Hi A friend of mine is having trouble reaching comfortably on the ground when manourvering her Nightster. She is 5 2 and only can get toes onto the deck. i think she will be much more confident if she can get another inch and half lower. Not sure whether to go the reach seat or if it would be better with a lowering kit. Am i right in thinking a lowering kit simply moves the lower shockie mounting point and if so will it be enuff to drop it . Its only got 1oooklm on so not really wanting to buy for new shocks.. Can the front be dropped the corresponding amount somehow? She is not heavy and doesnt double so i dont think scraping the guard will be an issue and she is not the type to scrape the pegs lol,
Thks
Rob
Thanks for the advice guys, Trace, from what i read of your posts you put the lowering kit on then longer shocks to offset the harsh ride and scrubbing issue? She doesnt have any power commander etc, completley stock. Is it right to assume that changing her 09 shocks, ( i dont know what length they are but they are stock) and swapping on a set of 11.25 The bike will physically drop the difference i.e 1.75 inches? or is that too simple. .She is only a weekend rider and will never push the bike to anywhere near its limits so maybe the srubbing would not be an issue
Thanks Oz12 I goggled the burleigh slammer, and theres a great Utube of the install and result, looks like a piece of cake and lowers the bike uniformly front and rear. Perfect example of her feet contact with the ground before and after in the vid. Just a bit concerned that it would be a real harsh ride with those short shocks,Does anyone have experience with the ride who can comment?, Will have to discuss with my friend to see what she wants to do but it could be we swap over the shocks with Trace maybe and fit the lower fork springs off the 1200c? to bring the front down
Hi Rob, The nightster in the USA is standard with the same forks we have in Australia, but with the 11.25" shocks on the rear. In '08 the Australian nightsters also came like this. They then changed our Australian Nightsters to the longer shock which is 13" (or 13.25" not exactly sure on the length either) that they were using on the nightsters in Europe. That shock has black springs and was the same shock as the 883R sportster had in the USA. I went to the longer shocks for the dual reason of a rough ride with the stock shocks and scraping over speedbumps and through the corners, so wanted some more clearance and better damping. Ideally for my height, I would probably like a 12.5" shock without lowering blocks so that I can still touch with the balls of my feet. But I had the opportunity to try the 13.25" 'S' shocks, so I did, and I loved them, but couldn't get much of a toe hold so paired them with the 1" lowering block. The shocks that come standard on the '09 Nightsters are the same as the 'R' had on them in the USA. So if you paired them with the 1" lowering block you shouldn't get any touch down issues (since she doesn't have the PCIII tray). On the Tamarak site, the touchdown they talk about with the nightster is if you add a 1" lowering block to the 11.25" stock US shocks. My touchdown came from shocks made for pre-rubbermounts so the fully compressed length was shorter than it is on the stock shocks that your friend currently has. (.... all that even sounds confusing to me!!!) Mathematically, lessening the length of the shock doesn't actually lessen the seat height by that same amount, due to the angle of the shock (not vertical) and that it actually attaches to a moving swingarm lever. The seat height of course is also affected by the height of the forks. But from what I understand (not a maths whizz) is it generally works out to be pretty close to 1:1, if anything a little less drop in seat height than the actual lessened length of the shock. The forks on the Nightster are already lower than the Customs. The upper fork slider is about 2" shorter than on the Sporty Custom and the damper tube inside the lower fork leg is also shorter. It has already been slammed. I would be very careful about lowering it further with a kit. Though, it is possible to slide the fork legs up through the triple tree a bit to help lower the front without reducing fork travel (though it does reduce ground clearance). I am 5'3" with fairly short legs. I can flat foot the nightster with stock 11.25" shocks and stock seat. With the 13" stock shocks and stock seat I am on tiptoes. Hope this helps some, rather than confuses further.
What about using progressive shocks on the rear. Don't they make an 11.5 inch shock for sporties? Anyone had any experience with lowering using progressives and would they be ok 2 up. I do however like the sound of the lowering bracket.
Oh yeah and one other thing that seems like a worry with lowering them. When you put your hand under the rear fender, there appears to be a square "nut like" mount under the fender that the seat bolt screws into. I am worried that If the bike bottoms out, this square jigger will rip into the tyre.
Regarding the tamarack lowering brackets. do they come with bolts and install instructions? Do they make the rear end look significantly lower. I have an 09 so I imagine its got 13inch rears. Also with the lowering kit on 13 inch shocks will I get bottom out when riding two up?
Re Shock install
Just bought 11.5 Progressives. I was thinking that I just unbolt the old stock ones and place the new ones on. I would imagine that when you take the 2nd shock off, the top of the bike just drops down to sit on the tyre and then you lift it up to place the new shocks on. No need for a lift or anything. The instructions from profressive say something about raising the bike off the ground. Sure as shit I don't need a hoist do I. Am I missing something here?
Am I getting myself involved in something more than a plug and play operation here. Can't I just unbolt them and gently lower the bike onto the tyre while I put the new shocks on? I am ssure somebody must have done a home install - any ideas or tips
