Cervantes
Well-known member
Hey All,
I was not sure where to post this, so I put it here. I hope that was OK.
So at the beginning of the season, I was thinking of fixing my 79 GL1000 up and getting something a bit lighter. It just seemed like so much bike to handle. I was thinking of maybe a V-Star 650 or 950... But as the months wore on, the old Wing and I have had several adventures, and I have found I like working on her, and, well... I am really coming to love this bike far more that I had expected.
But there is still one thing I am unable to get used to, and that is the seat height. On the freeway it feels really tall, but that is OK. But at low speeds and stops, it is just too tall. So I have been reading this and other things on the internet, and I am thinking. I would like to lower it as much as I cann without compromising the handling.
Perhaps I should have gotten a GL 1100 or newer. I think I heard they were lower. But at this point, if I can make this one lower without messing anything up, that is my first choice.
It sounds like I can take about 1 inch off the back shocks without causing any real problems. Has anyone had experience with this? would it be a concern to go any lower than that?
And then on the seat, I am thinking I could take off an inch, but wondered if 2 inches would be too much. I read that somone did that, but I did not see any comments on how it turned out. Perhaps I could also make the seat more narrow in spots.
Then I could lower the front if needed to match it up with the lower back.
Does this all seem reasonable? Any major red flags I need to watch out for? Other ideas?
Cervantes
I was not sure where to post this, so I put it here. I hope that was OK.
So at the beginning of the season, I was thinking of fixing my 79 GL1000 up and getting something a bit lighter. It just seemed like so much bike to handle. I was thinking of maybe a V-Star 650 or 950... But as the months wore on, the old Wing and I have had several adventures, and I have found I like working on her, and, well... I am really coming to love this bike far more that I had expected.
But there is still one thing I am unable to get used to, and that is the seat height. On the freeway it feels really tall, but that is OK. But at low speeds and stops, it is just too tall. So I have been reading this and other things on the internet, and I am thinking. I would like to lower it as much as I cann without compromising the handling.
Perhaps I should have gotten a GL 1100 or newer. I think I heard they were lower. But at this point, if I can make this one lower without messing anything up, that is my first choice.
It sounds like I can take about 1 inch off the back shocks without causing any real problems. Has anyone had experience with this? would it be a concern to go any lower than that?
And then on the seat, I am thinking I could take off an inch, but wondered if 2 inches would be too much. I read that somone did that, but I did not see any comments on how it turned out. Perhaps I could also make the seat more narrow in spots.
Then I could lower the front if needed to match it up with the lower back.
Does this all seem reasonable? Any major red flags I need to watch out for? Other ideas?
Cervantes