Recommendations for lowering front end? 83 KZ750N

Hey guys,

Summer's here again so I've finally got some time and money to put into my 1983 Kawasaki KZ750 Spectre. I've been planning on getting some better suspension (front and rear), but I've also been really toying with the idea of lowering my front end a little bit, just 1-2 inches. The way my bike sits now it kinda slopes upwards from the rear to the front (hopefully that's understandable) and I think it would look a bit nicer if it was slightly more level. I've seen a few custom KZ 750s that did this and I really like the look.

So with that said, does anyone have some advice for going about this? I'm pretty set on getting a set of progressive front springs (I believe the 11-1106 are the correct models?) since I've heard good things about them, should be a good step up from stock, but I know my front forks are air assist to some extent since it has air valves. I guess the better question is, can I even add just springs in there? In order to lower the front end what would I need to do exactly? Order shorter springs or just lower the forks on the triple tree? The whole air part is what's giving me cause for concern. I'm still new to mechanics, but last summer was a good experience in learning about starter motors, carburetors, exhaust, cabling, and many other things. However, I've never taken front forks apart, so I'm hoping for some advice.

Also, any recommendations for rear shocks? I know I've seen Hagon recommended a few times.

Thank you very much for any help!

Easiest/cheapest way is to just drop the yokes down a bit to where you think you want them and have a go.The geometry of the bike will be changed so the handling will be affected.Maybe for the better,maybe for the worse. Take it easy to begin with,you dont want to go flying down the road at full whack and have a tank slapper. If everything works out ok,then you can look into throwing money at it ,new forks or new internals,whatever. If its not ok,you just
put it bike the way it was,sell it and buy a sports bike!!
Make sure you have good clearence on your cables and brake hoses,so that nothing is kinking or binding.
Good luck

If you let loosen the "fork clamps" and let the fork tubes slide up into the triple tree a bit, there is a very good chance they will move about 3/4", .... and then just hit handle bars. Not much there.
I guess a builder could pull the fork tubes apart and then take the tubes to a machine shop to have a couple inches cut off.
Not sure which end though.
Never did it but would you have the inside top end rethreaded... ?
Regardless, then you get to cut your spring's height or the spacer too.

Some say you can replace the spacer above the fork springs w a short piece of 1" pvc pipe, with no ill effects afterwards.

Removing the preload spacer and adding a spacer the same thickness under the top-out spring will shorten them without messing with your preload. I don't know how thick the stock preload spacer is but if it was 2", you can replace it with a 1" spacer then add a 1" spacer under the TO spring. That would lower it 1".

racetech.com/images/book/3-8-500.jpg

Just to add my two cents, you can loosen the clamps on the triple tree and slide the forks up like some other members have suggested. You will hit the handle bars but you can always opt for the clip on handle bars instead that way you can slide the forks up as high as you prefer without a bar to restrict you. That should give you that cafe racer look.

If you decide to do something like this, or use any method that shortens thing up much more than an inch or so, make dang sure that the front wheel and fender will not make contact with anything under full compression. That could lead to an unplanned ambulance ride.

JEL1980 wrote: Just to add my two cents, you can loosen the clamps on the triple tree and slide the forks up like some other members have suggested. You will hit the handle bars but you can always opt for the clip on handle bars instead that way you can slide the forks up as high as you prefer without a bar to restrict you. That should give you that cafe racer look.

This is correct. I did in on my KZ305. I cut 50mm off the springs and added 55mm pvc tube spacers to add a little preload. I also put in heavier oil to slow the rebound a bit to match the slightly stiffer compression. My bike was a csr that did not like round-abouts (I just commute to work and back through my city) Dropping the forks made it turn a lot better (quicker) it's not unstable at high speed (worlds fastest 305;-)) It was a total success!

Sorry, this is in response to MissionKZ & MartinCSR, I'll use the quote thing next time...

Thank you TexasKZ for pointing out that very very important disclaimer I neglected to address! Please make sure you have full clearance between wheels, fender and the lower triple tree clamp before hopping on the bike

I was thinking of doing the same with my forks (loosening clamps and sliding yokes down) but my only concern are the air valves. Will they hinder the raising of the forks?