Returning a lowered bike to standard height

[Billabong]

Being a mechanical numpty, how easy (or not) is it to return a lowered Glee to being a standard height bike please?

[wurzel]

Should be easy,maybe an hour, you will need standard dog bones for the rear linkage, and maybe lower the forks in their clamps to the standard height.

[mr_diver]

All depends how it's been lowered.
The usual options are chaning parts of the rear shock linkage refured to as dog bones due to their shape. The other is to drop the fork clamps further down the for stantions thus dropping the nose end.
The other option is to replace the seat with a lowered one or have the standard seat reshaped and re-covered.

You will need a centre stand and a helper to raise and lower the rear wheel and help hold the bike while you play around with the fork clamps. A trolly jack is also required to hold the weight of the bike under the engine when the fork clamps are loosened or the front end will take a dive to the ground.

I would strongly advise you to have someone who's done this kind of work be with you when to cunduct this kind of work.

[wurzel]

I agree , always a good idea to have someone there who has done similar work,and nut makes the job easier 4 handed.

[Billabong]

Thanks all!

[rayboy68]

Yeah just has Wurzel has highlighted above, if its been lowered, change dog bones back to std, do you have them? Has the seat been changed or altered to make it lower? And finally check to see If the forks have been raised through the top yoke. Torque wrench essential when carrying out any work.

[Billabong]

It's a bike I'm looking at with a dealer. Standard seat but lowered suspension is all they say & they don't have the original dog bones.

[mr_diver]

You will be able to get the original parts from a Suzuki dealer.
They shouldn't be too expensive to buy.

Give them the reg number and tel them you need the original "ROD, REAR CUSHION" for the REAR CUSHION LEVER.

Should be around £25 each side.

[Gassoon]

Billabong, the suspension links/dogbones you need to return it to standard will have 140mm between the holes centres. If it's been lowered it will be 150mm or more. There's a bloke selling standard size (but not OEM) steel links on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-DL650-DL1000-V-Strom-Standard-Length-Dog-Bones-Suspension-Linkages/223115251161?hash=item33f2b48dd9:g:gpUAAOSw2UNbbXsQ

No idea of quality, but you could ask him questions

Bear in mind, you could always replace with links which raise the bike a tad (I don't know how tall you are!)    there's loads of them online.

[Billabong]

...Bear in mind, you could always replace with links which raise the bike a tad (I don't know how tall you are!)    there's loads of them online.

Now that I hadn't thought of! I'm 6'2" so that might be good but would it adversely affect the bike's handling?

[Ianmc]

I am sure if you ask very nicely there will be someone on this forum that will sell you some quite cheaply.I purchased a pair of lowering links for a mate recently and they were only £15 ish.There must be dozens of pairs taking up room in toolboxes all over the UK.

[Barbel Mick]

Maybe, as you've not bought it yet, it could be a sale clincher for the dealer if he was to to 'return it to standard'? Worth asking him. It would cost very little in time or money for them to do it in the workshop!
Or, make sure you get enough knocked off the asking price for you to buy the parts and pay to have them fitted elsewhere.

[Gassoon]

Good idea Mick - point him to the standard links, make it part of the deal !

There's plenty of infeasibly tall buggers riding stroms (as well as correctly sized humans such as myself - OK, OK ,short-arses), and they mostly sem to go for lowering the pegs, raising the bars , getting taller seats to improve the ergonomics (at least from what I've seen). Some do raise the rear though as part of the solution, and I would imagine it might slightly improve the turn-in of the steering