Aftermarket shocks and lowering bike advice

I really want to lower the seat on my bike, or the whole rear. I'm sure there aren't a ton of options but can I get a shorter rear shock? Without running the risk of bottoming out? Especially with passengers. Keep in mind I'm not a heavy guy. About 155 lbs. But I just feel so top heavy on it, and it's hard to stand flat footed with it, and just feels like I'm leaning way to far forward. I just know it will feel soo much better if the seat was as low as it could possibly go. A hardtail would be ideal but I'm not getting into that right now so I want to do what I can with the frame I have. Any ideas appreciated or some examples of shorter shocks I can buy

 

A new seat would help I'm sure if I found the right one but idk

 

I think the factory xj750 shocks are 12.5". I've heard of people doing 10.5" shocks

 

Get used to the bike. Fully fueled the XJ750 is top heavy (as a real man's bike should be). You can safely lower the rear by no more than 2", but even that will reduce the lifespan of the u-joint. I think i mentioned this in another thread you replied to, but the Seca 750 will need to have the front lowered as well in order to remain safe. The air assist forks make that a bit of a challenge, so back to my first bit of advice....

Get used to the bike as it is. You will get to where it feels quite normal. I know of several people of the 5'0" persuasion that ride much taller machines; one foot down is plenty, even in the dirt.

You mention feeling like you are leaning too far forward. Does it have aftermarket bars? The stock riding configuration has the rider sitting bolt upright.

As for the seat you will need a seat from a XJ750 Seca as the other seat pans are (to the best of my knowledge) not the same. You can shave the foam down and/or replace it with a denser foam to get a lower seat height while keeping it comfortable.

Personal question: what is your inseam measurement?

 

Yea I hear ya. I guess the look and feel I want to go for is that wicked low look, I guess can only come from a hard tailed bike. Just thought maybe I could cheat and get at least a couple inches. Even with the stock bars I wanted a much lower seat, just my preference. But yes I do have z bars, 2 inch rise

 

Inseam measurement?

 

I've also been lookin and considering new forks for my bike. I know that's a project but it's a project bike after all. I've seen some guys put r1 or r6 front ends on these. Those any lower than the factory forks? Maybe there are some other options. Seeing as mine are pitted anyways

 

I run savage 650 shocks on the rear of my 700. Believe they are 10.5 eye to eye. I did drop the forks down through the triples a bit as the rake looked good but the bike felt more unstable at speed.

 

polite way of asking how short legged you are. you did open the door with your weight.
I saw a guy at the gas station the other day so shortlegged he couldnt get of his bike with out putting the side stand down tippy toes on one side put it up. when he took off it was at an angle.

 

Lol I'm not that short. I'm 6 ft even so my legs aren't short. So I know that's probably not an issue its just my preference that's all. The lower the better, I just like the look and the feel. I just feel high up on this thing. And because I'm tall, I'm leaning forward more, and it hurts my back. But I don't want higher bars

 

I know I'm a picky person

 

But yea I don't want it to feel legit unstable.. that's dangerous. But I do understand if it won't handle quite as well as factory if I start changing shocks and whatnot, which is fine. Look at hardtails.. they are rideable but not meant to handle like a dream.. as long as it's not difficult and safe

 

I'm 5' 10" tall, 30" inseam and can flatfoot when standing; balls of my feet when sitting, which is why I asked.

By not handling as well with the rear lowered and nothing done to the front I mean downright dangerous! Tankslapper-kill-you-dead bad. There are a couple of ways to deal with the air forks so they can be lowered in the tree.

The leaning forward can be dealt with by using bars with more pullback instead of more height. Get a friend to help you. Use a broomhandle as dummy bars and sit to where you feel the most comfortable, then the friend measures where the broomhandle is in comparison to the stock bars. Total cost will be less than $50 for a set of bars that fit you better, so it's worth trying before spending more on shocks.

 

You can drop the front to match your drop in the back by loosening the pinch bolts on the fork tubes and letting them ride up to your preference before re-tightening. I saw a Maxim-X a couple days ago where the owner had done this, so that the top edge of each tube projected up about two and a half inches above where it normally does at the top of the steering head to either side of the instrument cluster. He had also lowered the back enough that he had to be careful over speed bumps. I can't remember how he said he accomplished the drop in the back -- not something I ever planned to do, just like I don't lower my cars. Anyway he claimed the bike handled better and that his wife (the primary rider) found it easier to deal with at parking lot speeds and by foot. I sat on it, it was a very noticeable difference hefting around between your thighs. But I didn't ride it.

This is third hand so use this info with caution. But I have seen it actually done.

-iX.

 

His bike has air assisted forks. He can't do that without making some changes to the fork. The air collars are held in place by a circlip and the top triple clamp and there is a hole in the upper fork tube underneath the collars. There are a couple of ways of dealing with the air collars, but it's not a straightforward as simply sliding the fork tubes up.

I may have exaggerated the handling issue, but it is something to be aware of. Generally the steering will be slower when just lowering the rear of a bike, but there is already some tendency for the Seca 750 to have some headshake at high speeds; and lowering the bike will change the weight bias rearward. I'm not certain that the slight increase in trail will make up for that. I'm also not certian that it will be disasterous.

 

That's my inexperience with the Seca showing, thanks k-moe.

Personally I'm not one to mess with stock suspensions unless I have a clear reason and functional purpose -- example, I want to track something and the changes I'm doing are well known and accepted as beneficial for tracking. Messing with suspension geometry for appearance sake always seems like a losing proposition to me. When it's just two wheels between you and the road it seems even more important. Any change you make is going to have a consequence or result elsewhere and if you don't know what that is you are asking for trouble. Newton's laws apply to more than just bodies in motion.

 

I suppose lowering the front and back wouldn't fix my main issue anyways, it'd be nice, but it'd still be the same exact stance, just lower. I guess what I really need to figure out is a lower seat

 

Take the seat off and sit on the bike. If that's closer to what you are looking for, you can take a seat (not neccessarily your perfectly functional one, lots of ratty seats out there) and strip it, get some foam that's much thinner than stock and cover it yourself...

References
http://www.diymotorcycleseat.com/foam_types.htm
http://www.outdoorfabricscanada.com/ATV-Motorcycle-Snowmobile-Vinyl-Fabric_c_62.html

 

I'm definitely going to try that, altho I doubt it will look good lol. But it's worth a shot. I'll post it when I get to it eventually

Because yea with the seat off.. it's exactly where I'd like to be sitting, I've tried. Felt perfect

 

That challenge is getting it low while still keeping the passenger seat. How low can it go before it's too close to the tire?

 

I used Suzuki savage 650 rear shocks. Bolts right up and no wobble up to 80mph at this point. Its the look and feel I wanted.

 

I ran the Savage 650 shocks on my bike to with no problem. Had it up to about 100 and didnt get any wobblies. Switched this spring to a set of these 11" shocks from Dime City and put the Savage shocks on my newer project. The Dime City shocks are fine too but I think they're a little weaker spring rate than the Savages were so not ideal for a bigger guy like me.

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/11-inch-black-shorty-eye-to-eye-rear-motorcycle-shock-absorbers.html

Be prepared to swap bushings between the shocks if you make the swap to aftermarket.

 

Did you have issues with those savage shocks with the front forks being higher, because they are 2 inches lower? Or did you lower the front? Because as discussed I heard it was dangerous to lower the back but not the front. I plan on putting an R1 front end on the bike this winter. I'm not sure how high those are compared to factory xj750 shocks

 

No, I did not adjust the front forks at all and never had a problem. Very stable at highway speeds.

 

The rod of your shock has a rubber bumper on it, slide it to the shock body and go for a ride. That will tell you how far the shock has traveled. Then decide how much shorter they can be.

 

What year savage?

 

As far as I can tell they used the same shocks for all years of the 650 Savages they didn't real change. New sets on ebay are listed as an exact fit for any 86-08 Savage 650. Any of them should work but like I mentioned before you will have to swap out the rubber bushings which can be a a real PITA. I drove mine out & back in with a couple of appropriate sized sockets, a hammer, and some silicone lubricant. Here's a decent set:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUZUKI-SAVA...BER-/321834149173?hash=item4aeecf6535&vxp=mtr

I actually signed up for the Suzuki Savage riders forum and posted up a "WANTED" thread and scored a decent set pretty quick for (I think) $50 from one of the moderators.

 

So I have to swap out bushings if I change over to factory savage shocks? Or do you mean aftermarket shocks

 

cant help it here is a lowering kit $19.95
http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?mai...7&products_id=13&zenid=VUWtaJJLFZJZxgDDJVkBA2

 

@Ted

 

You'll definitely have to do it with the Savage shocks. If you buy new aftermarket shocks then you might have to & you might not. I think some of the nicer sets will come with the right bushings if you order them specifically for your bike & some might come with multiple extra bushings to find the right fit. I had to swap bushings on the used Savages I got & the cheap shorties I got from Dime City. It's not terribly difficult to do - just takes a little patience & don't forget the luuuuuuuuube!