How do you lower with lowering bolts

 

Check out Dead Creek Cycles, they have a fairly simple solution. May want to consider Shotgun Shocks rather than bolts.

 

Essentially, they push your swingarm down as you turn the bolt.

Unless you ride on very smooth roads and don't ride much, bolts will get old after a while.

I run the SS. I sometimes find it more comfortable than my cage, no joke. And you can adjust height on the fly. Pricey, but worth it.

 

Does lowering it with the bolts really make it THAT bad? I think our roads are decent for the most part but I ride every day if the weather is fair. I have the kit sitting here but havent put it on yet. I plan on doing the shotgun shock some day but that doesnt fit the budget any time soon...

 

I have no intention of getting the shotgun shock....my last bike was a lowered sportster. Now that was stiff! I've lowered my softail with collars and it still rides great to me. When I can't accept a few bumps in the road, I need to either swerve better or take my Yukon

 

I measured the preload (they screw in/out of the housing) on the stock bolts before I put lowering bolts in and put the new bolts to that. Rides just the same, only lower. The shocks need to be compressed with a hydraulic press (safest way to do it) so you can get inside the outer sleeve to take it all apart. Should have done a write-up when I changed my bolts. All in all with the press in the shop, took me between 1-2 hours being my first time changing shock bolts. It's easier to do it with the wheel still on the bike so you have an idea of how low you want it, then you can just set the height before you tighten everything down rather than dick around with it later.

 

Put it this way.
The total ram travel on a set of stock shocks is only about 1" anyway.
Lowering bolts just cut that in half.

It'd be like adding spring compressors to your car and driving around like that.

 

They are fine as long as you set the pre-load correctly. Now if you are trying do drop the rear all the way to the bumpstop, it will ride like $hit.

 

My honest opinion Dude? They really are not noticeable enough with lowering bolts to make any kind of difference. BUT, you will really notice the difference in your ride quality. You will lose a whole inch of travel in your suspension. Its your bike, your money but I would save single dollar bills and all my change in a piggy bank until you can afford air ride. If I'm not mistaken JD had it set up once when you could make payments over a 6 month period. I am not trying to push you one way or another. I remember the days I could barely afford gas for a damn bike, so been there, done that!!! Good luck Dude and keep us posted.

 

I have the bolts on mine and I never give it a thought. As mentioned above it's all about your local road conditions. Here in FL the roads are smooth and it's not a problem. I used to have a rigid and even that wasn't really a problem around here.