My R* was owned by a shorter fellow who had lowered it. I'm a much bigger guy and wanted it a little higher and wanted it to not bottom out so much. I found a stock dog bone with arms, etc on ebay for $50. I bought a progressive spring and la choppers spring compressor and got to work. I got the instructions here in the tech articles area and got to work . It took a total of three hours, but if i had to do it again i could probably get it done in 1/2 the time.

Removing the bolts that hold the arms and dog bone to the frame was a little tricky. there's not much room to move the wrenches under there. an deep socket was key to getting the front off. patience was the key to the back side. Another thing that was tricky was keeping the tines of the jack out of the way. First i put the jack near the back of the frame and got the front bolt out. then i moved the jack forward and got the back bolt out.

Putting the assembly back in wasn't too bad. I put the front bolt in first. I was able to lay on my side with one leg under the back wheel to move it up and down until I got the back bolt in. Would have been easier obviously if i had some help lifting the back wheel, but i managed.

Anyway, the lock shop estimated 3 hours at $105 per hour to do the work, so i saved $300 by doing it myself. After doing it myself in 3 hours, making TONS of mistakes along the way, and not having the best jack or tools, i do think the shop should have been able to do it in much less time than 3 hours ...

What did he use to lower it?? Adjustable dog bones? I am interested if looking to part with them??

he had a different dog-bone in there. honestly it doesn't look that much different than stock, but the bike is higher now that its gone. when i bought the bike, the old owner told me he lowered it by replacing the dog bone. its not an adjustable one, it looks a lot like the stock one except a hair shorter and it seems "thicker"

i'd be happy to send you the old lower one. i have no use for it. send me a pm with your address and i'll send it off. you can send me $5 or $10 for the shipping someday when you feel like it. if you can't use it, feel free to pass it on to someone who can.

-don

Did you bring the front end back up to stock height or was it already there? I believe I read that if the front end is lowered and the rear is at stock height you may have handling issues. Worth checking if it's the case.

good to know. i don't know if he lowered the front ... do you know how i can tell? the guy didn't mention it, so i'm not sure.

congrats on saving $300.now you can spend that on something else for the scoot.not all. but, alot of dealerships/shops(automobiles & motorcycle) uses software to determined the required time to make a repair/replace a part. the dealership enters their hourly rate as the default rate. everything the software calculates is X hourly rate. software tells the tech is takes 3 hours to repair/change ABCD. you're charged hourly rate X 3 no matter if took the tech 2 hours or 3 hours. i do I.T. work at a few auto shops and a HD dealership. the auto shops use softeware called shop key. the HD dealership uses web based software provided by HD. the software is a rip off. i think we should only be charged for actual time spent working.

Don Dickinson wrote:
good to know. i don't know if he lowered the front ... do you know how i can tell? the guy didn't mention it, so i'm not sure.

I just measured mine (stock) and it's just about 30" from the center of the axle to the top of the tree. I believe lowered is about 1 1/2" less.

rballew wrote:
. the software is a rip off. i think we should only be charged for actual time spent working,




So if there is a new guy that doesn't have to experience or hasn't spent $100k+ on tools and the job takes longer due to this you would have been ok paying 4 or ever 6 hours for a 3 hour repair?

not to hijack don's thread.sig,sorry if i struck a nerve.i'm more than happy to pay for time spent working on my bike,car,etc no matter how much time is spent. i'm not happy to pay for 2,6,15 hours labor for 1,5,12 hours actual work. by using the software the dealership/shop makes an extra $100, $300, $500 or more a day for no work at the expense of the customer.example:$90 per hr rate,4 techs, 6 bikes/cars.software estimates a total of 20 hours combined. all bikes/cars were repaired in 15 hours combined. the delarship/shop made an extra $450 & didn't have do to a thing for it.within a year they make a small fortune & have 0 hours in it. a newbie may take a few more hours to make a repair. i'm happy to pay for his/her time. more money is made in labor than anything else. labor is the only thing the dealership/shop doesn't have any monetary investment in. the software allows the dealership/shop to profit when the profit wasn't earned. I'd feel the same if the i.t. company i work for used softeware to charge for repairs.imho,it's not right. call me old school or even stupid if you wish. i want only what i pay for, nothing more nothing less.

I switched out my spring last week. I installed the 465 Progressive. The shops told me 3 hours too. $55 to $60 an hour. The one shop told me they had to remove the whole rear tire and take the rear apart. I hate being lied to. It took me about 1 1/2 hours. A neighbor helped me slightly raise the tire to remove the bolts. I was nervous to do the job but after talking to USAFRETIRED (A Clinic Member) I was happy I did it. Pat was a lot of help. I wouldn't have done it without him. THANKS PAT