Bike a Little Too Tall? Soupy’s Performance Has the Fix.

October 1 2009

You know how it is; you’re stopping in dealerships, scouring the want ads and researching on-line looking for a new bike. After sitting on plenty of motorcycles that may or may not fall into the desired category, you find ‘The One’. It’s perfect–the handlebar to seat to footpeg ergos are spot on, it looks cool and has a great engine–except your feet don’t really touch the ground properly. Bah, details. So you buy the bike anyway but soon realize you need to lower it for safety’s sake.

This is where Soupy’s Performance comes in. I recently needed to lower a Suzuki SFV650 that magically appeared in my garage. Being as the Suzuki SFV650 is brand new for 09, I was a little leery that they would have a lowering kit for the bike, but the ordering process was smooth and simple and I had the lowering links within days of placing the order. Soupy’s Performance carries adjustable lowering and raising kits for dozens of today’s motorcycles. The adjustability of these kits is key since you can raise or lower your bike to fit you, as opposed to installing a solid lowering link that will lower the bike but the result might not be the correct height for the rider. With Soupy’s kits, you simply undo the adjusting nuts and turn the centre hex link evenly on both sides in order to raise or lower your bike, while the adjustable links are still on the bike.

On the SFV650, I had to remove the exhaust to gain access to the original dogbones and to install the two new adjustable links. The kit I installed initially lowered the bike but it was a little too much. I simply wound the centre hex nut on both of the adjustable links until the bike sat about two-inches lower than stock, allowing the rider a perfect flat-footed stance while stopped. The whole job took about two hours on the SFV650, but installation time would vary depending on the model of motorcycle.

Be aware though that when lowering the rear of a motorcycle, the front should also be lowered to retain the proper steering geometry, and your kickstand may also need adjusting.

To see a full selection of lowering and raising kits go to www.soupysperformance.com, price for the SFV650 adjustable lowering kit is $75 in U.S. funds.

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