Lowering my 250 TE...

[montanaman]

Well.. after a few short months and several "tip-overs" I am going to bite the bullet and have the suspension lowered on my 2011 TE250. At 5'7" and 30 inch inseam I just need to be closer to the ground to be comfortable. Sure I can ride it but having to mount up like a horse at a trot and having to do recon on every stop its taking the fun out of it. One thing to note .. the Pirelli rear MT21's ( 120/80/18) have gotten me almost 3/4's of an inch lower just based on tire profile over the Karoos that came on the bike ! So ..I think I am only going to have to go one inch lower on the springs to get almost 2 inches total. My suspension guru at ESP suspension in So Ca is indicating that other than a slight loss in travel the bike should actually corner and handle better that stock. I made a great deal on the bike so 700 to make the suspension custom for me seems good. Although had I known that the 2012 was coming stock 2 inches lower I would have just waited and bought that. Oh well... thats the way it goes. Does anyone out there think that lowering it is a big mistake?

 

[OlderHuskyRider]

I say go for it, but can't you just get a dogbone for the back and slide the forks in the front, for about $50?

 

[JasonfromMN]

Or go to a 100/100/18 rear tire, soften the rear spring, up the compression/ rebound clickers just a little and drop the forks in the clamps?

Otherwise if your going to keep it for a long time getting it professionally lowered isn't a bad idea.

 

[huskyfrk]

you can only drop the front end so far, and it isn't much due to the change in dia. on the upper tubes. a dog bone is the smart way to go, along w a shortened sub frame, and in shear desperation, perhaps a cut down seat. i have a 27 inch inseam i gave upon getting it anywhere close for me. even worse is my motard, i need a childs step stool just to get on the thing.

 

[montanaman]

I am going to have it lowered properly and spend the money. I really want to be more comfortable on it and still have the suspension be correct. At 51 one years young I am not riding aggressively enough to worry about the inch loss of travel. The JD kit goes on and the 250 is all I really need to have fun in the dirt. I really like the bike. Thanks all ,.... Curious.. What is a "dog bone" ?

 

[Phoenix]

http://www.koubalink.com/Husky HL8.html

 

[somdale]

Had my 2006 lowered by MX-Tech and was real pleased by it. I have 28" inseam and 1" lower is about perfect for me.

Dale

 

[GuyHusky]

I installed a 1" lower seat (from Husqvarna parts) and it makes a huge difference.

Now the bike as a more standard seat height, comparable to other motocross bikes I owned.

A big plus is that this modification does't affect the geometry of the bike.

 

[6grade4ever]

I'm wondering what the TE250 is like on the freeway? Could it be tolerated for hours? I'm also short and have a problem with reaching the ground on most DS bikes. How low can the TE449 be lowered?

 

[montanaman]

http://www.koubalink.com/Husky HL8.html


So thats what a " dog bone is.. I've heard that that is not really the proper way to go about it. Messes up the rake and lightens the front end.

 

[mnb]

Dog bones are the easiest and cheapest method, but can be trouble. The problem with the dog bone is that it doesn't reduce the suspension travel, it just shoves the tire up higher, closer to the fender. So if you bottom out, it can rub. If you do it hard and at speed, it can lock up and mess up your day.

That said... A mild change via dogbone might not rub. You'd have to check the clearance at max compression and see how much leeway you have available. If you have the clearance, a dog bone is cheap, fast and effective.

No matter what method you use, you should also adjust the front, either by raising the forks in the triple tree and/or changing the internal spacers. You need to do this to retain the proper geometry for the bike. Otherwise the front is high, rear low and it suffer some in turning.

 

[montanaman]

I'm wondering what the TE250 is like on the freeway? Could it be tolerated for hours? I'm also short and have a problem with reaching the ground on most DS bikes. How low can the TE449 be lowered?

My 250 is with the 50 rear sprocket is not good at speeds of 60 and up. Revs are very high. I have done 70-75 for short distances to get to off road areas..

 

[benwiggin2]

I shaved an inch or two out of my seat.

 

[montanaman]

I shaved an inch or two out of my seat.

I did shave the seat about an inch but that just was not enough for me so with the new tires ( Pirelli MT21) and lowering the bike an inch with new springs front and rear I should end up with a seat height of about 35 inches which should be about right. Not too tall and wont look like the bike was modified all that much.

 

[Slowpoke]

Not a big fan of using dogbones to lower bikes. I did that on a DRZ I had. It messes with the leverage ratios etc. on the rear spring & shock and can make the rear suspension wallow un-neccessarily. Part of this is also due to the now changed spring rates between the front and rear. Also it can screw with your steering geometry cause you usually can't lower the triples on the forks enough to compensate adequately. It was OK when I was first learning and really slow. As I got faster, it became a problem.

Unless you're a really slow rider who may not notice the difference too much, better off to just get an inch or so properly taken out of the suspension. IMO

 

[R_Little]

I'm wondering what the TE250 is like on the freeway? Could it be tolerated for hours? I'm also short and have a problem with reaching the ground on most DS bikes. How low can the TE449 be lowered?

The TE250 sucks on the freeway.....for anything more than 10 min forget abut it. You'd have to gear it too the moon to keep it from blowing up.

It's not a street bike.

 

[Laura]

I've heard of a TE 250 engine blowing up because the lady rode it mainly on the road. Wasn't covered under warrantee anymore so she ended up buying a larger bike because it was so expensive to fix. I guess long road riding causes a lot of strain on the small engine and it would need regular checks to make sure nothing is wearing out.

Anyway, on the "Lowering". I don't want to spend too much money right now on suspension on my TE 250 at the moment. Is there anything wrong with bringing the front forks up a bit so that the front end sits lower and then compressing the spring a bit on the rear so that sits lower too. I'm not an expert rider and just want my feet to touch the ground a little better without sacrificing the saddle foam. When I get used to the bike, then I can think about customizing the suspension. Is there anything wrong with doing the quick fix.. ? thoughts... thanks

 

[MontyCarlo]

I will drone my TE250 for 30-40 mile stretches at 60mph or less; in New Mexico dual sport rides you will often find yourself with many slab miles between trail sections. The revs are high, but not beyond what the bike can take IMO. The problem is that the oil capacity is very low and so it shears out of grade really fast. I have a theory that the people who are blowing their engines by freeway droning aren't keeping the oil fresh, and this contributes to the premature failure. I change mine every 250 miles or so and so far so good My valves don't even move between checks, and I'm pretty sure it's due to keeping fresh oil and clean air filters.

Laura, on your suspension - nothing wrong with raising the forks up a bit, but not too much. After you've raised the forks, make sure you test with a couple of controlled, big hits to the front suspension to make sure you don't bottom out into the fender (crash hazard).

Also, you definitely don't want to compress the rear spring, you want a lighter spring so the suspension will sag more. Compressing the spring with extra preload will probably have negative effects. Springs are cheap and easy to change. Shaving the seat is still a very good way to go, and a good upholstery shop can replace the foam with something a bit more to your liking, so you don't sacrifice any comfort where it counts.

 

[HUSKYnXJnWI]

.....
Anyway, on the "Lowering". I don't want to spend too much money right now on suspension on my TE 250 at the moment. Is there anything wrong with bringing the front forks up a bit so that the front end sits lower and then compressing the spring a bit on the rear so that sits lower too. I'm not an expert rider and just want my feet to touch the ground a little better without sacrificing the saddle foam. When I get used to the bike, then I can think about customizing the suspension. Is there anything wrong with doing the quick fix.. ? thoughts... thanks

...
Laura, on your suspension - nothing wrong with raising the forks up a bit, but not too much. After you've raised the forks, make sure you test with a couple of controlled, big hits to the front suspension to make sure you don't bottom out into the fender (crash hazard).

Also, you definitely don't want to compress the rear spring, you want a lighter spring so the suspension will sag more. Compressing the spring with extra preload will probably have negative effects. Springs are cheap and easy to change. Shaving the seat is still a very good way to go, and a good upholstery shop can replace the foam with something a bit more to your liking, so you don't sacrifice any comfort where it counts.

Matter of terminology “decreasing preload” of the rear will allow it to sag more when weighted- it will compress more (changes resting position of the spring) resulting in the bike sitting lower. While the suspension characteristics and chassis tuning will be thrown off- it is “OK” to have your bike’s sag set so that it sits a little lower. As long as you know you are throwing off the chassis and suspension and are choosing to give that up for a better height bike for you. Obviously some of this depends on your skills if this is beneficial. Once you start pushing the bike you may notice some poor handling or excessive bottoming- you’ll have to make adjustments as needed- might need to add a little preload back… Your dampening settings will be way off- might benefit from more compression- and less rebound. Play with it… Again- if its not in race conditions or speed you can probably get away with doing this…

Now you have a “chopper” though, so you’ll want to decrease rake by raising the fork tubes in your triple clamp- this will also lower your bike a little as well. Again you’ll be giving up some clearance so as stated previously watch the bottoming at high speed G-outs.

Once you get used to this bike you can raise it back up when you have more confidence. Or if you are going to ride more aggressively but really really like the bike lower- get it professionally lowered internally. My buddy road a 08TE510 Chopper (I gave him crap) by decreasing preload, cause he couldn’t swing his leg over the bike- but as he started to get better and started bottoming and pushing the bike in corners he set up his sag to spec. Took him about a year.

Good Luck!

 

[john01]

I'll be sending my 08 CR144 suspension off to WER to have him re-valve, spring, and lower it 1 1/2". I asked him and he said he has done quite a few with excellent results. I too have a 30" inseam but no tip overs or anything just want it lower for the woods.