Rear Ride Height Adjustment
 

Has anyone adjusted thier rear ride height ? Ive got a 12 month old 749S and I was wondering if adjusting the rear ride height would speed up its turning. I tried to adjust it yesterday and got the top nut loose but the bottom one was seized up (yeah I know its a left hand thread) Both nuts are soft alloy and have corroded to the threads (the bike is not used in the rain so this must be from washing it !!)
Should I persevere with the ride height adjustment or is it not worth bothering with ?

Yeah, I'd recommend altering the ride height. I've followed the section8superbike setup guide which is pretty good. The 749 now turns in much quicker and holds a tighter line. Try this

Section8Superbike

[Edited on 21-3-2005 by sbwells]

Yeah those nuts are made out of Swiss cheese or summat!:mad:You may have to take the adjusting rod out of the bike to get the nuts moving,then coat the threads in copper grease.
Well worth doing tho,I experimented by turning the adjuster half a turn at a time.(I dot punched a referance mark on the rod)Ideal set-up for me seems to be two full turns from standard.The bike turns in with a lot less effort.:D

Rear ride height
 

thanks for the replies gents. I have lowered the forks down to the fourth mark as described in the link but the ride height adjuster appears to be at 285mm ( and the swiss cheese nuts wont come loose either) which is what is recommended. I checked the sag and its at 27 mm front and 22mm rear which is a bit off what is recommended. I'll give it a go and see what its like. did you do all of these changes or just some ?
I did notice the fork stanchion bolts werent that tight either !!!

[Edited on 22-3-2005 by posidenuk]

I know what that sec8 site says.but you speak to pro twins, who raced a 999, and or jhp, and both are adamant that you dont drop the forks like that!

andyb

Would you care to elaborate please?

Just been out for a blast and I have to admit it feels like a new bike. the steering at slow speed is especially good now as it is much lighter and you dont feel like its going to tip over on you when you do a slow right hand junction. It feels a lot like my R6 did when i had sorted that. The front tyre certainly feels like its gripping now, before it felt like it was sliding sideways. I'll continue to run it as it is and let you know how I get / find an improvement. I use my bike on the road and dont want a track set up. This certainly seems to work and its not a hard mod to do (and you can revert back if you dont like it. - and its free)

So, all you've done is dropped the forks? Did you manage to increase the rear height, or was it already at 285mm?

Yep all i did was raise the forks through the yokes so that 4 grooves are showing on the fork top. All you need is a 6mm allen key. Before you start I would mark a line vertically from the top yoke to the side of the clip on - this is so you can realign the clip ons to the same position after you have set the height.
I lowered the clip ons by 10mm first so that they would act as a stop and prevent the fork sliding up further than I want it to. Then just slacken off the lower yoke bolts and the top yoke bolts and the fork comes up to where you set the clip on. tighten everything back up and make sure the bars are where you want them and thats it.
Top Tip - you can cut the end of the 6mm allen key so it doesnt stick out of the bolts so far it makes it easier to use as there isnt much space inside the fairing.
I havent bothered the rear ride height yet as the nuts are seized up and need a soak in release oil - I will do this when I can though.
If you do this mod can you let me know what you think ?

Posidenuk – I’ve altered my geometry as per the section8superbike site and find the difference between the standard setup and the altered setup noticeable.

I ride my favourite rode at around 100-130mph (no cops or traffic only the odd farm vehicle) and at this speed the turn in is definitely faster with no reduction in stability. On the standard setup the bike would run slightly wide on the exit of higher speed corners and this had been eliminated with the geometry change.

Please check your torque settings on the triple clamp pinch bolts as the factory torque settings are quite low so as not to crush the fork tubes. I guess fork length from the under side of the triple clamp to the base of the fork should also be measured to ensure fork lengths match (important for correct front axle alignment)

Some feedback from andyb on his statement would also be appreciated