When I (well, when Tim, Jerry and Dean) Re-did my suspension in 2004 it made the front end sit higher. So I lowered the fork tubes like maybe 5mm or something like that. handling got WAY better and I noticed no ill effects.

Now, I still think I might be able to go lower.

If I'm on the freeway behind a truck or something that creates some turbulence in the airstream the bike has a pretty good side to side sway. Once I pull out of the slipstream behind a truck it handles fine, and it handles fine up to whatever speed.

So anyway... If I lower the front and go "too far" what will happen to the bike? How do you know you lowered your front too far? Head Shake?

Yep, headshake. My '97 was lowered like 2" in the front. Personally, I loved it, you can toss that bird around like it was a 954 or something. Only under extreme accelleration or braking, a little headshake (not too bad though). I had most of the problems, just like you, behind large trucks... but that's easily fixed with a twist of the wrist .

Another problem would be hitting the fender when the suspension bottoms out.

I have a 1" lowering link, and I've slipped the fork tubes just ever so slightly less than 1". As previously stated, hitting the forks on the bottom of the triple-tree is the biggest concern. Since your front end was raised and you have stiffer springs, you can probably drop more than that.

So if my front end seems to be 'light' when I'm behind a truck, is lowering the front another MM or two going to make it worse?

Mine are dropped 7mm, no problems.


I've heard 10mm referenced as the upper limit, but haven't messed with anything above 7mm myself.



As far as the buffeting behind trucks, that's been brought up before. In my opinion, if that's the only time it happens, you're talking about aerodynamics probelms, not chassis setup problems. Changing the geometry like you have will make the steering more sensitive, so any buffeting on your shoulders and body will be more easily tranfered to the front end.

So, yes, quickening the steering a bit will probably make that problem worse. But who spends any time riding behind a large truck?

I can only offer anecdotal evidence, but when I installed my lowering link -- effectively raising the front end like Nik's suspension modifications did -- I had a great deal of aerodynamic instability. Leveling the bike by slipping the forks proved to solve these issues.

I will say that the Z6 M1 combination feels WAY better in corners than the avons did


I REALLY REALLY REALLY like these tires!

Maybe I'll tinker with dropping the front end a tick more. If it gets worse I could always put it back.