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Lowering the Bird


DBLXXTC

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Since I am 5'51/2, my feet have a problem sitting flat. Seeing as though I did not buy my bike to go out and "carve curves", but as a source of weekend enjoyment for the wife and I. I was wondering what you all thought about lowering the Bird with an after market dog bone? Would it present a problem if I rode a passenger? Are there any other factors I should take into consideration before I proceed? Thanks in advance for your insight.....

P.S. Hey TOXXIC,

Where did you get your titanium 1157 lights? please send me a link, and are they legal to run instead of the amber lights?

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The correct way to do it would to be to lower it at both ends. What I did was to lower the spring rate on the rearend and that solved my problem. I'm about 5-10, 5-11 or so, but only have a 30" inseam, so I had the same problem. I took the rearend down about 3/4" at the spring itself and that took care of it. The dogbone will work, but it changes the geometry of the rearend, which can be a bad thing. If you are dropping it more than an inch, you need to lower the front as well. All you have to do is unbolt the fork tubes from the triple clamps and slide them up higher in the clamps themselves (which lowers the bike). This will also raise your handlebars up, making it easier on your back and wrists and makes you sit more vertical. But remember, the more you lower it, the less ground clearance you will have, and when you add a passenger to that, that puts the bike even closer to the ground. That's a lot of sacrificing for two up riding. I'd really watch it over rough pavement because you will have a high probability of scraping the exhaust and who knows what else when two-up on a dropped bird.

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Yes, the titanium bulbs are legal, as they illuminate amber when turned on. I merely did a Google search for titanium 1157; can't remember where I bought them, but they were like $6.00.

Good luck.

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I have the APC titanium bulbs in mine, which were purchased at Pep Boys by another member for me.

APC stands for "American Products Company". They are almost totally silver when off, but look bright amber when on. If you're going to install the clear lenses, I recommend cutting the wire that runs the turn signals on low, to give you a more stealthy look, IMO.

BTW, you may want to do something about your avatar size, which I've disallowed for now. You have a PM, and if you need help resizing, just ask........

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PepBoys is the place for the Titan Bulbs.

Instead of cutting the wire to the bulb, just do what Vern recommended and I did also, which is put a small 1/4" piece of black electrical tape over the contact on the bottom of the bulb, then twist the bulb in place. Very stealthy and easily removed if change is desired. No Cutting of wires.

Also I assume you have the Clear Lenses already. I still offer a 20% discount on Clear Alternatives lenses for members here.

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WOW.....thanks for the replies......I will probably hold off on the lowering and buy a corbin seat 1st....once again thanks.....and thanks for the info on the lights as well

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One word of caution on the Corbin idea........some have said that it actually makes it a longer stretch to the pavement due to a wider seat......not to mention the wait, and customer service (or lackthereof). I personally don't have one, but that's what I've heard here.

I still wouldn't lower the bike, though, due to handling and clearance issues. Have you considered platform shoes? :wink: :grin:

I'm not very tall myself (5'8") and I can barely flat-foot it, but I don't have any problems with that. As long as your feet hit the ground when you stop is all that matters. Just be careful you don't park head-first into a down hill spot and have to back it out. Tip-toes don't make for good traction.

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I did the clear lenses and the titanium bulbs too. Make sure that you get a 27 or 28 Watt bulb or the turn signal will be kind of dim and not too noticable. As John01XX said, a little piece of tape over the contact for the running light and you don't have to cut the wiring in the turn signal unit. Works great!

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You can also pull the bulb-side of the pin out from the connector in the upper fairing. This is what I did. Then I smoked the factory amber lenses, so the mirrors appear to be all black until you hit the signal then you see this mysterious amber flash coming from nowhere.

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Would someone please give me a :pointup: or a :fingers: or something to acknowledge the Platform Boots. Even a "Thats in poor taste and your an asshole. Short people have feelings too" would make my efforts seem worthwhile. It took me 10 minutes to find the picture. Some times I feel I'm not appreciated. :wink:

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Would someone please give me a  :pointup:  or a  :fingers: or something to acknowledge the Platform Boots.  Even a "Thats in poor taste and your an asshole.  Short people have feelings too" would make my efforts seem worthwhile.  It took me 10 minutes to find the picture.  Some times I feel I'm not appreciated. :wink:

Nice boots Involute :fart:

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Before I would go to Corbin, I would check with Sargent seats. They do the type of custom seat work you need. Tell the custom seat guy what your problem is, and they can design the seat, and replace the foam with a type that will still be comfortable.

Sargent uses the stock seat pan, so fit to the bike is no problem (unlike some Corbin seats). Best bet, would be to find another used seat pan to send to them. That way, you have no down time, and you can put the stock seat back on the bike before you sell it.

You may still need to drop the bike a little. You can probably back off the preload (front and rear) a little to give you more sag. (Or, maybe just to get the sag correct for your weight).

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Its really NOT very hard to cut down the stock seat----you undo the staples---use a grinder or knife to reshape the seat---it would be better to take it to an upholstery shop and gett some high density foam put in, thats basically what Corbin does and you dont get that "gay colored piping" :roll: :roll:

BTW----the plaforms shoes would make it impossible to shift---sorry you had to dig thru the wardrobe :lol::lol::lol:

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skip the corbin my custom corbin made the problem worse except for two up riding. its not the height of the seat but the width. wife and i trimed the stock seat piece of cake no pading under inter legs and a stop bump at the rear to keep you from sliding off. oh ya get the frame sliders too that will save your plastic when your left foot lands in the hardly oil slick..

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You could try dropping the Bird by cranking down the rear and slidding the front tubes and if you don't like it, just put it back. No cost but time.

You guys laugh about those shoes but at the track this year, a tiny 17 year old girl shows up with a brand new GXR 750. Zero miles, wheelie bars, no foam in the seat at all, both ends of the bike dropped as far as possible. Still, she had custom made boots that looked a lot like those. She had never riden a bike before. Full matching leathers. Dad got it for her. After a few passes, she was hitting the low 11's. Not hard on the eyes either.

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