Please do. I have yet to put mine on and interested in how much it really drops.

 

Seat Height Before: 35"
Seat Height After: 34.25"
Unloaded drop: 1.5"
Loaded drop: 2.25"

Pretty Easy job. Snapped a few pics for you.

Once you get the bike on a stand, make sure you support the rear wheel. The bolts will slide right out.



You can pull the inner sleeve out to expose the needle bearings. Mine weren't dry, but I was able to push in 4 grape sized ***** of grease into the set.


Stock vs -1.5 links (131mm)


To get the new links on, you'll need to lift the rear wheel up. I lost 1" of travel. You can see how the tire now hangs above the supports I used.


All put together and torqued to 61 ft-lbs.


Hmmm... looking at the picture above maybe I didn't loose drop. Looks like my rocker arm was up against my stand.

Anyways, it's lower. Easier for my to climb on it for sure. The kickstand is marginal on flat ground.

 

Those look good. Where'd you get them?

 

Got them from Burkhart Cycle. $30 bucks shipped. Got them in a week. They look good in person too.

Kawasaki Dual Sport : burkhartcycle.com, Motorcycle Parts and Accessories

 

Looks like the lowering links change the leverage on the spring. I had to tighten it up to get back to the same sag numbers. Still on the ragged edge for the stock spring, but it'll work for me. The kickstand works now. With the spring tightened up the bike pops all the way up without any weight on it again.

 

well I got my lowering links a couple of days ago, also from Tom Burkhart. Cannot beat the price of just under $30 delivered. I went for the 1-1/2" drop. Very nice fit/finish. They measure 128mm center/center, as opposed to the stock 117. Mine is an 07, so slightly different geometry of the pivot casting. I dropped the forks in the triple clamps, so they measured 1-1/16" inch to bottom of cap. I did not dare to go lower than that, it looked funny. I shortened my kickstand 1-1/4", but I think for this setup shortening 3/4" to 1" would be ideal, even know they they call it a 1-1/2" drop.

As for fit for my 5'7" body, (31" inseam), the drop is just about perfect. Right on the ***** of my feet. Perhaps just a hair lower than I expected. If I had the choice, and were to do it again, I might go for a 1" or 1-1/4" drop. But I am very happy with the feel and the balance of the bike now. Have not ridden it more than a mile or two yet (waiting for decent weather and state inspection). Will report back once I get some miles on it.

 

Update, the 1-1/2" drop links are working out great. I changed the drop in the triple trees to 3/4", bike has better stance. No complaints with handling. Tried it a little off road and seemed fine. I don't ride real aggressive though. Small jumps, etc, that is about it.

 

Just wondering. Youre 5'7 a lot taller than me. My in seam is 29.5 inches. I thought I needed to lower my bike but when I got it, it was fine. I can tippy toe with mx boots on even on traffic stop going to trails. Do we need to have both ***** of our feet planted to the ground? I have no troubles on the trail . I just have to be quick to slide my butt to one side lol. Isn't it when trail riding lowering the bike makes it prone to being hung on rocky terrain ?

 

It is all about what you are comfortable with. I prefer not to tippy toe. Plus, I am only about 145, so not alot of sag in rear (on the bike that is) going on. True it does reduce ground clearance, by probably an inch. I don't do a ton of rocky terrain. Plus, even with the drop, this bike has more clearance/suspension than my former 1987 Honda XL250R.

 

I'm was the same way. Rode mine for 6 months at stock height to see if I would just get used to the height. I could ride it, but once or twice I got caught in a spot off road where I couldn't put my foot down to hold the bike up and dumped it. It's also an easier ride around town when it's lower for me. I may go back up to stock, but I was just tired of fighting the height.