Ok guys, I realize I am .. ...

I apoligize, BUT, I have to lower my Road King Classic. I am 5'6", with a 29" inseam. I can ride fine, stop at redlights fine, but I cannot back the bike up on my toes, or get around parking lots, etc. The Bike needs to come down.

I know 80% of the people will say my ride will be rough, it is a waste of time/money, etc. For me, it is either lower it, or drop it in a parking lot somewhere.

With that said, who here as lowered a RKC 09+up?????
How did you do it? What brand of shocks? How much $$?? Etc.

Thanks for the help guys!!!!!!

 

We are the same height & measurements! Only difference is that I have a SG.
Air suspension is a option you might think about ... I used a Burley Slammer kit to lower the front 1" and the rear 2" .. I flat foot my bike and have no problem moving it around.

Do a thread search here... it's about a $200 DTY air suspension install... plenty of favorable reviews here.

Also, have you thought about having your seat modded by meancitycycles ? they do great work ... have 2 seats so far done by them.

Jim

 

I have a 30" inseam. I went with HD Profile Low shocks, lowers the back by 3/4", which is all I needed.

Later, I added a larger wheel (17, vs 16 stock), and its now a tad higher but still good, so I bet you could get away with the HD Profile Low shocks.

 

Replaced the stock 13" rear shocks with Progressive 11.5", switched to a low profile C&C custom seat, and lowered the front end 1".

 

I was in the same boat. To add insult to injury, I have to ride up on a bike dolly to get my bike into and out of its parking space which lifts it about 3" off the ground.

Here's what I did:

1) 12" SG shocks in the rear (about $150 and 30 minutes to an hour of labor...you can install them yourself...the dealer included these in the price when I bought the bike)

2) 1" lower Progressive monotubes in the forks (I think about $300 for parts, plus 4 hours labor. If you're going to do this and you have the extra cash, this would be the ideal time to get chrome fork lowers since it doesn't cost any more labor to do it while you're lowering your shocks, and IMHO too much work if it's just to hang chrome. I got $2000 in gift cards when I bought my bike so it was "technically" free although on paper it was about $800-900)

3) sent stock seat to Mean City Cycles for the "super narrow and lower" mod ($150 including shipping both ways)

4) got a pair of Harley Trail Boss boots - they have the thickest sole and highest heel of any men's boot I've seen. Got them about 1 size bigger than I needed and put in a thick insole with a hard arch support. ($150 on Amazon)

that pretty much did it, but I also learned from other board members that

1) you can "bounce" your bike backwards by holding the front brake while pushing on the handlebars and letting go as the shocks
rebound...that's good for a little bit of help.

2) rider's back rest give you something to lean back on and thus providing more leverage. (depending on which one, about $350)

the OTHER way to go...if you want to spend the money is an FBI drop seat. This is a kit that replaces the seat support frame and relocates the battery and ECM. This drops your seat about 4"...maybe more. You also get new side covers which have to be painted to match your bike. The kit runs about $3500, plus installation. You can google "FBI drop seat" for pictures. It DOES change the look of your bike, which you may or may not like. I wasn't crazy about it, but you get to keep your stock height suspension.

 

blarg,
how much did the SG shocks drop you?

What I did:

Progressive shocks in the rear (dropped about 1/2 inch)

HD reach seat (FOR SALE) Wasn't bad, but sent my original seat to MCC and use that instead. I recommend it.

I'd still like to drop it a little lower, especially on days I'm not wearing boots.

 

they're 12" shocks compared to the 13" ones on the RKC. Without dropping the front by the same amount you get a little more than 1/2".

If the seat was exactly half way between the front and rear wheel you'd get exactly half the difference from front to back. Since the seat is a little closer to the rear wheel, you get a little more.

 

my question is if you lower ,which at 6'2" I dont need,but a 5' my wife can barely touch the floor boards will lowering rear put seat closer to floorboards or just lower everything?

 

the floorboards and seat are attached to the same frame. lowering your suspension won't affect that it'll just lower the whole bike. You can get hardware to raise the floorboards...MUCH cheaper and easier than changing suspension.

yikes, can you imagine how much it would suck if the floorboards were attached to the suspension??

 

Progressive 940"s in the rear and Progressive Mono tubes in the front. Much better ride with adjustable rear shocks and no more front dive and oil changes in the forks.