Sookie's new clothes...

[TTMaxx]

Looking good buddy. Nice to see the progressive enhancements. I agree the lowering bones add to the curb appeal.

[social distortion]

hey Thom
looks good man!
couple things
I like your sliders---been reading the Connie forum and for some reason ( top heavy) lotta people drop thier bikes while parking- must be the weight or a non locking kick stand. I was thinking in fantasy land of geting some type of frame sliders just in case...i saw similar pegs for the C14....but they looks good on your bike...so thanks...I thought it would stick out and looks odd, but i think if i color matched it likes yours is black...it should blend in..
2nd- can you explain lowering? I know we talked about it w/ Eric a little....Either i do the lowering Links or I try and buy an aftermarket seat to try and drop an inch....so whats all involved in lowering a bike? Without a doubt, I want to make sure I can get to flat footing the C14 ...i dont feel confident at all tippy toeing her....I now know how RedHD feels and her needs to a lowered seat!

3rd-where ya gonna put your helmet? i dont see a helmet lock...hehhee
4- is Kevin from So. Cal? I see hes wearing a Huntring beach Surf and sport shirt- I use to shoplift there when i was a kid....

[MDFDWarrior]

ok - let's see if I can answer all your q's satisfactorily...

As for frame sliders, some faired bikes will not take frame sliders without some form of cutting or modification to the fairings. There are kits for full-faired bikes that claim no cutting required, but their protection effectiveness is suspect...Since I have not looked at a Connie up close, I don;t know if the motor mounts are exposed to facilitate frame sliders....

I lowered Sookie b/c in stock form, I was on my tip toes and it was just not very comfortable trying to move or park a 500+ lb bike on tip toes lol...
If you can achieve lower height by modifying or replacing your seat, that is the ideal way to go. There are pros and cons to lowering your suspension.

Pros: obvious reach for better contact of feet to ground, so you are more comfortable moving the bike around when sitting on it, at stoplights, (ahem) drag launching, etc. Looks better in many cases as well.

Cons: lowering the suspension on a motorcycle sacrifices a little bit of it's handling performance. Your parts may tend to scrape a little sooner than in stock height. Technically, you have changed your swingarm angle and your contact patch to the ground is not as much as when it was at stock height so you are sacrificing a little cornering grip/traction...With that said, last time I checked I was no professional MotoGP rider so I think I'll be ok...
Also, your suspension will need to be set for the lowered height as the travel now becomes shorter. You have to stiffen up your shock settings, and if your spring is not stout enough you may have to replace it. The stock BK spring is actually plenty stout. We ended up setting a slower rebound and a firmer compression to suit my weight and taste...
Also, if the geometry is not set correctly, your bike will not handle as well. Lowering the rear requires lowering the front to match as well to try and preserve the suspension geometry. Lowering the rear and retaining stock height in front, or worse, making the front taller results in slower turn in and more effort required = poorer handling performance. Raising the rear and lowering the front results in greater turn-in, but too much may make for an unstable ride along straightways, making the bike feel darty from side to side along the highway, etc...

For Sookie, I replaced the stock fixed dogbone linkages with a pair of adjustable links. This requires that the rear of the bike be suspended with no load to the rear suspension. The adjustable links have one end that is reverse threaded so all you need to do once they are installed is to rotate the turnbuckle one way to lower and reverse to make higher. Once the right height is achieved, the buckle is locked into place by jam nuts on both ends...

On a shaft driven bike like the Connie14, lowering may not be possible. This is b/c lowering the suspension changes the angle of gear engagement between the drive shaft and the wheel. Although possible on some bikes, the gear teeth most likely will not be able to accommodate the lowering and change of angle...If it is possible, it may only be able to deviate by a few degrees which may equate to nothing significant in terms of lowered overall height...

Many folks with drive shaft equipped bikes tend to seek lowered/shaved seats as a viable option to achieve lowered heights. Others make changes to the preload which really is another story in terms of pros and cons and is not advisable...

Helmet stays on my head when I am riding, hehe...

Not sure if Kevin is originally from Cali, but he's a nice enough guy, We should do a CLC outing to his shop, a dyno run special, or attend one of his bike nights...I think he is thinking of throwing one at his shop soon....

Originally Posted by social distortion

hey Thom
looks good man!
couple things
I like your sliders---been reading the Connie forum and for some reason ( top heavy) lotta people drop thier bikes while parking- must be the weight or a non locking kick stand. I was thinking in fantasy land of geting some type of frame sliders just in case...i saw similar pegs for the C14....but they looks good on your bike...so thanks...I thought it would stick out and looks odd, but i think if i color matched it likes yours is black...it should blend in..
2nd- can you explain lowering? I know we talked about it w/ Eric a little....Either i do the lowering Links or I try and buy an aftermarket seat to try and drop an inch....so whats all involved in lowering a bike? Without a doubt, I want to make sure I can get to flat footing the C14 ...i dont feel confident at all tippy toeing her....I now know how RedHD feels and her needs to a lowered seat!

3rd-where ya gonna put your helmet? i dont see a helmet lock...hehhee
4- is Kevin from So. Cal? I see hes wearing a Huntring beach Surf and sport shirt- I use to shoplift there when i was a kid....

[Muskrat]

mmmm soupys!

i've been trying to catch you while you are at work on her in the garage but alas, no luck so far

[MDFDWarrior]

Originally Posted by Muskrat

mmmm soupys!

i've been trying to catch you while you are at work on her in the garage but alas, no luck so far

dude - just give me a call whenever you're in the area! I'm always looking for a reason to hide out in my garage You still have my numba?

[Brainkrash]

Looks great, cant wait to see her in person. Been doing my research on the Connie and Im sold. Hopefully I wont wait as long as you did for Sookie. Want to keep the Warrior but not sure if that will happen. Once I do get it will need garage day help for some mods, give you a challenge on a bike you dont know like the back of your hand. I wont be around this weekend, going down to Indy to ride the Warrior on the Brickyard GP track. Maybe back in time for Cheese on Monday.

[MDFDWarrior]

wow - that makes three members currently looking at Connies!
Perhaps there will be a Connie branch to CLC as well!

Ride safe bro!

[dualxhst]

I like the mods Thom. Subtle to the point that you dont really notice them but when you look at it, you can tell something is different. Turned out slick!

So whats going to change on it this winter? We all know that the list was just a "quick" list.....

[tristan2ride]

Nice work! Hmmm, I don't see Alex flying past you any more at any speed lol.

[dualxhst]

Originally Posted by Brainkrash

going down to Indy to ride the Warrior on the Brickyard GP track.

Not to thread jack, but how did you get that oppurtunity?