help a short brother out
02-06-2009 | 02:32 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Member
Squid
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 32
help a short brother out
hi my name is ashton
i just bought my first bike
it's a 98 superhawk i'm 5' 7" and i can't get my feet on the ground
and for the life of me i can't find a lowering kit online
can anyone point me in the right direction
and i need some plastics too
i would not have bought a bike i can't touch the ground on but it was only
$600 and it has 11000 miles on it
thanks in advance
i just bought my first bike
it's a 98 superhawk i'm 5' 7" and i can't get my feet on the ground
and for the life of me i can't find a lowering kit online
can anyone point me in the right direction
and i need some plastics too
i would not have bought a bike i can't touch the ground on but it was only
$600 and it has 11000 miles on it
thanks in advance
02-06-2009 | 04:34 PM
#5
Senior Member
SuperSport
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 987
From: San Diego, CA
First try adjusting the preload all the way down on the rear spring, that will get you a little lower.
You might be able to drop the front a bit by just loosening the triple clamps. I'm not sure though because I bought mine with aftermarket bars.
I'm just over 5'8" and I can put both feet flat anywhere. I think my legs might be a little disproportionate though.
The rear link on this isn't typical of most bikes where you just throw $30 down for longer links.
You might be able to drop the front a bit by just loosening the triple clamps. I'm not sure though because I bought mine with aftermarket bars.
I'm just over 5'8" and I can put both feet flat anywhere. I think my legs might be a little disproportionate though.
The rear link on this isn't typical of most bikes where you just throw $30 down for longer links.
02-06-2009 | 06:00 PM
#7
Member
Squid
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 50
From: MI
my solution to lowering superhawks, touring superhawks, global warming, world hunger, and peace on earth is a corbin seat w/ superbike bars. (I'm a long torso not quite 5'7")
Warning for us short guys a corbin certianly lowers the seat height but the bars are a reach. Both @ the same time are the way to go.
(on the other hand the superhawk is lower than the xr400)
Warning for us short guys a corbin certianly lowers the seat height but the bars are a reach. Both @ the same time are the way to go.
(on the other hand the superhawk is lower than the xr400)
02-06-2009 | 08:33 PM
#8
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,547
From: Way Out West
Maybe you've got a short inseam even for a 5'7" guy. Or maybe your rear spring preload is cranked up and/or there is a spacer on top of the shock.
I'd check for spring preload and spacer before I'd look for lowering links.
02-07-2009 | 11:25 AM
#11
Thread Starter
Member
Squid
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 32
i'm not a midget i can get my toes on the ground
can't find my camera but as soon as i find it
don't get me wrong it's no cherry but it's not bad
needs plastic and some little stuff like levers and pegs
i'm going to make it a street fighter
and yes i have a very short inseem like 28
can't find my camera but as soon as i find it
don't get me wrong it's no cherry but it's not bad
needs plastic and some little stuff like levers and pegs
i'm going to make it a street fighter
and yes i have a very short inseem like 28
Last edited by _lunch_box_; 02-07-2009 at 11:43 AM.
02-07-2009 | 12:27 PM
#12
Senior Member
Superstock
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 286
From: texas
welcome to the site and that bike sounds like one hell of a deal. but im laughing my *** off about im not a midget comment. i get called a midget on my bike and im 5-10 and im on my tip toes when i stop. i got a long torso with short legs. to remedy this i just lean the bike a little to one side when i stop and rest one foot flat on the ground. my corbin seat seems to make it worse cause i can flat foot the bike with the stock seat but just barely.
02-07-2009 | 01:39 PM
#14
Thread Starter
Member
Squid
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 32
i was pretty sure it was a good deal
since it's got a clean title and even the parts bikes on ebay were selling for more that i was paying and it ran and road straight
boy was that a fun test drive no right foot peg no front brake lever snowy gravel road and 9 degree weather
so anybuddy know a good sit i can get radiators or plastic from
since it's got a clean title and even the parts bikes on ebay were selling for more that i was paying and it ran and road straight
boy was that a fun test drive no right foot peg no front brake lever snowy gravel road and 9 degree weather
so anybuddy know a good sit i can get radiators or plastic from
.
02-07-2009 | 05:50 PM
#18
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,138
From: Austin, Tx
I'm 5'8" according to my DL but I'm sure I'm loosing a little every year at my age. I can just get my feet flat but I'm dropped 10mm in the triples. I also have an aftermarket rear shock that allows for ride-height adjustment.
He's going to ask you lots of questions and then you get to take lots of measurements. Then you can set up the bike for you. Believe me, it's the same grunt but a whole new road once you do your suspension.
02-08-2009 | 10:57 PM
#22
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,138
From: Austin, Tx
You might also check and see if anyone has added washers to the shock mount to raise the rear height. Like is said above, I'm 5'8" and have a 30" inseam. I think somebody has been messing with the rear shock. It's been spacer'd, replaced with the wrong shock or assembled wrong. Download the manual, print the appropriate pages and compare to your bike. Good luck.
02-09-2009 | 05:18 AM
#25
Thread Starter
Member
Squid
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 32
yes i laugh really hard at that spot light, you can'ts see it but it has the cord raped around the trigger and zip tied it to the light assembly bracket
i checked the shock it doesn't have any spacers
and it looks to spec
i'm just that short that pic was takin with the preload all the way down
so is lowering the front just as simple as loosening the triple tree clamps and leting them slide threw???
i checked the shock it doesn't have any spacers
and it looks to spec
i'm just that short that pic was takin with the preload all the way down
so is lowering the front just as simple as loosening the triple tree clamps and leting them slide threw???
02-09-2009 | 05:31 AM
#26
ride it out
SuperSport
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 745
From: NH
yes i laugh really hard at that spot light, you can'ts see it but it has the cord raped around the trigger and zip tied it to the light assembly bracket
i checked the shock it doesn't have any spacers
and it looks to spec
i'm just that short that pic was takin with the preload all the way down
so is lowering the front just as simple as loosening the triple tree clamps and leting them slide threw???
i checked the shock it doesn't have any spacers
and it looks to spec
i'm just that short that pic was takin with the preload all the way down
so is lowering the front just as simple as loosening the triple tree clamps and leting them slide threw???
02-09-2009 | 06:32 AM
#27
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,547
From: Way Out West
Best to leave the clip ons on, lift the tubes a bit higher than you want them, stick spacers between each clip on and the top clamp then let them drop down before you tighten up.
02-09-2009 | 10:33 AM
#28
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,138
From: Austin, Tx
I want you to take a measurement if you can. I was messing with some other stuff down in the shop this morning and ran across my stock shock. I went back to your picture that shows the shock from the side. It looks like the coils on your shock are farther apart than mine. Mine is on the second to the bottom on the adjuster and the shock measures 13.5 inches from mid-eyelet to mid-eyelet. Our stock shocks are not the only ones that look like this and it could be that whoever got this bike for liquidation sale might have used a shock that looked the same but actually fits some other Honda.
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