Lowering the Z 1300

  As the Z 1300 is, heavy and tall I can still  handle it OK, but sadly nobody gets any younger. So I sometimes wonder if it is a good idea to lower it a bit to make it a bit more manageable, for a person which like me is not the tallest.   I dont think cornering would be much affected  if the bike is lowered only about an inch or so,  Has anybody made that modification and how can it be done.  Of course the rear shocks should be changed to some shorter units, but what about the front forks,  Is it a good idea to shorten the springs?  Or lowering the air pressure in the forks ?  The bike is a 1980 A1 model. 

I'd be reluctant to shorten fork springs or lower air pressure - both of which would adversely impact handling by riding to far into the stroke...

Maybe a shorter shock and drop the tripe tree a 1/2" or so? Either option pretty much sucks - both will adversely impact suspension performance.

Good luck!

d

 

One consiquence to lowering the bike is that it becomes more difficult to raise the bike on the main stand. Most people have a rough time of getting the bike up on the main stand as it is. Quite often we hear that they didn't have enough air in the front forks.

If you do lower it, raise the forks in the triple clamp about an inch (25mm) but don't go monkeying around with the springs. They are matched to the weight of the bike plus rider (s).

Have your seat reupholstered with thinner foam.  Or:  What i did decades ago was remove the seat cover and sliced the foam thickness down by about half.  It's easy to do and will accomplish the same goal.

 Or, reduce tire pressure to 12 psig?  
Just kidding, do NOT do this!

d

Years ago I lowered my forks about an inch to quicken up the steering no change on the rear didn't really notice and change in getting the the bike on  the center stand like already noted if anything made it a bit harder just make sure you use the little foot pad on the left center stand leg to give yourelf a bit more leverage.