Have a '15 Versys 650LT. The bike came from the dealer with the front forks slide about 3/8" above the top triple clamp. Seems mounted high to me.
Question, is there a recommended mounting height for the forks from Kawasaki or other's recommendation. I know sliding the forks down will give more stability and sliding them up will make the bike turn quicker.
I think you can ignore that without fear.
It makes me laugth how amplified are the otherwise minute changes discussed in forums and articles.
You sink the front by 10mm, at a distance of let's say 1500mm (wheelbase is 1415mm) from the rear axle.
That's 1/150 or 0.38 degree (of rake). See what I mean?
The preload, how much fuel/luggage you carry, your weight, your position, even tire wear, could all change how low the triple clamp is, by more than 3/8"...
If that really mattered, I would simply dial in (add) preload to raise it a bit, rather than a costly visit to shop.
The guy I bought my 2015 from was pretty short and had the fork tubes pulled up a fair amount to lower the bike.
I did not care for it and restored the front end to stock height. Folks already complain about forward slope/bias and raising the forks just makes this worse.
The steering and turn in on the bike is very nice at stock height and IMHO does not need to be changed.
When I installed my rear shock lowering link the recommendation was to lower the front of the bike also. As a shorter person 5' 6" 30" inseam the lower position was helpful in getting my feet flat on the ground. I don't think the average rider will notice the change in ride by moving the forks. The bike just rides the way it does and I like it.
Just went out and "measured" the fork height ABOVE the top triple clamp on BIG RED, my '08, which I BELIEVE is at the OEM height: I got .550" from the top of the 'triple' to the TOP of the fork CAP.
Like Jpd said, when I did the Speedy lowering kit on the rear shock it was recommended to lower the front shocks on the 15 650 as well the prescribed amount. This combo will give total bike lowered an inch and a half I think it was. I tried it without lowering the front for a while then lowered the front. Combined with the rear lowered the bike feels more planted and aerodynamic for my tastes, a bit more road bike. A little less top heavy also for a 5 foot 8 inch guy like me. Especially in a strong cross-wind with a full tank of gas in the M 3. Depends on your riding style, whether you need the stock clearance..
Did it myself. Be careful, the second one went too far down. I used a jack and 2x4 under the triple clamp to bring it back to the correct position. That let me move it slowly.
the lowering kit from Speedy looks very nice. I lowered my bike differently, but getting adjustable shock from YSS and softer spring, so now I can flat foot. I lowered the front by total 20mm (have also hyperpro spring in the front)
The Racetech does not recommend the lowering links, as too much interfering with the bike's geometry. you can check here: Lowering
Near as I can see, the Versys 650 is a raised sport bike platform. Niinja. I did Speedys rear lowering link back and lowered front forks to their recommendation. This is really where the bike came from, rides well down lower for the road. Its lowers the bike only 1 1/2 inch I think. Forget about hopping downed trees though if thats what you like.
Front Fork Installation •Install the fork so that the distance between the top end
[A] of the outer tube and upper surface of the steering
stem head is the 12 mm (0.47 in.) [C].
All of them.
Makes the bike more enjoyable to ride overall
Have also done this to my Mk2 2015 V1k as well with the same result
Try it and see - it only takes ~10min to do and you can revert to stock setting very easily if you don't like it
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