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Just had my bike lowered a little, feels great

By Just_a_trail_rider,
in WR400F/426F/450F

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Grand Master

Just_a_trail_rider

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my 2005 wr always felt pretty tall and top heavy. That's because it is.

Since I plan to keep this bike forever (its plated), I took it to ESP and had them lower the suspension about an inch and a half . I also had them shave an inch from the thickest part of the seat. As expected, George at ESP knows what the hell he's doing

Its amazing how lowering the suspension removes a lot of the top heavy feeling. Lowering the suspension 1 1/2 inches puts it at 36.5 inches on the seat height, which is about the same as the ktm 450. The inch shaved off of the seat effectively makes it 35.5 inch seat height. I did lose 1 1/2 inches of ground clearance to put it at around 13 inches now.

that extra inch and a half wont matter to me. I don't do big jumps nor do I stress out the suspension with my riding skills. I can now get both feet flat on the ground and paddle my way through technical sections, which is where I have the most trouble. Those low speed tip overs are hard to deal with sometimes.

I'll probably get it raised when I get better, but I'm not there yet.

has anyone else done the same thing? What's your opinion on this?

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Grand Master

ron_m

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my 2005 wr always felt pretty tall and top heavy. That's because it is.

Since I plan to keep this bike forever (its plated), I took it to ESP and had them lower the suspension about an inch and a half . I also had them shave an inch from the thickest part of the seat. As expected, George at ESP knows what the hell he's doing

Its amazing how lowering the suspension removes a lot of the top heavy feeling. Lowering the suspension 1 1/2 inches puts it at 36.5 inches on the seat height, which is about the same as the ktm 450. The inch shaved off of the seat effectively makes it 35.5 inch seat height. I did lose 1 1/2 inches of ground clearance to put it at around 13 inches now.

that extra inch and a half wont matter to me. I don't do big jumps nor do I stress out the suspension with my riding skills. I can now get both feet flat on the ground and paddle my way through technical sections, which is where I have the most trouble. Those low speed tip overs are hard to deal with sometimes.

I'll probably get it raised when I get better, but I'm not there yet.

has anyone else done the same thing? What's your opinion on this?

Oh I can definitely understand why you would want to lower your bike.

My 2007 YZ250 has a 39.1 inch seat height, so I can sympathize with you. I'm 5'-9", so cold starting my bike can sometimes best be performed while it's still on the triangle stand. :D It's not an issue for me to start it after it's warmed up. At least then it's not nearly as uncomfortable to kick. Fortunately, I haven't dumped mine yet while riding through tight/technical terrain. However, I have come really, really close a few times. The other day I just happened to be lucky enough to get my left foot up against a tree to prop myself back up; in order to keep me from tipping my bike over. Needless to say it felt extremely awkward to have to stretch my leg out like that in order to prevent a slow speed tip over. That one wasn't riding skill. It came out of sheer desperation! :ride:

I wish that one of the big 5 dirt bike manufacturers would come out with some new 250cc and 450cc machines that have lower seat heights than the average dirt bike of today; yet still have good enough suspension to get by with and an extremely ballsy engine. It could be a lighter, MX-like bike that really isn't made for doing huge jumps. Two-stroke or four-stroke wouldn't really matter to me. About a 34 to 36 inch seat height would work just great for someone around my height. Maybe this exact type of bike already exists and I'm just not aware of it.

Ron

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Grand Master

Just_a_trail_rider

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Oh I can definitely understand why you would want to lower your bike.

My 2007 YZ250 has a 39.1 inch seat height, so I can sympathize with you. I'm 5'-9", so cold starting my bike can sometimes best be performed while it's still on the triangle stand. :D It's not an issue for me to start it after it's warmed up. At least then it's not nearly as uncomfortable to kick. Fortunately, I haven't dumped mine yet while riding through tight/technical terrain. However, I have come really, really close a few times. The other day I just happened to be lucky enough to get my left foot up against a tree to prop myself back up; in order to keep me from tipping my bike over. Needless to say it felt extremely awkward to have to stretch my leg out like that in order to prevent a slow speed tip over. That one wasn't riding skill. It came out of sheer desperation! :ride:

I wish that one of the big 5 dirt bike manufacturers would come out with some new 250cc and 450cc machines that have lower seat heights than the average dirt bike of today; yet still have good enough suspension to get by with and an extremely ballsy engine. It could be a lighter, MX-like bike that really isn't made for doing huge jumps. Two-stroke or four-stroke wouldn't really matter to me. About a 34 to 36 inch seat height would work just great for someone around my height. Maybe this exact type of bike already exists and I'm just not aware of it.

Ron

I think anyone with a WR that thinks it a little top heavy should have it lowered an inch. It feels like and entirely differnt bike and its now not heavy at all. Its a huge difference for technical trails.

Ron, I too am 5-9. Imagine if your bike was a top heavy wr... Those little leans in the technical terrain on an 05 wr would probably result in a tip over. Its heavy. I'm jealous of your light weight.

Regarding the bike with a lower seat height... they already have one. Its called a KTM. 36 inch seat height, 15 inches of ground clearance.. That's a little better than the 38 inch seat and the 14 inches of ground clearance on the yamaha's. The wr is still a great bike though.

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Grand Master

ron_m

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I think anyone with a WR that thinks it a little top heavy should have it lowered an inch. It feels like and entirely differnt bike and its now not heavy at all. Its a huge difference for technical trails.

Ron, I too am 5-9. Imagine if your bike was a top heavy wr... Those little leans in the technical terrain on an 05 wr would probably result in a tip over. Its heavy. I'm jealous of your light weight.

Regarding the bike with a lower seat height... they already have one. Its called a KTM. 36 inch seat height, 15 inches of ground clearance.. That's a little better than the 38 inch seat and the 14 inches of ground clearance on the yamaha's. The wr is still a great bike though.

After reading your post I checked out KTM's web site. It appears as though their 250cc thumper and smoker both have a 36.4 inch seat height. That would be a welcome change for me! But, I love my YZ250 and wouldn't trade it for anything else at the moment. The bike is a blast to ride!

By the way, I am jealous of your e-start button. That has to be nice.

Ron

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PROWLER 58

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I agree. I had my 03 Wr lowered by Suspension Plus and cant believe the difference. I run Harescrambles, and was having real trouble with tip overs. -11/2 later and I am running much better. Other than the free mods this is a must do for under 6' riders.

What kind of money are talking to do this ? thanks Bob

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Double Duece WR

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It cost me $400.00 for new fork and rear springs. He also lowered 11/2. I droped my bike off on monday afternoon and he had it ready Thursday afternoon. I came off a 99 YZ 250 and swittched to the WR for the ease of ridding everyone was promising. The first couple of rides/races I hated the new bike, but sense Suspension Plus sprung it and lowered it to my size I absolutly love it.

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andrea420

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Where is ESP located at? Do you have a # for them? I just sold my 04 CRF450R yesterday and am putting that $$ towards an 07. I'm thinking of getting the WR450F, but would love to have it lowered since I'm only 5'4.. I had a ton of low speed tip overs on my Honda..

Thanks in advance :ride:

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Grand Master

Just_a_trail_rider

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Just a thought, did you guys ever set the sag correctly? set the shock/ fork valving?

Jesse

Of course we do. As a matter of fact, I'm 210lbs without my gear. I bought new springs from Racetech and set my sag correctly. I also adjusted the clickers and it felt pretty good while riding. But in the slow technical sections, I would tend to tip over.

There's nothing as nice as getting both your feet down to paddle through a rock garden.

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Grand Master

Just_a_trail_rider

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Where is ESP located at? Do you have a # for them? I just sold my 04 CRF450R yesterday and am putting that $$ towards an 07. I'm thinking of getting the WR450F, but would love to have it lowered since I'm only 5'4.. I had a ton of low speed tip overs on my Honda..

Thanks in advance :ride:

Andrea, talk with George at ESP in La Crescenta

http://www.mysuspension.com/

Be honest about your weight and current riding ability. He'll set you up with something that will work for you and give you a little room to grow.

Question: why sell the crf450? Isn't that supposed to be a pretty darn good bike?

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andrea420

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Andrea, talk with George at ESP in La Crescenta

http://www.mysuspension.com/

Be honest about your weight and current riding ability. He'll set you up with something that will work for you and give you a little room to grow.

Question: why sell the crf450? Isn't that supposed to be a pretty darn good bike?

Thanks for that link, will definitely check them out.. I sold the crf450 because I it was an 04, and had been ridden pretty hard before I bought it.. I paid $3800 for it, invested about $200 into it, and just sold it for $5000. Figured I could add another $1200 or so to that figure and buy an 07. Been seeing the 07 WR450s in the cycle trader for 6200 OTD.. I'm just a little worried about the extra weight.. I could handle my 450r okay, but the WR weighs about 24 pounds more. I really want the electric start though, as I'm pretty short (5'4) and I would often have a hard time kick starting my 450. Anyways, sorry to rant.. I'm sleepy ?

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Grand Master

JSanfilippo

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Thanks for that link, will definitely check them out.. I sold the crf450 because I it was an 04, and had been ridden pretty hard before I bought it.. I paid $3800 for it, invested about $200 into it, and just sold it for $5000. Figured I could add another $1200 or so to that figure and buy an 07. Been seeing the 07 WR450s in the cycle trader for 6200 OTD.. I'm just a little worried about the extra weight.. I could handle my 450r okay, but the WR weighs about 24 pounds more. I really want the electric start though, as I'm pretty short (5'4) and I would often have a hard time kick starting my 450. Anyways, sorry to rant.. I'm sleepy ?

The extra weight won't be a problem. IMHO the WR carries its weight very well while in motion (feels 20 lighter than it really is). Since you're coming off a 450R, the height won't be an issue.

Read my review here.

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5069047#post5069047

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