Lowering front end on gs450l????????

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know where I can get lowering springs for my 86 gs450l?
How about a simple procedure on how to do it myself? I only want to go 1" or 1 1/2".

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Can't you just slide the fork legs on the stems a bit upper? If that is what you mean?

[robinjo]

You can shorten your springs by grinding off about the lenght that you want to lower it, but file them down smooth you don't want any sharp edges on it that can damage something inside and use a washer on top to get an even surface.
You may want to lower the rear also to keep the geometry stock.

[Anonymous]

How about putting on a wheel that's 3" smaller. That way you don't mess with the suspension dynamics.

[robinjo]

How about putting on a wheel that's 3" smaller. That way you don't mess with the suspension dynamics.

Wouldn't that make the bike twitchier and maybe unstable (more prone to wobbling) at higher speed? On my Derbi OTR I changed the 21"front rim to an 18" and it steered VERY fast but not very stable.
I don't know if Frank B wants to lower his front end too make it steer quicker or that he wants a lower seat height.

[Anonymous]

Yea ,seat height

Seat height, or overall height of the bike is what I wanted to achieve. But I don't want to sacrifice the handling to do so. I will need to replace the still original springs and shocks soon and figured "while I'm in there" I'd lower it a bit. It looks like I can "raise" the fork tube in the triple trees about 1/2", if thats possible. Any more and the will contact the handle bars.
Thanks for the replies.

[Anonymous]

ANY mod you make to lower that front end is going to affect how the bike handles in some way. Getting a lower seat will be your best option. Even slipping the fork tubes up in the triple trees re-distributes weight, altering the handling.

[Anonymous]

ok

Let me clarify a bit...I know the handling WILL be affected. I just don't want to hinder the bikes ability to turn. I do not want twitchy or skidish handling. And I will lower it proportionally with the rear to keep in line the geometry, ergonomics, and any other $9 word that sounds good. This bike was engineered to be more of a cruiser than a sports bike, and I'm not going to go and redesighn the bike to lower it.

Thanks again.