lowering front end?

[bretzg]

I'm almost certain I'll be going with the Wilber rear shock model 640 which will allow me to lower my 2005 Tiger an inch or two. Can I lower the front end on that bike without messing up the handling or my warranty? Thanks.

[Patrick]

No chance! If you lower the front and/or rear end, your are changing the geometry of the bike. That WILL have an effect on the handling of the tiger. Note, that I don't say it will become worse or better. I don't know that. But it will change.



Lowering the front end is be easy and shouldn't affect any warranty. Simply open the fork yokes a bit and raise the fork pipes (?) up to an inch. Then tighten the yokes again. This is fully reversible and quickly done. But keep in mind, that whe you loose all the yokes simultaneously the front end will drop instantly right to the wheel. This may cause severe damage (not covered under any warranty), so better prevent it or let your local dealer do this.





Have fun!



Patrick

[bretzg]

I ordered the new Wilber rear shock today at 1.5" lower from Klaus at Wilber. My local Triumph dealer said they'd mount the new shock and set up the front end to match so it should be nice once I get it all done. WIll be nice to flat foot it at stop signs. Will report back once everything is done and I can put a few miles on the beast.

[Chris Canning]

Be interesting to see how you get on with both you sidestand and center stand!!!!!

[bretzg]

I'm thinking I'll take the side stand off before I bring it to the dealership to get the new shock on and get someone to cut about 2 inches out and reweld the base plate or I may go with a bigger plate to give it more footprint which will be nice when I'm off road on dirt/gravel. Then when I get it back I can have the modified side stand ready to go back on. Then I'll see how tough it is to get it on the center stand. I read somewhere where one of the guys that lowered their Tiger road the rear tire up on a 2x4 and then put the center stand down. Since I only really use the center stand to oil the chain and clean the rear rim, I don't think it will be that big of deal. I'll keep you posted with the progress.

[Guest]

No chance! If you lower the front and/or rear end, your are changing the geometry of the bike. That WILL have an effect on the handling of the tiger. Note, that I don't say it will become worse or better. I don't know that. But it will change.

Patrick

I think Patrick has over reacted here. So long as the front and rear are lowered the same amount the geometry will be the same. You'll just lose a little ground clearance on leaning round corners. i.e. more sparks coming off the footpegs :D

[bretzg]

My Triumph dealer's service manager said it was no big deal and they've done it on other Tigers and have never had a problem except with the side stand and I can handle that. He said they take a bunch of measurements to make sure the geometry of the suspension is where it should be and he said the bikes they did it to handled better as the center of gravity was a bit lower and the bike felt easier to throw in to a quick corner and then flick back the other way. Just his opinion and I guess I'll see in a few weeks when the new shock gets here.

[kiwitiger]

When I lowered my 2002 by rotating the rear axle I made another stand so I could go back if I wanted> It wasn't a hard job.

 The easiest way to measure how much to cut off the stand is to put the bike on the your lawn on the side stand, pull the bike down on the side stand to the angle you want it to lean on and then measure the depth of the hole in the lawn. Then cut this amount off. Mine was 25mm or an inch for you americans. An easy but effective method.

Merry xmas to all. :lol: