Just know that moving forward after a lowering kit, that the bike will not handle as well. Whatever height you "drop" in the rear, you will need to lower the front the same amount (by raising the fork tubes in the triple clamps). You will most likely have less corning clearance when lowering it. Also- you will most likely need a shorter kickstand as well. Good luck-

 

Just know that moving forward after a lowering kit, that the bike will not handle as well. Whatever height you "drop" in the rear, you will need to lower the font the same amount (by raising the fork tubes in the triple clamps). You will most likely have less corning clearance when lowering it. Also- you will most likely need a shorter kickstand as well. Good luck-

Raising the fork tubes will change the geometry even more for the worse. You need to re-spring and cut the inside spacers to lower properly.

 

I have a lowered 1.5 inch bike and I dont really feel the difference on the street.

 

im fairly new to riding, im about 5'0 and had the same issue when I first got my bike. dropped it twice in the first week I got it because the weight was hard to handle with barley being able to touch the floor.

now it feels like a breeze to stop. I just drop my feet a bit as It gets slow and kind of 'walk' the bike into a stop. dont stop too hard. each time I stopped harsh, my balance was off and I dropped it.

 

There are several methods to dealing with motorcycle height. Some are covered here:

Short rider issues: Before you lower try to learn some...

It is far better to learn to ride the bike without any lowering at all. Lowering does little good to the bike and a lot bad. There are very short riders managing to ride very tall heavy bikes, like Jocelin Snow, who is 5'1" and rides BMW adventure bikes. Lowering does nothing good to the bike...

www.r3-forums.com

Note that there are many bike models, like adventure rigs, that even 6'2" riders cannot sit on with both feet flat on the ground. They use these same techniques.

The only other option is to select a cruiser style bike, which is designed with a low seat height. But that is not necessary.

 

You know.... Sometimes a new rider just needs some confidence. As we progress, we learn to notice the subtle changes in geometry. At 4'11", she just needs to be able to touch the ground- period. I doubt she will be joining MotoAmerica Junior Cup anytime soon. The OEM suspension on the R3 is so "broad", and designed to suit so many different sizes/weights of riders. I doubt many street riders could even feel the subtle changes in geometry? I stand by my original reply-

 

I disagree. The R3 suspension is designed for a fairly narrow statistical group of between 130 to 165 pounds give or take preferences. Most lighter riders will find it over-sprung and over dampened. Heavy riders will find the fork too soft for stable and predictable hard stops. Lowering using cheap tricks only makes these issues worse.

When I got my bike, it had been lowered the cheap way (shock block and forks slid up in the clamps). It was awful under hard stop braking, with the front tucking in and feeling very uncertain. Hard stop practice is a part of riding well, and learning. When I got the lowering junk off the bike and got it back to its proper original setup, hard stops were predictable and felt significantly better. When I changed the fork springs to suit my weight, the difference was night and day better. I can pretty much hard stop it with the rear nearly off the ground, and not feel the front end hunting from loss of trail.

The problem is, a new rider will not know is normal or what is being caused by an improperly modified rig - perhaps until it causes them an issue that results in a crash. Bottoming suspensions on a hard stop, or obstacle is not fun, and can lock up a wheel.

I personally believe that all street bikes should be set up to execute the one line of defense we have available to us that should be practiced to the point of being an automatic response - max hard stop braking. That requires the front end have the travel and maintained geometry available to support this, without getting squirrely, and also to recover immediately when the brake is released. The vast majority of crashes are from cars pulling in front of bikes, either from the side, left turns across the bikes path. You gotta have a bike that can stop NOW, and/or respond to the brake being released to execute a turn away from the crossed path. That takes stability and a fair amount of practice.

What a bike does in curves and turns is for fun, and in that case, you ride whatever is under it and live with it - lowered or not. What a bike does under maximum braking is what will save your life one day - and that should never be compromised. IMHO anyway.

 

It's all about rider adaptability and technique..🙃

 

Omg I just got the same bike as yooouuu!! Thank you for asking this question. I fell and dropped my bike a bunch of times already which is so disappointing, but I'm trying not to be too hard on myself for that lol.