Hey gang, I just installed a set of 1" lowering links from Marty's contact. The machining work was very nice, all the edges were smooth, no burrs anywhere and had a nice brushed finish. They were machined from 6061 aluminum. They are just a hair thicker than stock but there is also more meat in the middle section as these are squared off and the stock ones are tapered. I was a bit worried when I found out they were thicker than stock, because of the reports of fitment issues with the Kouba links and not being able to tell if they are on the shoulder or not. I'm pleased to say that there is no such issue with these! If you are going to change the links or even for just greasing the bearings I highly recommenda frame jack and a small car jack to take the weight of the rear tire. By adjusting the rear tire height you can get everything aligned so it all just slides back together nicely, unlike when I tried to take it apart without the wheel being jacked up and I had to use a punch to push the shoulder bolts out.

Anyway ignorance aside they bolt up nicely and I don't notice that the sag is any different than it was originally. I had read that the mechanical advantage would be different and effectively put more load on the spring but from some hop tests in the garage it doesn't feel any softer, only some riding will tell though and the bike is presently "winterized" with no battery etc. so it will be a bit before I can give a ride report.


Long story short, for anyone that's considered lowering or raising the KLX I highly recommend these links, especially for the price! For the price of them you can by 3 different lengths for the price of one set of Kouba links.

And here's a link to the links, http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=180071857411

 

They are the same ones as I got only the holes were too small so I let him know and he is sending me some more out.

 

I would still like to hear from someone who installed the links to raise the height

 

Hmmmmm I would like to raise the bike. Maybe I'll order a set and let you know. The Kenda K270 tires are almost an inch shorter than the Dunlop 606, so I should get a set of the links nowso that when I do change tires the height willbe the same. Then after that I am going back to the 606.

 

I'm picking up parts to dial in my KLX. One of the things I was going to get was correct spring wieghts for my bantam wieght 140 poundbum. As I understand it the rear spring is for somebody about 180 pounds.

Can somebody confirm if the lowering links alter the leverage ratio on the shock? I'm assuming the change in length has morre leverage thereby effectively "softening" the spring. Is this true? If so by how much?

Since I'm only 5'6" I've always battled high seats on my 250cc MX bikes. These links, if doing what I think they do, might kill two birds with one stone: lower seat and soften rear spring. Both of which would be handy. If anybody could chime in and confirm or deny my thinking or provide a link that would fantastic.

Thanks in advance.