[NinjaBraap]

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.

 

[NinjaBraap]

Most forks are lowered incorrectly, which causes handling issues and potential clearance issues.. To do the job correctly, there is a spacer inside the leg above the valve body that limits the tube extension length. You add spacers to the stack to reduce the fork extended height. This also moves the compression stop down into the slider, to limit travel an equal amount. Raising the forks in the triple clamp is a hack. You still have full compression, which means the front wheel will travel fully upward but clearance above it will be reduced by the amount the forks are moved, which could potentially cause contact with the lower clamp, or in some cases the fork boots with the triple clamp. When you do it right, lowering a bike 1.5" reduces suspension travel by 1.5" as well, so that in full compression, the wheel and fender do not travel further than the original compressed limit.

The same applies to the rear shock. Lowering kits that just move the lower shock mount downward, effective raising the swingarm, are just a hack. The result is a full suspension travel rear suspension, now closer to the frame and bodywork by the amount lowered. The only proper way to lower the rear is to purchase a proper shock that is shorter in both extended and compression by the same amount. Lowering the rear by 1.5" then reduces rear travel by 1.5", just like the fork, so that the suspension in full compression maintains the original rear wheel clearance. On the R3, lowering the rear also increases the swingarm length a little, and puts the axle higher in relation to the counter sprocket, which will have an effect on how the bike squats under acceleration (more on a lowered bike).

There is another issue frequently ignored. When you drop the suspension, you reduce trail at the front wheel, since the wheel moves upward at the rake angle. This reduces steering effort, center feel, and ultimately stability at higher speeds. Under hard braking, when rake is lost due to fork compression and rear shock extension (pitching/rotating the chassis forward around its center of gravity), trail is diminished even further - and the result can be a rather nasty head shake - at the worst time, and unpredictably. On a light bike, neither are a good thing.

This is why lowering bikes is not really a good idea if it can be avoided. It initially reduces ground clearance, reduces suspension travel, and reduces trail on the front wheel. It is possible to work around the trail issue by lowering the rear somewhat more than the front, to impose additional rake to regain trail... but that's not something most backyard modifiers are prepared to work out, and beyond the expertise of the majority of dealers as well.

Yes, we all know that there are lots of improperly lowered R3's (and others) around, with satisfied owners. All I can say is that you don't really know whether there is an issue, until there is - at which point, the consequences of getting it all wrong can be a bit ugly.

Thank you! This is exactly what I tell people.

 

[NinjaBraap]

I used to be a "customer/supporter" of Norton Motorsports.... It appears (to me) that you are attempting to profit from "fear mongering".... I know you're a supporting vendor on this site, and I'm trying REALLY hard to respect that. Street riders are NOT track oriented riders. Yes, EVERY rider will benefit from a properly sprung front end, yet most won't even notice the difference. I currently have three Yamaha R3's. Two of them are dedicated track-only bikes, the third is a dedicated street bike. I'm a rider coach at a local track organization, and I see so much bad information out there from people that have no idea what it's like to ride a bike @ less than 5' tall. I am NOT one of those people.... I just know how hard it is to be trying to get a little confidence, while trying to learn a new skill-

I'm sorry that you feel that way, but that's not at all what I'm trying to do. I've actually said this long before I worked for Norton, mainly because I personally experience this exact issue as a short rider (I'm only 5'4"ish). I rode for years with a lowered ZX6, that was lowered improperly, I never setup the ergo, and even started riding at the track. I struggled to get comfortable and learn how to ride like I wanted, until I undid the lowering on my ZX6, set up the ergo and suspension to me, and then it was like night and day difference. I went from feeling awkward in corners, to being confident.

This carried over to when I started racing the Ninja 250, and gave me the confidence to start racing as a direct result, and this was before I was even a mechanic and still in school. Back then, I learned what ultimately helped me as a rider just from watching Dave Moss's videos, and then even having him setup both my ZX6 and Ninja 250 at Thunderhill.

My recommendations are coming from years of not just personal experience, but also years of helping other riders and friends deal with the same issues I had. Sure, new riders aren't racing, and most aren't at the track. However, having a properly setup bike suspension, ergonomic, and tire wise make all the difference regardless of skill level for instilling confidence vs holding someone back from enjoying their ride.

 

[NinjaBraap]

I'm sorry if I came across as "harsh". I still love and will continue to support Norton Motorsports. I just see so many posts on this site (as well as other sites), that are continually telling people their bike "sucks", and if they don't upgrade X,Y, & Z, they are sketchy..... I HATE that!!! I have three R3's on the stable, as well as an FZ-07. I set all of them up myself. I'm no suspension expert, (I just do a LOT of research) but, EVERY rider that has ridden any of my bikes on a track comes in, and always says the same "don't change a thing". I actually encourage my track friends to ride my bikes. I'm always looking for feedback. It's actually slightly disappointing when I hear "don't change a thing" .... I honestly think we are very similar in our desire to help newer riders. I'm sorry about the "fear mongering" comment yesterday.... I had a really bad day @ work yesterday, and brought it to the R3 forum. Please accept my sincere apology-

It's cool man, we all loose our cool sometimes, just don't let it get the best of us, especially on track

To clarify, we're not saying anyones bike "sucks" (unless you stretch an R3 🤣), we're just trying to help future generations of riders avoid the same mistakes we or others have made. That's what these forums hopefully accomplish, or at least some of the more senior regulars here I'm sure are aiming for.

I totally get the "don't change a thing" being disappointing. My R3 is far from perfect, and I'm always trying to improve it, but I'm also on a budget. The older I get, and the more into racing, the more I realize I can't just do cheap parts well and expect things to work out well in the long run. I barely made it through this last season, and while the bike still hauls ass, and the duplicate I sold to a friend won the Amateur 350SS Championship (he totally ****** that bike up too, so it's like super impressive), I can feel and see where mine lacks, even if most people think it handles awesome. I'm just picky. Currently most of my budget is going into my Ninja 400 build, and the R3 will be my kart track practice/B bike, but I'll still do what I can on a budget to improve it.

What I learned is having properly setup suspension and ergo for while riding is the most important thing, and being able to adapt and do things like be comfortable putting only one foot down, and learning how to brake and throttle for around on the street rather than ruining the handling of a bike is better for you as a rider in the long run. If you learn to ride an improperly setup bike, either you'll be holding yourself back and not have as much fun (all without knowing you're doing so), or you'll develop bad habits. Then, once you finally have a good bike setup to you, you'll end up once again hitting barriers in your own development and having to re-learn basics.

We're just trying help people avoid those issues, and **** what I've found is people will get frustrated after they fail to grasp why their improperly setup bike keeps crashing, then sell it and now another newbie rider ends up being hurt from the previous owners mistakes (kinda what happened on my 636, except I managed to be cautious enough to not crash).