant put much weight on the balls of my feet as they are barely making contact - thank you

[OZVFR]

2 hours ago, arthur said:

yes, you probably have a good point. I will give it more time.. I am 5ft 8 ....30" inseam I can get all of my toes on the ground - icant put much weight on the balls of my feet as they are barely making contact - thank you

I'm 5'6" with 29" inseam and lowered it with the Yamaha lowering links, and also lowered the front by the same amount (0.6").

I've replaced all the stock suspension though, as it was outright awful and impossible to make it handle anywhere near acceptable (to me at least). I already knew this before buying it, it only had 7000km on it when I bought it.

Don't be afraid of playing with the set up, and ask many questions, there is always someone here who has gone through the same thing.

 

 

 

 

[Ride365]

Don't do it........

[Lone Wolf]

21 hours ago, arthur said:

I don't want to wear inserts as I vary rarely wear riding boots

Visualize always wearing riding boots. Why not?

Lot's of crash videos include peoples shoes coming off, which is gross, but your feet deserve protection as much as your head.

You can buy expensive motorcycle boots with tall soles, or try a less expensive option like Chippewa Logger Style boots. They are a pain in the ass to lace up, but have a lot of protection for the money and would definitely remain in place during a crash.

I would do that before dramatic suspension changes. In the meantime you could drop the forks a small amount and reduce rear preload a bit and see if that is enough.

[PhotoAl]

I dropped my front forks 7mm - some go 10.  Not much but makes a difference.  What I love about the Tracer is the engine is wonderful.  Suspension can be adjusted, tweaked and modified to suit you.  Much better than buying a bike with a great suspension but not so great engine.

I put a skid plate on my 2020 900GT and have scraped it a few times.  One time in particular was in an out of the way place near Vernal Utah and pulled off to adjust the GoPro.  Drop off the pavement was more than I thought and it got a pretty good scrape.  It probably would have gotten the oil pan and that would have been a long hot wait for a tow truck.  First bike I've put a skid plate on but defiantly needed it.

[arthur]

11 hours ago, Lone Wolf said:

.....You can buy expensive motorcycle boots with tall soles, or try a less expensive option like Chippewa Logger Style boots. They are a pain in the ass to lace up......

That is great advice for people.  I just don't want the pain of having to lace up. I think I take my safety seriously, I just don't want the pita of lacing up, and if I'm honest I feel like a power ranger lol.

I have an almost new Shoei helmet and 95% of the time I either wear a heavy leather jacket or a jacket with armour in. Also I wear good quality leather motorcycle gloves

11 hours ago, Lone Wolf said:

I would do that before dramatic suspension changes. In the meantime you could drop the forks a small amount and reduce rear preload a bit and see if that is enough.

That's a great idea. I'm just wondering whether hanging it from above and letting it down slowly, or lifting it from below will work best for moving fork. 

Thank you Lone Wolf

[arthur]

19 hours ago, OZVFR said:

I'm 5'6" with 29" inseam and lowered it with the Yamaha lowering links, and also lowered the front by the same amount (0.6").

......I've replaced all the stock suspension though, as it was outright awful and impossible to make it handle anywhere near acceptable (to me at least). ........Could I ask you what weight did you use for calculating the spring rate (yourself + clothes+ baggage ) - what spring rate did that work out to? Did you put emulators in there? Thankyou

 

19 hours ago, OZVFR said:

 

 

 

 

 

[Lone Wolf]

1 hour ago, arthur said:

(re: Lowering the front)  I'm just wondering whether hanging it from above and letting it down slowly, or lifting it from below will work best for moving fork. 

Gravity is your friend. Loosen pinch bolts on one side, and let the weight of the bike help move the triple clamps down a bit on the fork. Snug those pinch bolts up a little, and then let the other side down.

Be prepared to fine-tune the result. Make sure everything is aligned OK and even both sides, then finish tighten.

[OZVFR]

1 hour ago, arthur said:

 

 

I’m 74kg and went with 0.9kg/mm springs. 
Emulators are for old type damper rod forks, not our ones. 
I had my local Racetech service centre install gold valves with new shim stacks to suit the new springs and my riding preference. 
Threw out the stock rear shock and installed an SSY shock with hydraulic preload adjuster. 
Transformed the bike, no more excessive dive under brakes or pogoing around corners. 

[PhotoAl]

11 hours ago, arthur said:

That's a great idea. I'm just wondering whether hanging it from above and letting it down slowly, or lifting it from below will work best for moving fork.

I loosened the clamp bolts and did one side at a time.  LOL that is how I wound up at 7MM.  It can be a fit jumpy to get it to move smoothly so when it landed on 7 I thought to myself that is close enough and let's try that.  One side was more difficult than the other.  It made a difference.  I stiffened up the stock suspension and the rear mostly is near 100% preload when touring.  It is too soft for spirited riding but for touring and particularly when on bumpy or lumpy or humpy roads it works well.  Those are the roads where the surface updates and the Tracer fully loaded handled them very well.  On my long trips the road varied from fast and fairly smooth interstates to twisty mountain roads so always a compromise but it did a great job.  

[DavidS]

My advice would be to NOT lower the bike. It is already very low to the ground and you risk bottoming out the oil pan if you hit something on the road. You aren't riding an off-road bike with loads of clearance, this bike can scrape the ground without working too hard, and that could be catastrophic for your oil pan........ 

[Heli ATP]

I went down this road with my 2017 FJ-09. Tried the Calto tall boots (29" inseam), and felt like I was walking in women's high heel shoes. Next went with a T-Rex lowering link and skid plate and it worked very well for me. Never damaged the sump in a few thousand miles. Performance did suffer slightly but I'm not that aggressive a rider so it was a good trade off.

With my Niken I installed the HyperPro kit which adjusts both the front and rear and increased my riding confidence greatly. It came from Europe in about a week and had the setup steps/settings included. I had it installed by my local shop as I didn't have the required tools.

You make also need to shorten the side-stand if you lower the bike. That has been documented on this site.

HyperPro FJ-09 / Tracer

I've since removed the platforms from the tall boots and now have a regular pair of (albeit expensive) normal riding boots.

 

 

[Brentinpdx]

T-Rex Racing has an engine guard.  I have purchased one for my bike without the crash guards.
https://www.t-rex-racing.com/category-s/1865.htm