| Author | Message | ||
     Xtreme |
So in the search for my headlight conversion I came across a lowering kit for the xb on streetfighter inc.. Does anyone have any experience with this kit? | ||
| Nillaice |
yep. i helped my buddy put one on an XB12SCG for his wife. it replaces the bottom spring plate with a 20mm-stepped plate over all, it seems like alot of money for not alot of results. 20mm is only like a half inch. and my wife will tell you; 'a half inch ain't much, but it's better than nothing' i'm sure we could have done it in a safer manner with a proper spring compressor, but: it was a bitch to compress the spring (i seriously thought i was gonna loose 2 of my favorite fingers) and we put it on 180 degrees out because we were too scared to not hurry, so the rebound screw was covered and => not adjustable. (i wasn't about to take it off only to put it back on) on hte 'shake-down' ride, he realized that the shock would bottom out, since it was now essentially a half-inch longer than it should be. and the spring was essentially a half inch shorter but with the same strenth, so it wasn't gonna be any firmer and keep the shock from bottoming out. in conclusion: to swap this piece in you have to compress the spring so you might as well just replace the spring with a shorter, firmer one of the same diameter so you don't hit a big bump and bust your shock when it bottoms out, resulting in your ultimate loss of control and horrific wreck | ||
| Nillaice |
you asked. but maybe someone else has had a better expierience ... | ||
| Froggy |
Your profile says you have a XB12R, your best bet for lowing is to swap the suspension with one off an XB9SL or XB12SCG. | ||
| Xtreme |
Thanks for the info, I have been looking into the suspension swap, but ran into this kit and was curious. | ||
| Terrys1980 |
You can get a yellow spring SCG shock for the rear. In the front you can simply slide the forks up in the triple trees. My bike has 12k miles on it with this setup. | ||
| D2wing |
I got one in the mail today. Cost $195 from Wild Hair. I measured about a 1/2 inch difference installed. It's raining now so I haven't ridden it yet. It's pretty expensive for what you get. A guy on here was going to make some but I don't know what happen with that. | ||
| Ericz |
If you want to go with the rear suspension from a XB9SL or XB12Scg, be sure to buy the whole rear shock and NOT just the yellow spring. The standard length rear shock has too much travel for the short yellow spring and under full travel, the spring retainers can fall out and cause the spring to fall down, causing all kinds of handling problems and probably a crash! | ||
| Xtreme |
Ericz, that a really good point. how much drop does the yellow spring and shick give you? | ||
| Terrys1980 |
About an inch. But the shock can be modified. I don't have a picture of my shock but the adjuster was cut off and a washer was welded in to allow for another .5" of drop. | ||
| Xtreme |
If anyone has a pic of the mod that Terrys has done. I would like to see it. Thanks. | ||
| Terrys1980 |
I won't be home until July 6th otherwise I would be glad to take a picture of the shock. | ||
| Ericz |
Another thing to consider when lowering a XB: Be sure that the suspension travel prevents the swingarm from hitting the frame when under full compression at the bump stop. The first point of contact is between the swingarm and the fuel line fitting at the fuel pump base and could cause damage to both the swingarm and the fuel pump assembly. | ||
| D2wing |
After a test ride of about 50 miles the Mizu lowering collar works well. No more problems at stop lights and the bike feels a little more planted and stable at speed and on rough sweepers. I had no bottoming out issues with about a 225 lb load.It's not a big difference but enough to make me glad I did it. |
