I'm just wondering what people think about the handling of their bike if lowered as opposed to stock. The Ultra I recently bought was lowered by the previous owner and although the bike rides great I really feel like it doesn't corner as well as Past Ultras I've had- it seems to me to want to take a wide path cornering, is this because of reduced lean angle (?) vivid imagination- something must change when you modify suspension geometry! Going back to stock h ight in a week or so. Thx

 

You are not imagining things. At this point you're going back to stock don't worry about it.

 

one of my bikes is lowered- and it goes straight and fast- don;t turn as well as when it was stock.

my touring bikes I prefer stock height for a number of reasons- cornering is part of it, but suspension travel too- on a most touring bikes you get 2.75" rear shock travel- on a streetglide or other "X" model 1.75"

I like a soft floaty ride for 8 or 10 hour days in the saddle

you are also less likely to dent the top of the fender on a pothole

Mike

 

If you lower rear you SHOULD lower the front also

 

The SG and factory lowered bikes all have stock length forks with shorter shocks, however we seem to be talking here of raising this bike!

 

My 2005 was lowered, by me, 1" front and back using Progressive parts. Rides the same or better.

It is not a sport bike, I rarely lean enough to drag my knee!!

 

I was thinking of lowering the back of my ride to be flat footed when I stopped. Everybody was telling me by just lowering the rear would change the handling of the bike. So I changed the seat. Like OP have said if you do one you need to do the other to maintain the handling

 

I lowered a 2000 Road King Classic 1" with Progressive Monotubes and Shocks. It "tightened" up the handling on mine. Reduced fork dive when stopping, and a lot less flex when taking sweepers at highway speeds. Overall, I'm happy with the handling improvements, and I like the lowered look.

But....on tight right turns, I scrape the floorboard much sooner, but it really doesn't affect how I ride. On tight left turns, however, I scrape the kickstand first and that is a little problematic. I have lost a kickstand spring twice on mountain twisties (so I carry zip-ties as a quick fix as well as an extra spring in the saddlebag). Scraping the kickstand, when it is hard-up against the frame, concerns me about affecting rear tire traction in hard turns. So, I have to be mindful of my lean angle turning left.

Nevertheless, I'm otherwise happy with the affect of the 1" lowering on the bike's handling.

 

true, but then you loose the ability to turn tighter- which maybe you don't need everyday- but may make the difference in avoiding an accident, or taking a curve at the same speed as the traffic around you.


sport bike riders sometimes refer to a "chicken stripe" this is when the rear tire only has wear in the center. riders with these are the ones who slow to 45 mph for a curve all the other traffic is taking at 65 mph incl. cars.

hard contact of parts mounted on the motorcycle with the pavement can take the traction off the tires- which leads to a slide....the survivors will say "I had to lay her down" this is BS, they didn;t have control of their machine.
a rider course can be in order.

this is why pegs and floorbords are made to swivel up out of hard contact- on a lowered bike the floorboard mounts may contact before the pads.

Looks is preference but "i don't lean" speaks to me of a lack of knowledge/ ability.
sometimes a motorcycle owner has to look right in the mirror and ask whether their skills are up to the task.

this is not a personal attack- quotes like the one above are posted from time to time.

Mike


* tangent but think of what could happen to an insurance claim if there is a wreck- and it is shown that the owner modified the bike from specs-

my spouse caused what would have been a minor accident 20 years ago. because the owner of the other vehicle had performed some "mods" to his truck- rather than our volvo hitting his bumper, our car went under his prerunner and flipped it up and over, starting it rolling down the road & totalling it.
the insurance denied his claims for damage and injuries and all could be shown to be a result of his mods and the use of "off road/ competition parts" which raised his CofG , compromised his suspension and raised his bumper above the legal requirement

 

My 2000 Road King Classic is lowered 1 1/2" front and rear. Best thing I have done to the bike. Changed the handling for the better, and reduced the nosedive a bunch.