I've never seen him adjust anyone's ride height track side yet, but I'm sure he knows how to.

Did you mean fiddling with your lowering links or adjusting the pre-load? Usually when you lower your riding height, you have to do the front and the back so I don't know if its something you can do track side with ease. There could be a lot more work involved and I wouldn't want to speak on his behalf.

IIRC, the seats are non adjustable.
I know that was the way it was on my F4i.
To get a lower seat, you can either lower the bike, get a new seat that has less padding to sit lower or shave some of the material from the seat.

Adjusting the pre-load shouldn't adjust the ride height IIRC but I could be wrong.

I know some people will lower their bikes to accomodate a height problem but I recall either Bill @ 5th Gear or Marbod saying if/when you do that, you destroy the bike's geometry while spitting on the faces of the engineers who created the bike. Oh, and wasting all your money on the bike.

The other option is to get a seat shaved. I know Bill does this.

^ It's true when you lower it you're basically destroying the geometry of the bike

Shaving the seat is the best option. When your riding supposedly you should cover the rear brake on one foot and the other on the ground anyways.

^

my friend's gixxer that we picked up in victoria was rolling on the stock 50 profile tire still. i was flat footing on that mfer so easily and then was like :okay: when i got back on my bike :(

I wouldn't be doing this to a sport bike. Being 5'6 with a 29" inseam, I wouldn't be able to safely or comfortably ride most motorcycles on the street otherwise.

I understand that this isn't ideal. I was hoping that a suspension tune could less negatively affect the bike's intended handling dynamic over something like a lowering kit would.

I completely agree with you, but I think there may be a way of doing it properly.

I always thought lowering the bike in any fashion disrupts the geometry completely because what I had instilled in my head were people normally used lowering links. I was talking to my co worker today about it and he was saying you can't have the rear of the motorcycle lower than the front, and vice versa.

In the case you lower your bike the front & rear have to be adjusted together to be symmetrical, and this is where it could get costly. Having one end higher or lower than the other end changes up the trail and rake characteristics of the bike, ultimately denotes how quick the bike turns and its stability in corners.

this article ties in, its the only thing I could find online but I'm going to extract more info tomorrow cause I never knew there was an alternative. It just costs $$$

Lowering Your Bike Safely - Sport Rider magazine

plus a big downside is when you lower any bike you start dragging parts of your bike on the pavement when aggressively cornering.


but yea you would hear people snicker at the track if anyone inquired about lowering their bike. I'm 5'7 myself TOPS...and I've never had any issues with ride height

^

to be honest putting lowering links on the bike isn't gonna ruin anything unless you start cornering pretty spiritedly. so until you decide you wanna learn how to drag your knee then lowering the bike isn't a big deal. it'll look kinda weird that the rear sags lower than the front though lol

yeah it does look pretty ridiculous :lol it makes the bike look completely potato

^^ I am not sure if that is why our friend high sided LOL..hence his lowered gixxer and his dynamic ego :lawl:

Potato rider :troll:

gf lowered her bike...bumps are much more noticeable considering the lower suspension travel i'm guessing. when leaning, the pegs can easily scrape the ground because of the lower rear end. just something to keep in mind before lowering your bike. once you get used to the bike, you'll feel more confident and flat footing shouldn't be an issue any more. my gf is 5'0 and she's tippy toeing and is still able to push and ride comfortably

Is there a difference in depreciation between the various supersports, enough that it should be a consideration?

I'm thinking about getting an '08 GSX-R 600, they seem to be going for about $8000. I figure owning it over three years would cost me about $2000 in depreciation and about $1000 in maintenance, does that seem about right?

i thnk it really depends what is available for sale at dealerships, craigslist, etc....a year or two ago, i saw a lot of cbrs...now i see gsxr...so its hard to say really. Depreciation lessen as the bike gets older, as i find that most 600cc sportbikes sit at around at a value of 4-5000. Haven't seen anything lower than that...

Yamaha R6 if you plan on tracking. Word of warning though, the shape of the tank sticks out quite a bit, so if you crash, you have a higher chance of dinging the tank, if not destroy it. Case in point:

Thanks Dukes,

I was looking into getting my suspension adjusted. I will call Marbod on Monday to set up an appointment.

The tank design had nothing to do with the damage from the crash. The rider lowsided and the bike went over landing on the tank, so your word of warning is pointless.

He's not open on Monday, unfortunately. Tuesday to Saturday but give his shop a call anyway. Sometimes, he's there and he'll let you come in.