suspension lowering thread

Frosty

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I installed a Hyperpro (+ new bearing). I shortened the side stand. I really like the modification. It was manufactured by a Dutch company and approved by the German TUV so I am confident with the engineering and testing.

If it helps, I dug out my old shock eye. My quick measurements show the threads extend 48 mm which puts the bottom at approximately at the bottom of the outer edge of the bearing boss. If you mill it shorter, you will mill off the little projected boss. Don't recall the function (prevent rotation?).


 

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I had pulled up a picture of the shock from the service manual. It looks like the boss Frosty mentioned is a keeper for the spring.
If that is the case it looks to be difficult to just mill off the end. Proceed with caution.

Brad
 
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thank you frosty and ARKNT, i most appreciate the info and pictures. it would appear the hyperpro eye doesn't have the boss/keeper of the standard eye. (or as arsenio hall used to say, makes you want to go hmmmmmmm.......)
 

DirtFlier

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[...it would appear the hyperpro eye doesn't have the boss/keeper of the standard eye...]

The HyperPro eye doesn't need the lug because its base is larger so one of the edges will catch the pin on the spring retainer. I've personally done three of these plus helped 4-6 others with the conversion so pretty much know all the ins-&-outs.
 
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with your experience with this mod i can now understand your (almost) insistence on not milling the standard shock eye.
 

Rrj10

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Dirt flier, Do you have the bracket for the bench vise to depress the suspension shock foe lowering with the HiperPro kit? If so may I request the use of it as my dealer could not do this last year after he had disassembled the bike. Please send details for shipping it to me and cost. Thanks, Rrj10 Mt .Vernon, Il.
 

DirtFlier

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nhspdr - you've been talking about doing this for ELEVEN MONTHS! :rolleyes:
 
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DirtFlier

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[rrj10;148426]Dirt flier, Do you have the bracket for the bench vise to depress the suspension shock foe lowering with the HiperPro kit?]

I just sent you a PM.
 
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OP
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actually i sold the NT. life is too short too be frustrated over minor things(not to mention the attitude of " why would someone think such a thing")when seeking a little info.
 

Phil Tarman

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(not to mention the attitude of " why would someone think such a thing")when seeking a little info.
I just re-read the whole thread and I will confess that one member of the Forum actually said "why would someone think such a thing" and one other member (me) kinda' razzed you about spelling "sole" as "soul," but other than that I'm bumfuzzled at why you would think you ran into an "attitude." It seemed to me that most of the people were just giving you feedback based on their experience. As far as I can tell none of them had the advantage you did in having a friend with a machine shop.

I hope you got a bike that satisfies you more than the NT did. If you did, what is it?
 
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the attitude seemed to be why would you try this, waste your time, i know better etc. but hey no big deal. like i said life is too short for minor frustrations. i now have a honda 750 shadow RS. almost as comfortable(with a seat mod), almost as fast and gets 60-65 mpg. plus i can change the spark plugs and check the overflow bottle w/o removing 14 plastic panels. see, no frustration.
 
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oh, and i thought the "sole" was funny because the "soul" was intentional. i'm soulley ok with that.
 

Phil Tarman

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After my last knee surgery in February and the protracted recovery from that, I've been having trouble getting on and off the bike. I talked to Tosh (DirtFlier on our Forum) at the MSTA STAR rally in Colorado Springs and he convinced me that lowering the bike would be a good idea. I ordered and received the lowering link before going to Spearfish.

Riding to, around, and home from Spearfish convince me that lowering the bike would be a great move. Today I called Sun Honda, my dealer in Denver to schedule the lowering operation. First date I could get was in August (the week after the How the West Was Won Rally in Grand Junction). I'm still not sure if I'll ride in that Rally, but since I've paid for the rally and am committed to sharing a room with a guy there, I'll probably go to to it, even if all I do is hang around and ride down to Montrose to visit my son and his wife.

Sun would not do anything about shortening my sidestand or centerstand, but a friend out in Ft Morgan has agreed to do that. It seems to me that my bike leans more on the sidestand than most peoples' bikes do, so I may not need to shorten the sidestand. We'll see...
 
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I had been frustrated with the NT ride quality and seat height. I wrote and posted the details of the changes I had made but the post never appeared. I had raised the forks in the clamps 19/32". When installing an Ohlins 01092-91/230 rear spring, I cut 3/16" off the shock shaft, cleaned up the threads, and reassembled. This lowered the rear of the NT by 1/2" or more. No kickstand problems at all. The bike handles the twisty roads very well. The NT's seat is still uncomfortably wide at the front with both feet on the ground.
When I bought new PR4 tires recently, I figured that it was a sign that I will keep the NT. I've never owned a bike that required this much effort (and $$$) for the enjoyment. (My WR250R has twice the miles on the odometer and offers many of the same benefits.... except for interstate touring and two-up riding.)
 

Phil Tarman

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I've never owned a bike that required this much effort (and $$$) for the enjoyment.
I've owned four bikes and two of them were virtually identical '99 Kawasaki Concours. I bought the NT when I was 67 and realized that the Connie was too danged heavy for an old man who had had five knee replacements. I had made quite a few improvements to the Concours to make it the bike I wanted it to be for long-distance riding -- cruise control, Russell DayLong saddle, driving lights, non-stock windscreen, heated grips.

When I bought the NT, I knew even before I picked it up that there were farkles it needed to suit me and I ordered them the day after I signed the papers and the day before I picked up the bike. In my initial flurry of farkling, I included a tank pad, heated grips, and the wind deflectors from Honda. I got Motorcycle Larry's peg lowerers and bar risers, plus his handlbar clamp to give me a mount for my GPS and a Throttlemeister throttle lock.

From Twisted Throttle, I got their original Denali driving lights; a Shaq topcase (plus all the stuff it took to mount that); a SW-Mototech City Bag and a Day Bag, plus the ring mount. I got a Fenda'Extenda', and ordered big pannier lids from the UK. After a few months, I broke down and spent the big bucks for a Russell DayLong saddle, and bought an OEM undercowl from the UK. I also bought a Rostra electronic cruise control from Murphskits.com and conned a friend into helping me install it.

I've had two or three CeeBailey windscreens and have now been converted to the National Cycles V-Stream. I've spent a bunch of bucks farkling the NT, but I knew I was going to do that when I bought it. No manufacturer would have equipped a bike like the NT with the stuff I've added to make it the bike I want for long-distance riding. With all these things, the NT does exactly what I want it to do. As best I can tell, there's still nothing on the market that would suit me any better.

I was impressed with Frosty and Daboo's F800GTs, but the clutch pull is too heavy to make the GT really comfortable on any ride that would take me through stop-and-go traffic.

I'm going to lower the bike and hope that solves my problems with getting on and off. I'm also re-starting physical therapy next week.
 
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OP
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good luck with the pt,PT. as we get older just remember, if you're over 50 and you get up in the morning and nothing hurts, chances are you're dead!! and remember old age is a debilitating disease and is always fatal!! now pass me the Ben Gay and the Depends.
 
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