Lowering my bike

[Chinooutlaw]

So my 81 xs650 special2 sits to high for me being I'm like 5'5" and got short legs.
Is there any way to drop the rear so my feet for flat on the ground in thinking at least 2 inches.
19" front and 16" rear tires.

 

[motormike]

At one time they sold lowering kits.... basically.. a U shaped aluminum bracket.... the front bolted to the swing arm.. the U section extended to the rear approx. 2 inches.. the shock bolted to the end of the U.
this lowered the rear about two inches. Ck ebay.. or perhaps forum members have a pair ..? We had a set last year but gave them to a female for her Xs400.
can you lower the ft forks about a inch in combination once you source the lowering kit..?

 

[gggGary]

Well you could do like I just found on the latest special in the herd I had the rear wheel off and in an effort to get things put back together I pulled off a shock, then couldn't get it back on. Turns out billy bob had one stock length shock and one about 2" shorter. Guess he couldn't decide what height he wanted....
Just be aware that dripping the rear 2" will have you grounding parts in fairly gentle turns. When changing shocks watch out for clearance to the chain, chain guard and the disk brake torque arm bolt. Many shocks will cause issues.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Royboy's setup:

(Post #4)
http://www.xs650.com/threads/stock-shock-absorber-height-and-its-lowest-setting.32629/#post-330996

 

[CoconutPete]

I feel like too many people use the 10.5" Honda Rebel shocks for it to be a huge undertaking to make them work. I would definitely do a forum search on it before I just eBay them and throw them on though.

A set of those and a 1" or 2" lowering of the forks and you should be scraping the mufflers in tight turns in no time.

 

[fredintoon]

So my 81 xs650 special2 sits to high for me being I'm like 5'5" and got short legs.
Is there any way to drop the rear so my feet for flat on the ground in thinking at least 2 inches.
19" front and 16" rear tires.

Hi Chino,
two "way out in left field" options that won't leave you with a bike that will rub itself on the ground when leaned over.
1) Wear 2" elevator shoes.
2) Hang a sidecar on it.
Note that besides being able to hold12 cases of beer with the tonneau snapped down
or a weeks-worth of groceries; a sidecar is a great chick magnet.

 

[yamageddon]

Maybe you should first try some different seats before lowering the bike with shocks? With a smaller seat you will more easily get a leg on the ground. A less thick seat will even do more. Do the test: Remove the seat completely and sit on the bike. If another seat works, than you won't have to fiddle with lower shocks and their peculiarities.

 

[PureXaos]

I'm running into the same issue Chino. I'm weighing my options at the moment. Like you, i'm about 5'5". I've looked at other seats, but even with the seat off, the tubing is still too wide for my small frame for my feet to sit flat on the ground. What i'm thinking of doing is replacing the two tubes with that angle outward near the rear of tube rather than at the backbone. I've looked into other shocks as well, and cutting the front shocks down an inch or so. I'll be fabricating my own seat frame/seat, so i'm not constrained by after market sizes.

 

[nj1639]

11" shocks will work to lower the rear and get your feet flatter to the ground, trimming some foam off the TOP of the seat helps too. Issues will happen if you're riding two up or if you're a lard ass over two hundred pounds....thinkin' I'm still under 190 here....lol
Handling will change a bit with lower shocks, might consider lowering the forks a tad to compensate. Front fenders coming up and hitting the bottom of the forks and rear tires hitting the rear fender could occur.

 

[payaso13]

I run a 2 in. hughs drop in front. Honda rebel shocks in rear...my 530 chain would hit shock..i suppose I could of hammered the shock cover in but went with a 520 chain and sprocket...works fine..no rubbing..been good for many miles..i don't use chain guard so can't speak on that.