Lowering the Roadstar with Adjustable Dogbones

So you want to lower your bike? Lowering with longer dogbones is a very popular way of doing this. It keeps the factory suspension geometry the same as stock, and allows the owner to lower the bike to where they want it to sit. These instructions are geared toward the adjustable kit sold by www.cycleimage.com , but will work with stock extended dogbones as well, you just will not have the adjustability with extended bones.

When you receive the kit, you will get 2 adjustable rods with hiem joints on the ends, a spacer, and a new bolt and lock washer. The first thing you will need to do is put the bike up on a lift. The lift needs to be as far forward under the bike as possible to allow access to the shock and dogbone compartment in the frame. I would recommend strapping the bike to the lift, as it will be off balance slightly. Lift the bike until the rear wheel is 8-10 inches off the floor. You are now ready to start the shock/spring assembly removal. Let’s go through the steps.

• Remove the rear horn from the left side of the lower frame rail. This will give you access to the front suspension bolt. Remove the nut off the front shock assembly bolt, and the lower nut off the bolt running thru the relay arm.
• Place a floor jack under the rear wheel, and jack it up until the rear suspension just has little pressure on it. A helper is great at this point, as you need to be under the bike to wiggle the bolts and also be able to adjust the floor jack. As the helper raises the tire with the jack slowly, wiggle the bolts and you will feel when pressure is released off the bolts. At this point, STOP jacking, both bolts should slide out easily. Be careful, as the entire shock assembly is now loose. (Remember that the bike is on a lift so be careful!)
• Slide the front down thru the bottom of the frame and the rear will follow it out. Now, carry it to your workbench. The assembly will include the dogbones, relay arm, and the shock itself. Remove the bolts that hold the dogbones and shock to the relay arm. Note the direction the relay arm is facing!!! It has to go back in the same direction. Now is a good time to replace that stock spring with a stronger aftermarket spring. (See http://roadstarclinic.com/content/view/97/128/ ).

We are now ready to install the adjustable dogbones. First, attach one end of each of the new dogbones to the relay arm with the new bolt and locknut included in the kit. Be sure to use blue lock tite on the nuts. Next, attach the shock to the top of the relay arm. You now need to slide the new spacer thru the eye of the shock. You have now reassembled the shock setup.

I adjusted my new dogbones to the stock length, and then turned them out to add about 3/8" to the overall length. This will give you approximately 1 & ½" of drop when installed in the bike.

To install, first slide the entire assembly back up into the hole in the frame where it originally was. Reinstall the lower relay arm bolt and nut. At this point you will have the shock and adjustable dogbones hanging down .

This is the only part of the install that takes any patience: you will have to line up the 2 frame holes, the relay arm and the 2 dogbones to get the bolt to go thru. You will have to get your helper to lift the rear wheel up until you can get everything to line up and slide the bolt through. At this point, leave the nut off.

I would advise taking the bike down off the lift and setting it back on the ground. Look at it, and see if you have accomplished the amount of drop you wanted. If not, put the bike back up in the air and remove the front bolt. To add more drop, simply turn BOTH adjustable dogbones out the same amount of turns. Be very careful with how much you add. It only takes a small amount of length to make a difference in the suspension height. When you are confident that you have achieved the desired height, put the nut back on the front bolt, be sure everything is tightened down (I recommend blue lock tite on all fasteners), take the bike off the jack and get ready to ride. If you ever wanted to adjust your ride height, all you have to do is remove the front bolt, readjust the adjustable dogbone length, and put it all back together. This setup allows fairly quick changes to be accomplished in ride height, to accommodate 2 up riding, or any other condition you would desire a different ride height for.

Questions should be asked in our forum (Use discuss link below). The forum is very active and you stand a good chance of getting your questions answered there. If you would like to leave feedback for the author, or have additional information you think will benefit others, please use the comment section at the bottom of this page.

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DISCLAIMER: This information and procedure is provided as a courtesy and is for informational purposes only.  Neither the publishers nor the authors accept any responsibility for the accuracy, applicability, or suitability of this procedure.  You assume all risks associated with the use of this information.  NEITHER THE PUBLISHERs NOR THE AUTHORs SHALL IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OF ANY NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION OR LACK OF INFORMATION.  Any type of modification or service work on your motorcycle should always be performed by a professional mechanic. If performed incorrectly, this procedure may endanger the safety of you and others on your motorcycle and possibly invalidate your manufacturer’s warranty.

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