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I bought the brackets (J&P) to lower the rear 1 inch ..then will after lower the front by adjusting the forks as mentioned in a forum,..
my question:
Do I need special tools or anything before I start?
And also, it does NOTshow on the directions how it goes on.. it just says left or right.. not sure how to flip them or whatever....
any advice is greatly appreciated! I can't ride this puppy until I lower it! [:@]
C. your way to a shop to get this done. And it has nothin to do with the fact that you're a woman, so nobody bust on me for that...my sister is only 21 and she's been HD certified for 3 and a half years now...I'm just sayin...from these posts it seems like you're fairly new to bikes and I'd either take my time and research or have someone else do it if you're not sure.
Putting those on is a serious task...they have to be done right or you could bust a mount and have a REALLY bad f*ckin day.
And now my irresponsible side says:
If they look right, and they look like they fit right...they're on right.
You don't need a jack or lift to do the rear....Just do ONE side at a time.
For the front however, you need someone to assityou blocking up the front, or you will need a jack to lift front off ground....Or you can get creative with strps and an overhead beam/suppot that you are certain can hold 400-500 lbs.
Take time to examine the rear brackets....they can only fit one way.....They sit on top of the swingarm with the new shock mount hole out to the rear....The bracket bolts to the swingarm using the old shock mount hole....use the new bolts that came with brackets to attach them to swingarm...then use lower shock bolts to attach shock to rear hole in bracket.
My 99 sportster was lowered by the previous owner. He also lowered the front by bringing the forks up an inch through the tree. I have been advised that this is not a good scenerio. Kind of screws up fork travel. There are apparantly two schools of thought an lowering One says if you lower one end you must lower the other accordingly. The other says that if you lower the back the front is an option but if you lower the front you best lower the back. I put the front back to specs and will ride it, (if the weather ever cooperates), and see how it heels. If it isn't good I will get a new spring kit for the forks and install it
If get off my butt, I'll take a pic of my buddy's 03 sporty......He's got the rear lowered an inch and the front forks slid up 2"......He's rode it hard 5K miles with no issues.....His only problem is that it doesn't lean over enuff on kickstand.
6o66er was right on... you do not want to do it with you bike on the ground as sugested as it could bend your shock bolts (I have seen it snap them before) get the bike off the ground, "Do it right, do it once"... have you looked into air shocks? they would really drop the @$$ end nice and give you a plush ride... how low are you going.... you may have to heat and bend the kick stand... where you from... I have buddies with shops all over the place, this is a 5 min job, i am sure any of them would do it for you without hessitation... I dropped my girls bike 2.5 in and she loves it... standing flat foot on the ground really helps you control the bike... let me know if i can help you at all.... remember, you ride this, do not cut corners to try and get a mod done... just cause it is easier does not mean that it is the right way to do things... take your time, "do it once, do it right"
Lite 'Em Up Customs
I just did my rears and there was absolutely no stress or struggle......I simply unbolted the bottom shock bolt, installed the bracket, then reconnected the bottom of shock to bracket.....No stress is placed on anything!....Then did other side of bike.......30 minutes tops if you stop for a beer.
yo daddy... do not get me wrong... i am not saying that it can not be done... i have done it myself... i am saying that it is not the right way to do it. that is all... i would rather take my time and do a job than try to rush though it and have the possibilty of something going wrong... that tank on that sporty is sick by the way!
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