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GSXR 1000 stock ride height help!?

7K views 31 replies 8 participants last post by  fastfedd 
#1 ·
I recently purchased a super clean 05 GSXR 1000. The only problem is the previous owner lowered it. They also lowered the back much more than the front. I'm 6' 4" so I really want it back to stock height. The dog bone is adjustable so I can fairly easily move everything up. However, I understand that handling is effected if I raise the rear too much or not enough. So does anyone know a way for me to figure out the stock height for the rear of the bike? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
#2 ·
Just buy some used stock dogbones, and put them on. Then, have the top of the fork tubes sticking up about 5mm above the top triple clamp. Should be pretty damn close to stock.
 
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#5 ·
Damn, I was close! Been a while since I worked on one.
 
#12 ·
I sort of liked this one. It's cheaper and includes the gun drilled bolts at either end. I'm wondering if your bolts might have been replaced to accommodate thicker adjustable dog bones. The one that you found looks to be in slightly better condition but, depending on what you currently have, you may need a pricey bolt & nut. There's an NOS part for $20 but only one and no bolts.

Swapping parts is fairly easy except that, as I recall, you have to raise the back in a way that unloads the rear suspension. So the usual rear lift won't work. The bolts need to be torqued.
 
#15 ·
Thanks, for 20 bucks, what the hell, I'll order it. I cannot get to the bike till Friday so I won't be able to get any pics till then.

On a side note, I made a thread about my headlights and how they suck, while the bulb wasn't great and I replaced it, it still wasn't that good, I realized that the headlight was not positioned properly, that it was aiming too high. I just realized its probably because the rear is lowered and the front isn't, its cocked up, makes sense.


I'm going to order that one now, thanks!
 
#24 ·
Ok Now Bill, let's get this straight for real-
I didn't 'wreck', I crashed!:lol:lol
 
#17 ·
^Don't understand what you're saying. Having someone sit on it would compress the rear suspension, which is exactly the opposite of what you want. All Suzuki says is "Support the motorcycle with a jack to relieve the load on the rear shock absorber." You could raise the bike with a jack placed beneath the frame where the swingarm pivot is. But that's very close to where you'll be working. I use a hoist with a strap around the seat rails to pick the rear end up till the tire doesn't touch the ground.
 
#18 ·
To unload the rear suspension, put the bioe on a rear stand, and then put jack stands under the rearset mounts (not the footpegs!) and remove the rearstand.
 
#26 ·
When you said adjustable I was thinking turnbuckle style. Yours appear to be the same as pictured earlier by Samantha. I gather that Yana Shiki sells them. From what I see in your pics, the link bolts are drilled so they're probably OEM.

This would be a good time to do some cleaning, like on the spring.
 
#27 ·
Thanks! Yea I will clean the crap out of it all, that said do you know if what I ordered will work? I will simply just replace the arms I assume? The actual pivot piece or whatever its called is stock? just the arms on my bike are whats lowering it?
Sorry very new to this, but the research I found says this is the case.


Also, does my spring look like its adjusted all the way down?
 
#28 ·
BillV Thanks a ton, that dog bone from ebay delivered today from Ca. to FL. couldn't believe it!

Needless to say, I was quick to install it, and have to say I was worried when I measured the ones on my bike to the stock ones, the stock ones seemed much shorter and maybe it wouldn't raise it back up. In anycase, installed stock dog bones and happy to report, I'm tippy toeing :) can almost flat foot at 5'10, but not exactly.

Thanks all!!


BTW manual stated 56 ft. for torque spec, hope I read that right because taking them off they felt over 100lbs.
.
 
#29 ·
56.5 ft. lbf. is the correct torque for the link bolts. It sounds like I'm too late but you probably should have checked the spring length per 8-51 in the service manual. The picture is a tad misleading in that it seems to indicate that the length includes the adjusting nuts. AFAIK the length is just the spring. Note that the min & max lengths are only 5 mm (.2") from the standard length.
 
#30 ·
Well, I did check to see if it was cut or not, but I guess they make after market springs too?

It's definitely higher up now, not sure if its stock height, I can still kind of flat foot it again 5'10. but more of a tippy toe to be comfortable. I have to admit, I see why people drop just the rear and NOT the front, I couldn't understand why any would do just the rear until I just rode about 30 minutes, lol. I'm now no longer just sitting back, I'm more leaned forward putting more weight on my hands :(

While FL has no turns or anything fun, just straight and hot 99% of the time, I do have a trip in 2 weeks to Blood Mountian/Helen/Blairsville Georgia and plan on going up there 2-3 times a year so I'm going to keep the stock height.
I also did turn my spring tensioner a little, it seems too stiff to me, so I loosened it about 1-2 full turns, more like 1.5

Want to thank everyone here, since getting this bike I had a small handful of things I wanted to do and this forum and you all have helped so much! very grateful!
Thanks again!

I'm finally done and as of now have nothing I really want to upgrade or change (except the new fairings to install, in a few weeks)

Thanks!
 
#31 ·
I have to admit, I see why people drop just the rear and NOT the front, I couldn't understand why any would do just the rear until I just rode about 30 minutes, lol. I'm now no longer just sitting back, I'm more leaned forward putting more weight on my hands :(
Lowering the bike messes with geometry, ruins handling and lowers ground clearance but lowering just the front or rear is inherently dangerous. If you lower the rear an inch, you need to lower the front an inch as well and vice versa. As for the weight on your hands/wrists, you need to work on your core strength. You should have no weight on your hands/wrists.
 
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