So, heighten lowering

So, having found out that my 2010 Tiger 1050 had been lowered, what parts and knowledge do I need to investigate the opposite of this and make it standard?

Just curious!

1 Like

It will most likely be a case of rear suspension linkage and the forks slid through the yolks. The linkage will either be a pair of triangular brackets or straight pieces with a hole at either end (dog bone) pretty easy and cheap to do/undo. You will need to find out the standard fork height, measured by how much of the fork is sticking out above the upper yolk. The linkage on the other hand can be hard to tell unless you can get a look at a standard bike or somebody here has one and can measure the distance between the holes. Sometimes there might be a logo or name stamped on the linkage of the aftermarket manafacture but if your sure the linkage is non standard you can just buy the standard ones from triumph.

3 Likes

Thanks for this Andy. The forks are slid through the yoke a little (not much, maybe 1cm on the low side)). But the chap who did my (elsewhere detailed) snatchy throttle fix said that it has been lowered… I’ll send a photo of the suspension links in a bit.

Just information gathering at the moment…

At 5.11 (well…5 10 and a half)… I am sitting, currently, comfortably flat footed on the bike - I don’t mean, like “right now”, I mean, when I am on it :sweat_smile:

I do a lot of traffic heavy commuting…maybe I will welcome this flat-footedness?

However, I am also wondering what I may gain(?) by being stock height? Will the ride be that much different - better? Is there a loss/gain by adjusting heights etc?

I believe I may also need a longer side-stand…but it will be easier to get on the centre stand…

Maybe I’ll just leave it?

But, as ever, all opinions welcome!

1 Like

If its not causing any issues why change it? Unless you found yourself scraping the pegs off the road on corners I’d leave it alone if you think any extra height will cause you to be on the balls of your feet instead of flat footing.

1 Like

Sage advice indeed…and no, I am in no way near scraping my pegs!

I think I’ll leave it. :slight_smile:

My issues is I like to tinker…you know how us boys like to scratch!!

1 Like

It’s the cheapest way of lowering a bike is to fit longer dog bones to the rear suspension then drop the front forks in the yokes. As Andy says if it’s not bothering then why fix something that’s not broke? Lowering the suspension also shortens the wheelbase slightly too so assuming both ends have been dropped the same amount it’ll steer slightly quicker, not that most of us would notice.

FWIW I have a (factory) lowered GS and couldn’t tell any difference handling wise but it does improve your confidence at slow speeds

2 Likes

Lowering the rear suspension will increase the trail, which will slow the steering but will improve stability, by lowering the front end of the motorcycle, it loses some of its rake and trail. As a result, you will quicken the motorcycle’s steering but will lose a little stability. By lowering both the front and rear suspension it will iron out most issues resulting in very little negative handling, the sidestand however requires re modelling otherwise the machine will be to uprights, and you risk the machine falling over. Really reputable companies that sell lowering and jack up kits supply new bolts and brackets for the sidestand, this returns the machines upright position back to near factory spec, the best company I have found over the years is Lust Racing, their products are superior to most others out there. As a few have mentioned if your machine is handling as it should then why change it, reversing the lowering is straightforward, buy new standard links, and readjust the front fork height (but make certain you put it back to factory spec) otherwise you will get the result I outlined at the start of the post. I am a very firm believer in “if it isn’t broken don’t fix it”. Good luck with whatever you decide on and ride safe from an ageing Rocker.

3 Likes

Thank you for these really thoughtful and thought provoking replies…

I think I’ll leave things as they are :innocent:

2 Likes