Be Warned .. Tip Over Risk

[79XS11F]

BE WARNED .. TIP OVER RISK
I installed my clip on bars yesterday evening after lowering the forks enough to attach those clip ons to the top of the forks. This morning when I went to reinstall a fork air line I turned the front wheel completely to point away from the side stand. I needed to do that for easy access. WELL the bike just rolled over onto the floor :-( No damage to speak of because it was a controled fall but i could not hold it back. Anyway BE WARNED that if you lower your forks at the triple tree you best pay attention to the geometry of the front wheel as it related to the side stands height when parking your bike.
Rob

[Dragonrider]

Heh heh...yeah, if you're leaving it like that perm...you need to adjust the side stand.

It'll fall over if you get a flat tire too (especially rear).

[79XS11F]

How do I adjust the side stand? Can't cut the foot off to shorten it.
Rob

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Rob,

I had the "OTHER" problem when I lengthened my front forks by 4", I had to extend my sidestand and later my centerstand. I found a local welder that put an extra piece on the end of my sidestand, complete with a larger footplate to help prevent it from sinking into hot asphalt.

So....you'll need to cut out a portion of it, and then reattach the foot plate so that it's a touch shorter!

Have you tried to put it on the centerstand since you lowered it? You'll find the leverage point is a bit tougher to attain since it is sitting lower. If you get a large/wide piece of 2x6 or so, drive the front wheel up on it, then you'll get the height back you need to be able to get the centerstand closer to the leverage point!
T.C.

[79XS11F]

Originally posted by TopCatGr58
Hey Rob,

I had the "OTHER" problem when I lengthened my front forks by 4", I had to extend my sidestand and later my centerstand. I found a local welder that put an extra piece on the end of my sidestand, complete with a larger footplate to help prevent it from sinking into hot asphalt.

So....you'll need to cut out a portion of it, and then reattach the foot plate so that it's a touch shorter!

Have you tried to put it on the centerstand since you lowered it? You'll find the leverage point is a bit tougher to attain since it is sitting lower. If you get a large/wide piece of 2x6 or so, drive the front wheel up on it, then you'll get the height back you need to be able to get the centerstand closer to the leverage point!
T.C.

Well I do intend to leave it this way. still have plenty of clearance between the header and the fender. So I guess I got some welding to do. I will leave it as is until I strip the bike down this winter for the other frame mods.
Thanks guys.
Rob

[Pat Kelly]

You'll also find that you've lost cornering clearance. With the bike lower things will scrape sooner when cornering.

[LoHo]

...of course, you could always go around the corners s...l...o...w...l...y and solve that problem...

[John]

I lowered my 81 SG by 1 1/2 in back and 3/4 in front I had to use bar backs to move the handlebars away from the top of the fork tubes, in order to raise them in the triple clamps. I used 11 1/2 inch shocks in the rear. I also had to cut the center and side stand by an inch or so. The side stand could use another 1/2 inch removed, in order to have a more secure lean angle when on the side stand.

[randy]

You know, Bob, any bike will do that if you point it downhill and put it on the sidestand!