[thegenius46m]

Installed my GSXR-600 shock with an 80N spring last weekend and so far Im absolutely loving it. Rides way better and the handling improvement is considerable. Given that I'm shorter, 5'6" to be precise, I actually like the lowered height of the rear much more. Can now flatfoot perfectly.

Now I understand the swingarm angle is probably too great as a result from oem, so what would be the best way to combat this without raising the height of the bike or spending a ton on fork cartridges? Would lowering springs for the front work or are the fork shocks not valved well enough? I definitely dont want the bike any taller as I love the control I have now.

 

[Scook2397]

Did you swap the OEM Gsxr spring out? Yourself? I would drop the forks in the triples if you don't plan on flipping the upper shock mounts or purchasing a SPEARS ride height adjust plates.

 

[thegenius46m]

Did you swap the OEM Gsxr spring out? Yourself? I would drop the forks in the triples if you don't plan on flipping the upper shock mounts or purchasing a SPEARS ride height adjust plates.

Yup. It was actually effortless. Didn't even need a spring compressor. There was enough slack to just loosen the collars all the way to unload the spring and swap in the new one. Very easy actually but I guess I have a lot of experience with this stuff on a car lol.

Are you basically just recommending lowering springs for the forks?

 

[yarddog]

I flipped the upper shock mounts when I swapped to the gsxr shock was am very happy with the results. A very slight increase in rear height compared to a slight drop in height if you leave the upper mounts in the stock position.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Are you basically just recommending lowering springs for the forks?

No, he's recommending loosening the clamping screws on the triple tree and sliding the forks through how ever much you want to go to lower the front end of the bike. You will also have to loosen off the clamping screws on the clip on handle bars as well and slide them down a bit to rest on the top yoke afterwards.

 

[yarddog]

Or you could flip the shock mounts. The goal is to try to level the bike out. The shock swap lowers the rear a slight amount. So you either would lower the front to match or buy a set of adjustable links to raise the rear back to oem spec or the cheap route is to swap the upper shock mounts left to right and flip upside down at the same time. That will raise the bike a very slight amount over stock, which many people find to be just fine. Somewhere in this thread it’s posted what the swap lowers and what the mount flip raises. .5 or 5 millimeters. I forget which.

 

[Scook2397]

Installed my GSXR-600 shock with an 80N spring last weekend and so far Im absolutely loving it. Rides way better and the handling improvement is considerable. Given that I'm shorter, 5'6" to be precise, I actually like the lowered height of the rear much more. Can now flatfoot perfectly.

Now I understand the swingarm angle is probably too great as a result from oem, so what would be the best way to combat this without raising the height of the bike or spending a ton on fork cartridges? Would lowering springs for the front work or are the fork shocks not valved well enough? I definitely dont want the bike any taller as I love the control I have now.

Where did you get the spring from and who recommended the 80N spring? Not questioning you just wondering where to source springs. If you want the bike lower on both ends then run the fork tubes up in the triples like KIWI said to lower the front a bit to match the lower rear. Take measurements first to baseline.

 

[thegenius46m]

Or you could flip the shock mounts. The goal is to try to level the bike out. The shock swap lowers the rear a slight amount. So you either would lower the front to match or buy a set of adjustable links to raise the rear back to oem spec or the cheap route is to swap the upper shock mounts left to right and flip upside down at the same time. That will raise the bike a very slight amount over stock, which many people find to be just fine. Somewhere in this thread it’s posted what the swap lowers and what the mount flip raises. .5 or 5 millimeters. I forget which.

Makes sense. The goal was indeed to level out the height. I had planned to raise the rear to compensate but realized how much more I like being able to flat foot with more control that I'd rather drop the front to match instead. Also, I found trying to get the battery box out a royal pia so the day I installed the shock, I just threw it on to see what it was like. Never thought I'd actually prefer the lower rear.

If I lower the front by lowering the triple clamps, do you all think it would make the geometry even worse? I definitely don't want the bike to get twitchy. I was reading how triple clamp adjustments effect steering inputs, but if this is so small of a change that it wont make a difference, we're good lol.

Where did you get the spring from and who recommended the 80N spring? Not questioning you just wondering where to source springs. If you want the bike lower on both ends then run the fork tubes up in the triples like KIWI said to lower the front a bit to match the lower rear. Take measurements first to baseline.

Racetech

 

[N4Fun]

Makes sense. The goal was indeed to level out the height. I had planned to raise the rear to compensate but realized how much more I like being able to flat foot with more control that I'd rather drop the front to match instead. Also, I found trying to get the battery box out a royal pia so the day I installed the shock, I just threw it on to see what it was like. Never thought I'd actually prefer the lower rear.

If I lower the front by lowering the triple clamps, do you all think it would make the geometry even worse? I definitely don't want the bike to get twitchy. I was reading how triple clamp adjustments effect steering inputs, but if this is so small of a change that it wont make a difference, we're good lol.

Racetech

So when you lowered the backend with the GSXR shock you slackened the fork angle on the front end, by lowering the triple clamp on the fork tubes by a similar amount you will restore the fork angle back to original. The only real downside of lowering your bike is reduced clearance when you are leaned over.

 

[JFMNINJA400]

I am gonna give this one last try! I have the tank off and air filter out for yearly cleaning and it wasn’t even really dirty. I want to flip the stock brackets to give the rear a little more height. The front has been lowered about 5 MM when I did the clip ons back in sept. Makes for quicker turn in they say. Now the bike is probably spot on even. If getting to those collars is gonna be a royal pain, I will just leave it! I did take the bike for a spirited run a few weeks ago with the GSXR shock in the rear and it felt awesome. Feels more planted and less bouncy over bumps! I already have the .9 race tech springs, heavier weight fork oil and pre load adjusters in the front.

 

[Scook2397]

I am gonna give this one last try! I have the tank off and air filter out for yearly cleaning and it wasn’t even really dirty. I want to flip the stock brackets to give the rear a little more height. The front has been lowered about 5 MM when I did the clip ons back in sept. Makes for quicker turn in they say. Now the bike is probably spot on even. If getting to those collars is gonna be a royal pain, I will just leave it! I did take the bike for a spirited run a few weeks ago with the GSXR shock in the rear and it felt awesome. Feels more planted and less bouncy over bumps! I already have the .9 race tech springs, heavier weight fork oil and pre load adjusters in the front.

Hey JFM, I don't remember it being a complete pain. Just gotta remove stuff over top where the OEM upper shock mounts mount. Prob under the battery tray.

 

[yarddog]

It was very easy to get to mine because my ecu was removed when I swapped my shock.

 

[N4Fun]

When I did it to flip the shock mount I thought it was a pain but when I did it the second time to remove the ECU it was easy. Obviously the second time I knew what I was doing but also the first time I tried to get at it without removing everything which ended up taking longer and creating more work. Remove the seat, tank, disconnect the battery cables, pull the ECU out of the way and your there.

 

[JFMNINJA400]

Hey JFM, I don't remember it being a complete pain. Just gotta remove stuff over top where the OEM upper shock mounts mount. Prob under the battery tray.

It’s under where the ECU is, not the battery tray. I am debating if I still want to do it now. The bike is still apart, I will make up my mind in the next few days.

 

[JFMNINJA400]

When I did it to flip the shock mount I thought it was a pain but when I did it the second time to remove the ECU it was easy. Obviously the second time I knew what I was doing but also the first time I tried to get at it without removing everything which ended up taking longer and creating more work. Remove the seat, tank, disconnect the battery cables, pull the ECU out of the way and your there.

Could Kawasaki have used any more screws......JEEEZZZZZ Seems like 100 screws. Maybe I will only put half the screws back in to save some weight, LOL. :nerd:

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Could Kawasaki have used any more screws......JEEEZZZZZ Seems like 100 screws. Maybe I will only put half the screws back in to save some weight, LOL. :nerd:

Worst bit is when you get them mixed up and can't remember which one went where. No, worse than that is when you get to the end of the job and you've got one (possibly more if really unlucky) left over. :RantExplode:

 

[N4Fun]

Worst bit is when you get them mixed up and can't remember which one went where. No, worse than that is when you get to the end of the job and you've got one (possibly more if really unlucky) left over. :RantExplode:

I bought a bunch of spare screws so I never really know when I’ve left one out :surprise: :devil:

 

[yarddog]

Just get the major bolts back in. Lol. If five won’t hold it, six wouldn’t either. Haha.

 

[b0Xcrash]

Could Kawasaki have used any more screws......JEEEZZZZZ Seems like 100 screws. Maybe I will only put half the screws back in to save some weight, LOL. :nerd:

That tray that goes over the ECU, I said screw it used zip ties instead, does not hold any real weight, I thought about leaving it out entirely but I like the purpose it serves on tidiness of the routing of the cables/connectors that way I do not have a bunch of connectors and cables kind of shoved all over the place, it was a place for me to put the booster plug, but I got rid of that after the flash.

 

[JFMNINJA400]

Finally

Finally I got to those @#$&*/( top shock bolts! Since I had the gas tank off to clean the air filter, I decided to keep going. Removed the battery and the ECU and Viola, the 2 bolts were right underneath! I resisted the urge to throw them into the NY winter! I will finish this project up in the next few days. Pics below maybe it will help someone else!