Can R1100S Be Lowered????

[MadDogMcQ]

With 29" inside leg, I find the seat height of the R1100S a little on the high side. Can the suspension be lowered somehow? I don't want to change my seat cos' I just splashed out on a new Sargent.

[gripperod]

Hagon advertise that they will produce custom/shorter shocks for all their range, Ive just checked their website and they do a front and rear for the R1100s so it may be worth a phone call.

[twodear]

I've shortened the link below the swing arm to quicken the steering and increase cornering clearance. Shortening this link by 30 mm made the bike taller; It increased clearance below the rear of the motor by about 20 mm.

If you lengthen this link it will reduce seat height. The downside is that you will also be slowing the steering response to some degree, there will be a reduction in cornering clearance and if you have a center stand, it will be more difficult to use.

I would suggest that some study be taken to determine the maximum working angle of the U-joint to the final drive, to make sure that no limits are exceeded.

Changing to a shorter shock will have similar results e.g. cornering/steering/center stand but the U-joint performance won't be affected. For sure a shock mod will cost a heap more.

[MadDogMcQ]

Thanks for the info!

TwoDear - I can't see how you shortened the link (unless you have an adjustable link, which is an accessory). There certainly appears to be no adjustability on mine....

[twodear]

Thanks for the info!

TwoDear - I can't see how you shortened the link (unless you have an adjustable link, which is an accessory). There certainly appears to be no adjustability on mine....

No, the link is not adjustable. I took a spare link to a welding shop where they cut out 30 mm and welded it back together. In your case I'd buy a link from a wrecker and have a bit of material spliced in at a machine shop. The expensive way would be to have a new link fabricated or buy an aftermarket adjustable version. The link has a rubber isolation bushing at the forward end so fabrication would have to involve fitting a suitable iso bushing. The link has to be rigid to transmit forward thrust to the bike so make sure that the machine shop takes that into consideration.

[Jason M]

Just get yourself down to the BM agent and buy the link from a GS which is about 25mm shorter I think. I seem to recall they're around 45 quid though you could probably get a 2nd hand one from Motorworks a lot cheaper.

[wicker]

I am also vertically challenged and (6 years ago) initially thought the R1100S with the sports suspension a bit high. I persevered on standard settings, got used to it and have now covered >60k miles.

I tried the Sargent seat in 2005 and found I could not get on with it. The dished seat is fine if you are taller and sit back into it however, being short, I found myself sitting further forward and less comfortably than the standard seat. You may find the Sargent seat actually makes the ride height worse as it does not compress as much as standard.

Now have a Sargent seat (with silver piping) sitting on a shelf in the garage. Probably get round to putting it on e-bay some day.

[MadDogMcQ]

Jason, a shorter link piece would make the bike taller.

Wicker, I too sit at the forward edge of the seat, so most of the seat is actually wasted on me . A guy I know from Rivington Barn has fitted the Wunderlich yoke conversion which allows the fitting of virtually any type of bars which obviously includes some pretty high ones. This allows you to sit much more upright and further back than normal and one would then benefit from the large seat-pan. The only reservation I have with doing the conversion is that I'm concerned that high bars would change not only the look of the bike, but the spirit of it.

I'll re-assess when my back and wrists ache a bit more

[minivin]

Nah, Jason's commenting on twodear's cutting an' shutting, rather than paying £45 for a readily available item

What's the name of the adjustable paralever arm? can it go into negative adjustment, or was it purely to gain ride height........

[Jason M]

Jason, a shorter link piece would make the bike taller.

I know - that was a reply to the bloke who had a bit taken out Sorry. I've got an adjustable one that could do either

Jason

[Harry]

What's the name of the adjustable paralever arm? .......

Verhoelen wasnt it.

[minivin]

think that's the one

[twodear]

Jason, a shorter link piece would make the bike taller.

I know - that was a reply to the bloke who had a bit taken out Sorry. I've got an adjustable one that could do either

Jason

Jason, it was a question of making a quick change to the suspension in a timely manner but since I was experimenting I didn't feel like risking AU$112 ( GDP 45) for a failed trial. I was aware that a GS link, (25mm shorter than a link for an S), would work but the price for a new one was too steep and a brief glance didn't turn up any broken GS's being parted out. I already had a spare link for an S and for AU$20 (8 quid?) I had one that was 5mm shorter again than the GS link.

For the record, the experiment seems to be successful since I've reduced the tendancy to ground the valve covers and managed to drop my lap time by almost 4 seconds. The long term affects to the drive shaft are still to be realised. The final drive is nearly a straight line to the swing arm but the swing arm to transmission is at a fairly steep angle.

[minivin]

if the yokes are wide angle, maybe worth having a looksie to see if you can get something like Hardy Spicer UJ's for it, they're the top brand owned by GKN in the UK which we use on Land Rovers

[minivin]

Alternatively these people are the dogs danglies for questions and getting work done:

http://www.propshaft.co.uk

Made me two new propshafts for my Land Rover, standard length wide angle extra long slip joint for the front prop. extra long prop with standard slip and yokes for the rear, £170 each inc VAT and P&P when they did mine