May 25, 2012 – The lowering Kit, Part Two

Yesterday afternoon I picked up Red Girl and brought her home. Greg had spent a considerable amount of time installing the lowering kit and his diligence paid off; the bike now sits around 1.38” lower just as the kit advertisement said it would.  

It wasn’t an easy install; the difficulty he encountered was dealing with the mono shock spring assembly. Evidently it requires a special compression tool which the shop didn’t have and he was forced to get creative using other devices. He tried to explain how he’d gotten around this but I wasn’t able to follow him so I can’t pass it along; suffice it to say the job got done and I didn’t have to pay for any lost time.

I arrived back at the shop in time to watch him adjusting the front end and when he was finished he helped me load her onto my trailer for the ride home. I make it a habit to stop and check the tie-downs after the first couple of miles; this has saved my bacon a couple of times when straps or ratchets were about to give way. This day all was as it should be and I continued on my way home.

Of course by the time I arrived home it had started to rain again so I wouldn’t get a chance to go for a ride; Red Girl would have to spend the night on the trailer. Unloading bikes during rain storms isn’t my deal so I put her cover on and called it a day.

Today was much the same; heavy rain again, nearly all day. Late this afternoon it finally let up and Linda helped me balance things during the unloading process. I’ve unloaded bikes by myself but I really like having someone to lend a hand, especially bikes as heavy as Red Girl.

Sitting on the stock saddle I’m really impressed with the difference, I can now sit with both feet flat-footed on the ground with a slight bend in my knees. My inseam is a scant 29 ½” so this is a major improvement over the stock height and well worth what it cost.

Here’s how the expenses broke down:

Metissel lowering kit including shipping:             $190.00

Honda World 3 hours shop time@ $70.00:        $210.00

Total installed cost:                                            $400.00

So do I think it was worth it and would I recommend it to others? You betcha! Considering what so many of us spend on farkles like GIVI cases, GPS’s, custom saddles, and more this was a steal. Not only will it improve the handling by lowering the center of gravity it also adds to the safety factor by reducing the chances of dropping it.

LL

PS – Of course it’s raining again!               

May 28 update

I've been on two short rides so far, around 200 miles total and the bike handles great. Being able to stop with both feet flat-footed on the ground without reaching makes all the difference in how easy it is to ride. This puts Red Girl on a par with my Ninja which so far has been the best bike I've ever ridden. I highly recommend this mod to anyone with a short inseam.

LL