lowering bike.

Yes it still is. I haven't had any nibbles yet. I really hate to sell it. It is unique in every way. I do love this bike but have other needs at present. Like ammo & guns.I think storms brewing on horizon.

The csr has more of an angle on it's rear shocks than a kz 900. I would say 11 1/2 inch on rear (harley sporster shocks) and run the tube up 2 in on the front forks. Shoulde get you where you want to be. If you run a header, marving is the only one that will work well.

So you think i have room to run my forks up 2 inches. Has anyone had any problems doing this on a csr. 2 inch drop all the way around will i have problems with fenders rubbing on tires?

you probably wont have issues with the fenders rubbing but id worry more about bike bottoming out in the curves specially if you ride double

Unless you weigh 200 lbs and corner like kenny roberts, you shouldnt rub but set your springs on total firm. Your tire up front and fender move semetrically. All will go up the same amount. It is all a trade off. long, low and kool means reducing gross weight maximum a bit but the look and seating position will more than make up for it.Make sure you have a minimum of 8 lbs air in each fork leg. Raked trees a small amount would eliminate sticking the tubes higher in the trees but about 800.00 more expense as well. Mine were made by machine & design and are a real piece of work. This brings up another issue. If you go more than 4 or 5 deg. you change the trail from 3 1/2 inches to just one inch.Steering will be slower and it will have a different turning radius. A max of 6 deg. in the trees only or your bike will get dangerous at 125 mph.

Lowering the front end by sliding the fork clamps down further on the tubes has no effect on clearance between the tire circumference and underneath the front fender.

Shorter shocks in the rear lowers the fender and thereby reduces the clearance between the tire circumference and underneath the fender.
Hence, too much lower than stock will result in the tire hitting the underside of the fender before the shocks bottom-out by becoming fully compressed.

With stock shocks and a stock size rear tire, there is ample tire to fender clearance when the shocks are fully compressed (i.e., rear suspension is bottomed-out).

The question is usually, "How much shorter can the rear shocks be and still afford minimal clearance between the tire and fender at full compression?" This is important to know -- before hitting a large bump when riding, that smashes the rear fender down against the tire. Lots of under-fender wiring has undoubtedly been ripped out due to too short rear shocks.

Next question, "When the bike is standing still, how does one determine whether there's any rear tire-fender clearance at full shock compression?

Having two fat girlfriends sit on the bike, even with shocks adjusted at lowest preload, probably won't suffice, regardless of how fat they are.
But wait -- installing only one of the rear shocks -- at lowest preload -- should help allow full compression (bottoming-out) of the rear suspension. And allow measuring the under-fender tire clearance. Which will indicate how much shorter the shocks may be.

Trouble is, however, that 13" shock A might have less travel than 11" shock B.
So it's advisable to assure minimal under-fender tire clearance with the shorter shocks at full compression, and not rely solely on the stock system's clearance when bottomed out.
Again, it's easier to fully compress a single mounted rear shock.

With the rear suspension fully compressed, it may be difficult to access the under-fender area in order to measure clearance between the fender and tire. In this event, may place a lump of modeling clay or a chunk of florist foam (or other suitable soft substance that will hold it's shape after being compressed) on top of the tire before bottoming the suspension. Then removing and measuring height of the lump/chunk. Or might discover the dreaded zero clearance.

Good Fortune!

Patton you are way to logical. What happened to the time when us young guys just lowered the bike then paid the consequences? Thanks for your input I will do some measuring and decide on how short to go.

So I ordered some 11.5 inch center to center shocks off a 00 sportster xl 1200. Should I get an assortment ofbushings for the swap

bromz wrote: Patton you are way to logical. What happened to the time when us young guys just lowered the bike then paid the consequences? Thanks for your input I will do some measuring and decide on how short to go.

I leasrned to run my taillight wiring on top of fender instead of underneath on my kzs when running 10 1/4" shocks,Ive rubbed through tail light wiring more than once. :sick: :laugh:

I got lucky mine is on top also.

Nice! I will post updates once I get them and see what it takes to install