suspension lowering thread

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been following the lowering threads and being short of inseam(the older i get the more i shrink) i've read where if you have access to machine shops, you can remove and mill down the stock shock eye. i assume this means you can mill it down to anything up to the 10mm of the aftermarket item. i have already lowered the seat 1/2" by taking a razor type knife and cutting the seat rubbers in half. worked great but i need a little more(probably not the full 10mm). maybe not even enough to have to cut the kickstand. any thoughts or collective wisdom??
 

DirtFlier

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I'm not sure you can safely mill the shock eye by 10 mm because what you're cutting away are the female threads. Those threads are in what is called a "blind hole," meaning it doesn't go all the way through so with a milled shock eye, the shock shaft may bottom in the hole before it reaches full engagement. I can't recall the exact number but HyperPro says to ensure their shock eye has 12-13 mm of thread engagement before tightening the locknut.
 
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Threads gain their maximum holding power at 2.5 times the thread diameter. An example is a 10mm bolt threaded into 25mm thick nut has maximum holding power.

So if the blind hole in the shock is deeper than 2.5 times the thread diameter theoretically you could gain some height there.

Seagrass
 

DirtFlier

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The blind hole is not 25 mm deep but you still may be able to achieve the 12-13 mm engagement with a milled, standard shock eye. On the bad side, my guess is that you'd pay a machine shop much more to have the eye milled than to buy the HyperPro eye. Machine shop work is mostly in the set-up and if they're only doing one, you will pay significantly!

If you want to go down this path, just buy the shock eye from HyperPro. Most everyone who's lowered their bike, including me, have used this method. It lowers the seat height by 35 mm (1-3/8").

The other good side of buying the HyperPro eye is that the standard eye can be reinstalled later if you need to raise the bike, let's say for a potential buyer. The shock eye is not available as a separate part from Honda so once it's modified, you'll have to live with it...or buy a complete shock!
 
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I cut my rubbers down also and lowered the forks 13mm and turned the rear shock load down to 10 clicks. Now I can flat foot the bike. The bike stills handles fine.
 
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i probably should have mentioned i have a friend with a small machine shop who loves to play with his machines, i was just not looking to lower the full 1 3/8 but maybe half that so i won't get into lowering the forks or cutting the kickstand. after cutting the seat rubbers i only need about another 3/4" to be near perfect.
 
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so i'm guessing nobody has lowered their NT by milling down the stock shock eye(and not having to change the bearing either). has anybody who has lowered theirs with the hyperpro eye happened to notice how much meat there is on the stock piece or how deep the blind thread is?
 

DirtFlier

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The seals on the shock eye are easy/install and pressing out the bearing and pressing it back in only takes a few minutes. In regards to keeping the sidestand the standard length, I don't think that'll work on a lowered NT because it already sits too close to upright.
 
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beeol

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Cutting down the sidestand and centerstand are really required when you lower this bike. I did the European sourced lowering eye and dropped the front forks and bought and aftermarket seat. Took a 1/2" off the side stand and will need to do the same to the centerstand. Right now to get it up on the centerstand I have to run the rear wheel up on a piece of 2x8 to get the centerstand at a vertical enough position so I can lift the bike onto it. I always have wood available in my garage so its just one more step, but it I have to do it out on the road I will be looking for a serious depression to drop the centerstand into in order to get the bike up.
Bill
 
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thats kinda why i was wondering about milling the standard eye 'cause i can mill it down less than the 10mm of the wonderpro eye. only need to lower the bike about half of the 1 3/8 to be about perfect for me but i guess nobody has tried that!!
 

DirtFlier

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It's a lot of work and trouble for only lowering 15-17 mm.
 

DirtFlier

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Probably a lot easier to put thicker soles on your riding boots.
 
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ahhh potato...potaahhto. is there really any difference(lol). ( this is not a harley davidson reference...please don't sue me).
 
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soooo...this has all been fun..but to go back to the original question, has anybody milled down the original shock eye or has anybody who has done the hyperpro compared the two side by side as a curiosity comparison?????
 

DirtFlier

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[...has anybody who has done the hyperpro compared the two side by side as a curiosity comparison?...]

As far as I know, no one who's made the Hyperpro conversion wonders if he shouldn't have milled the stock shock eye for less of a drop. Why would someone think such a thing?
 
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because(as stated in the original posting) i don't need or want to go down the full 1 3/8". i'm only hoping to be able to lower about 3/4" more than what the seat rubbers gave me.
 
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a friend has a machine shop so maybe that is an easier route to go. and w/o going down the full 1 3/8 i wouldn't consider reversing it if i should part with my NT.
 
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