Lowering my KZ-1100

I'm working on a KZ-1100 but it's a little too tall. I can get it 2 inches shorter with 12.5" shocks. This
would give me good flat foot contact with road. What method would be best for the forks? A 2" spacer inside the forks? Or' would just sliding them up into the triple crown be best? The exhaust needs to be replaced anyway, So I'm thinking about rerouting the pipes and using smaller mufflers too.

Two inches seems like a pretty large change. Are you sure that the rear tire will not contact anything when the suspension is fully compressed?
Up front, a spacer may be the best choice for the same reason. 
Speaking of clearance, the exhaust system may get pretty banged up going in and out of driveways and over speed bumps. Marving may still make a system with the four tubes beside each other rather than stacked in pairs.

Another option is to have the seat recontoured. On my LTD, the seat foam is about 3 inches thick. It could be replaced by a much thinner and more dense piece. You might be able to get most of what you want that way and not mess with the suspension at all.

The exhaust pipes are already dented and the inner finder is scuffed up too, all by by the previous owner. And I do want to keep the heat under the bike. I think that the seat will be a better way to go, That is a big seat that doesn't quite fit the slimmer profile I'm trying to get.

This is what I was trying to describe. Under the engine the pipes are beside each other like a stock system rather than stacked as is usual with 4 into 1 systems.

www.marving.com/en/1307-kawasaki-z-1000-mk-ii

wrote:

I'm working on a KZ-1100 but it's a little too tall. I can get it 2 inches shorter with 12.5" shocks. This
would give me good flat foot contact with road. What method would be best for the forks? A 2" spacer inside the forks? Or' would just sliding them up into the triple crown be best? The exhaust needs to be replaced anyway, So I'm thinking about rerouting the pipes and using smaller mufflers too.

 

I don't know about the 1100 frame but I was able to lower my 650 by 1" front and rear without any negative results.

The rear tire does scuff the inner fender plate when the shocks bottom out (a rare instance) I did do a DIY lowering block inside the front forks but it was only 1.5" long. Whatever you put in there only truly gives about half of that length in lowering that you looking for. The rest I was able to get by raising the fork tube up in the upper triple clamps.



I think your idea of trying to lower the front by 2" seems to be a bit too much. You have to remember those stock forks don't have a lot of travel to begin with. You also need to take into account suspension sag and rider weight when making some of these alterations.

Thanks. I think I'll try a smaller seat 1st. Then if I'm still on my toes when at a stop sign, I'll try lowering it an inch or maybe a touch more.  At 160Lbs, I'm not too worried about tire scrubbing. The engine guard is lower than the exhaust, especially in the corners. They will actually hold the bike up at about a 25-30 degree angle.