I know this sounds like, "Oh my god you shouldn't do that just to drop your bike lower", but I only weigh 100 lbs. I always have to adjust preload where possible on my bikes, to make up for the fact that I'm really not budging it very much on the road.
Those of you who have lowered preload to minimum on front and back, how much did it drop the bike? How was handling affected?
Rear preload position for your weight is 1 (minimum) or lower ideally (not possible). It should "lower" the bike slightly (when you sit on it due to spring compression).
Are you trying to lower it or trying to soften the suspension?
The rear shock preload is set at 3 from the factory. You could adjust it to 1 and see how that suits you. As for softening the front...Your kind of out of luck unless you change springs. If you want to lower your bike you can get lowering links on eBay for cheap, but if you lower it you'll make the suspension even harder than stock...a whole lot harder. Tippy toe and one foot it. That's the way.
Thanks for the info. I'm used to tippy toe one-footing bikes, but I have to get them to 30.5" to be able to do so. I have basically two toes on my left foot with this bike, and I want to have just a little more leverage than that. Being able to get ball of foot down would help a lot for when I'm on a falling-away slope (which is common where I'm at). I'll look into lowering kits.
I really liked Soupy's adjustable links on my NC700X that I'm trading in, so I'll likely get that for the CBR500R as well. I can bring it back up as I get more comfy with the bike.
Mine is 30.5" (measured) with the seat lowered/shaved (and narrowed for better reach).
My rear preload is 1, with measured sag of 35mm (with full gear); optimal. I'm a little heavier than you.
Kudos to you for gaming these (relatively) "bigger" bikes.
I can't physically help, but I can hopefully encourage.
Winding the preload right down won't lower the bike unladen, but will allow your weight to have a greater effect on its laden height. I have mine on the lowest setting, for comfort, despite being about half as heavy as you again. If you can get lowering links or a shorter shock for the rear, you can drop the front forks 1/2" or so in the yokes too, which will help.
Those suggesting it will adversely affect the handling at the limit are, of course, correct; but it's far better you can ride with that in mind than not at all.
Best of luck, and keep us posted with your progress.
You can loosen the triple clamp bolts and allow the forks to rise, thus lowering the front. But you'll need to lower the rear an equal amount with a lower kit to maintain the bike's geometry. Be aware that lowering a bike will make using a center stand much more difficult. I lowered an NC700X by 10mm front and rear and had to ride the rear over a 1" high ramp to be able to get the rear wheel off the ground.
Thanks for the advice! Soupy's has both adjustable lowering link and sidestand for the bike, so I'll see if that will take care of dropping the half inch I need. I was fine on the heavier and bulkier NC700X with the seat height at 30.5", so I am sure I will be more than fine with this at 30.5". I'm also going to get a custom seat when budget allows to narrow it and lower it in the front, then add "freeway padding" in the back. Maybe I should add a pillow-like tank bag, too. Haha just kidding on the last one!
I take your advice on the center stand well. I had forgotten this bike has one; the NC doesn't come with one stock, so I was just assuming I'd use my spool sliders and a rear stand like I had for that. Spool sliders and a dual-sided rear stand work for the CBR500R, right?
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