Lowering FXDF Fat bob
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,998
Likes: 14
From: Central Ohio
Hi guys,
I know this topic has been discussed previously....but I need some definitive answers for my specific bike. I have an 08 Fat Bob, I am 5"6 and 160lbs. rarely if ever ride two up.
I need to lower my bike so that I can get a little more footing....that being said I have a few questions;
1- Do I have to lower the rear and the front...or is it safe to do just the rear. I get conflicting opinions locally from the dealers and bike shops.
2- I am debating between a rear lowering kit or the Progressive 412s full cover chrome. As they are a good price range.
My main concerns are bottoming out and/or the bike handling differently.
Cheers,
Mickey
I know this topic has been discussed previously....but I need some definitive answers for my specific bike. I have an 08 Fat Bob, I am 5"6 and 160lbs. rarely if ever ride two up.
I need to lower my bike so that I can get a little more footing....that being said I have a few questions;
1- Do I have to lower the rear and the front...or is it safe to do just the rear. I get conflicting opinions locally from the dealers and bike shops.
2- I am debating between a rear lowering kit or the Progressive 412s full cover chrome. As they are a good price range.
My main concerns are bottoming out and/or the bike handling differently.
Cheers,
Mickey
Mixter, your stocks are 12". Lots of folks have bought lower shocks that go on our bike which work just fine. It will as stated above change the rake but not to a level that you'll notice that much and after riding that way will feel normal like it does now. Lowering will also decrease your lean angle so scraping your exhaust/pegs/kickstand will come into play much sooner. Use the lowering kit if you want to stay with the stock shocks. You will get tons of opinions on what shocks to use or not use but what it comes down to is what you personally end up liking. At a much more expensive route, you can go with air shocks that have a compressor on board. I went this route for different reasons and it allows me to be anywhere between 9.5" and 13".
I've lowered mine to where the belt guard was hitting the frame, the fender was hitting the belt guard and the master cylinder was hitting the fender.
I've since raised it enough to where these are not an issue any longer and the bike handles amazingly with the lower center of gravity.
I'm using 1.75" lowering blocks which I got off EBay for $40. I fine tune them with .25" thick pieces of rubber (the ones from under the stock seat) under the legs where the blocks rest on the swing arm. The spring pre-load is set on #2.
I slid the forks up the trees @ 1-1.25" for $0.
I highly recommend doing this. Not so much for preserving 'rake & trail' but mostly because it cost nothing to try for the day and is easily reversible.
It made a noticeable difference in handling, looked good and was more maneuverable in the parking lot.
As to scrapping the pegs & the pipes…
I have read that a very effective corrective action can be taken while you’re riding, while you’re in the turn, while you’re scrapping the peg.
When you begin to scrap… shift you body TOWARDS the side that’s scrapping. This causes the bike to move back towards vertical, effectively raising the peg off the pavement.
It sounds counter intuitive but it works.
As to the jiffy stand…
I removed mine, removed some of the material from the top of the lock tab with a grinder & reinstalled it… for $0.
3rd Gear
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
lowering
I went with the Arnott system and used the Aldan series which cost a $1000. They have a Bilstein series that uses the same air compressor for around $650.00 but they aren't 11 way adjustable in dampening/rebound like the Aldan series. Here is the youtube video of mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijO67DFOJfY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijO67DFOJfY
hi I am 5'5 160lb. Would I be able to flat foot this bike if I do this?
I was at the dealdership today and I could not stand flat foot on the bike.
Also, I could not reach the shifter in the front and the rear breaks I am a bit short.
I know it's embrassing but I would like to know what my options are. I really want a fat bob.
BTW I was able to flat foot on the Fat boy lo but what I want is a Fat Bob
thanks!!!
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,998
Likes: 14
From: Central Ohio
hi I am 5'5 160lb. Would I be able to flat foot this bike if I do this?
I was at the dealdership today and I could not stand flat foot on the bike.
Also, I could not reach the shifter in the front and the rear breaks I am a bit short.
I know it's embrassing but I would like to know what my options are. I really want a fat bob.
BTW I was able to flat foot on the Fat boy lo but what I want is a Fat Bob
thanks!!!
I was at the dealdership today and I could not stand flat foot on the bike.
Also, I could not reach the shifter in the front and the rear breaks I am a bit short.
I know it's embrassing but I would like to know what my options are. I really want a fat bob.
BTW I was able to flat foot on the Fat boy lo but what I want is a Fat Bob
thanks!!!
Looking at the specs for the seat height on the Lo at: http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US...l/flstfb/specs
it says the seat height 'laden' (with a 180 lb rider) is 24.25"... 'unladen' it's 26.35", a difference of 2.1".
Looking at the specs for the seat height on the Fat Bob at: http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US...del/fxdf/specs
it says the seat height 'laden' (with a 180 lb rider) is 26.1"...... 'unladen' it's 27", a difference of .9"... thats a stiffer ride, 1.2" higher!
For what its worth the seat height on my lowered Fat Bob (with an 09 Street Bob solo seat), 'unladen' is 25.5"... That's 1.5" lower than stock.
I'm not for certain how far 180 lbs compresses the shocks, but using the above specs comparatively I'd say the seat height on my lowered Fat Bob 'laden' would be 24.6",
a difference of .35" higher than a Fat Boy low with the same 180 lb rider.
I imagine that if I were to side the front forks up the trees another .35" I'd have dam near the same 'laden' seat height as a FB Lo.
The $1000 shocks mentioned in db252's post is almost the price difference between the two bikes.
3rd Gear
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
I'm 5'5" and ride a Fat Bob, and can just about flat foot it, which seems fine to me. When I bought the bike it had forward controls, which I couldn't reach at all. But mid-controls will be fine, and put you in a better riding position anyway. You should be able to find the mids as a take-off somewhere -- ask your dealer -- or, I got the vtwin-mfg footboard kit, which is a copy of the old police bike kit. I use a Mustang seat that sits me lower than the stock one. I also -- and this was a bit nuts -- changed the wheels out for 17" spoke wheels and put low-profile tires on the bike, which dropped the rear by 1/2". Of course, at this point, my bike doesn't look much like a Fat Bob, but I love it.
Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 187
Likes: 0
From: Simi Valley, CA
Just saw mid-controls on ebay here for a FatBob:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Harle...item1e5e33eb4f
wmo777
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Harle...item1e5e33eb4f
wmo777
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Tourer
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 288
Likes: 1
From: N. Virginia
interesting thread. i have a 2010 FB I bought new and put the Stinger wheel set on it. I noticed the ride was different, and also noticed in the HD catalog that the model that had the Stingers demo's also had the front lowered. I've wondered ever since if lowering the front will help the handling of the bike in my case, since the tire/wheel set seems to have changed it slightly. Anyone else do the Stinger set or can comment on handling "after" lowering the front?
TIA
Dan
TIA
Dan
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,115
Likes: 69
From: Bay Area, NorCal
Lowering the front end only usually sharpens steering response but also may cause some 'twitchiness' in high speed stability. Conversely, raising the front end will increase high speed stability but with slightly slower steering response.
Whichever way you go, make changes in small increments until you achieve your desired results.
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