Upgrading 2002 to 2017, seat height and lowering

[Quatro]

Hi all. I couldn’t see a place for introductions so just before getting to my questions... Hi! I ride a 2002 SV650 unfaired in red. Had it about five years.

My struggle with bikes is my height. I’m 5ft3, 28inch inside leg. Plus I only weigh 50kg and lacking in strength (working on that!)

I know people ride all sorts and you don’t have to be flat foot, but I want to be. I feel much more stable, comfortable and confident, and so I enjoy riding more.

My bike was already lowered when I bought it. I wear wedge heels in my boots and am almost flat foot.

So...coming to the fact I want to upgrade, I saw that the 2017 model is almost an inch lower than mine as it comes originally. And there are some 4inch lowering kits. I don’t know how much mine is lowered (is there a way to check?)

I sat on a 2017 model and it seems way too high, I was barely reaching with tiptoes. Makes me think mine must be lowered more than just an inch or two!

Has anyone used these 4inch lowering kits? I know the concerns over lowering in this way, but given my light weight and the fact I’m not trying for knee down turns, I don’t think it’ll be an issue for me. It hasn’t been on my current bike.

Can anyone confirm they genuinely get the bike down to 26.9inches? And is there anyone of a similar height to me that can tell me how it feels height wise then?
Obviously I don’t know what it’ll be like til I’ve bought the bike and had a kit fitted and if it’s still no good, it’s a bit late then!

Other than that, I’ve been considering my options and would probably end up with a Honda Rebel. 27inch seat height -perfect size for me, love the styling- still a bit street, but a compromise on power and build quality. And comparatively expensive.

[Seeker]

Welcome.

I'm 5'6" with a 29" inside leg (62kg), my bike's seat has been altered so the seat height is slightly taller than stock, I can touch the ground with the balls of both feet. Normally they alter the height by changing the length of the "dog bones" but only by 1 - 1.5 inches, 4 inches seems a bit drastic and would seriously affect the suspension performance. Does the kit include some method of lowering the front too?
I don't think I've flat footed a bike (with both feet) since the 70's when I had a Yamaha 350. I do feel your pain though, I would have liked to buy an adventure bike but they're too tall for me. On the other hand (!) I don't usually put both feet down, if I want to flat foot I just lean the bike slightly.

You can check yours by either getting someone to hold the bike and measure the seat height or better, measure the length of your dog bones and compare them to another bike. I'm sure someone on here will know or will measure the length of a curvy's dog bones.

Honda 500 Rebel is about 20lbs lighter than the (2016>) SV and would fly with someone as light as yourself and it sounds like it would fit you nicely. The 2016 onwards SV is a bit heavier than the curvy (by 20lbs - getting porky in its old age).

[R1ffR4ff]

Where I live there's a good Service called DRS,

http://www.drshull.gbr.cc/100800/contact.php

Who lower bikes.There might be something like it near you?

[Quatro]

Thanks for the detailed reply ��

These are what i saw:

https://soupysperformance.com/soupys...ing-links.html

I think I actually saw them linked from this forum initially.

[Quatro]

That’s great thanks. I’m not too far from Hull! Never heard of this before.

[Adam Ef]

4 inch lowering kits aren't necessarily shortening the dog bones by 4 inches. Just a few, often 20mm to 40mm shorter on the dog bones makes the back end lower by more than the decrease in dog bone length. So they might be stating the amount the bike will change rather than the difference in length of the dog bones. I think if you actually took 4 inches of the dog bones they'd no longer fit!


For example I have an adjustable shock that does the same thing and I've extended it 5mm, which has raised the back end by an inch or more.

[Quatro]

I’ve looked at the dog bones on my current SV and they’re six inches, if that means anything. Not sure if it was lowered in any other way. The seat height is currently about 29inches so that’s roughly 2.5-3inches below standard and I’ve never had any issues.
I’m a little wary of the adjustable links, wonder if the fact it’s adjustable means there’s a weakness (if the nut can work loose etc?). Obviously safety is the most important and people have such conflicting opinions over lowering links.

[Adam Ef]

My adjustment is within the shock, with a locknut to lock it off, so fairly solid.

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by Quatro

I’ve looked at the dog bones on my current SV and they’re six inches, if that means anything.

According to this post:
https://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=173329

a standard curvy has 105 mm /4 1/8" dog bone, so your bike has been lowered.

The link you supplied to the US site with the adjustable dog bones shows that they have lock nuts and that the threaded parts are steel and look robust. They do mention that you may need to shorten the prop stand though. At least with an adjustable one you can play with it until you're happy with the results.

How else could you lower a bike? On some bikes you can shave the seat foam but on a newer SV which has an uncomfortable seat to begin with, I wouldn't recommend it. You can lose a small amount of height by increasing the rear shock spring preload. Alternatively, like Adam Ef, you can shorten the shock length but would probably need an aftermarket shock for that. You can push the forks up in the triple clamp (slightly) to lower the front end but this will affect the way the bike handles (turns into a corner).

A longer dog bone would be the cheapest option. £60 for 1.2" lowering: http://www.lustracing.co.uk/suspensi...ring-kits.html

[Quatro]

Oh sorry, I meant I didn’t know if anything had been done to the preload or shock length on mine. Ha yeh, llooking at the newer SV, there’s barely anything of the seat to begin with!