AF1: I need help

[Heritage Pman]

Have you guys tried to get a lower seat height on a RS50? We have a small female rider that wants this bike bad, but doesn't touch the ground...can't get her to ride in platform shoes either, damn.

Besides setting the preload, we're considering a shorter shock, which Works perf. possibly can do if they're spec sheet is correct. From their info, the stock aprilia shock is 10.62" eye to eye, the Works shock is 10.25", which would make a perfect ride height.

Would you or anyone know if 10.62" is the correct shock length?

Thanks for any input

Paul

[RSr]

you can drop the triple clamps farther down on the fork tubes to lower the bike some. I remember seeing someone with pics of a bike like that. I think it may also help the handeling

[BikerGeek]

It would be quite easy to tear the seat apart and shave the foam. The fork tubes can be raised through the tripeclamps. Take a look at the Butler Racing photo's on the mototek web site. Nancy Butler is small(which is why she can set all of them land speed records!).

Ride safe.

[LW Racer]

I asked the Van Butler Race team this question and this is what they said,


" The easiest way to lower the rear about 2 inches is to take your shock to your local machine shop. You have to remove the spring retainer and the spring . Then you can remove the bottom spring perch and the snap ring that holds that spring perch. Then you have your machine shop cut a new snap ring groove about 1 inch lower than the existing groove. Then you reassemble the shock, you will have to saftey wire the top retainer to the spring, this will lower your bike about 2". We also relocated the shock to the bottom of the inside crossbar of the swing arm mount.
This will lower the rear about another 2". You have to cut a hole in the swingarm and weld in a piece of tubing so that you can remount the shock mounting bolt. We used the stock shock and have lowered the rear of our bike about 5" and still have the same travel in our suspension. We race on fairly flat surfaces and don't need much travel. Your tire will only be about 1" from your inner fender. Please be careful. "

[Micah / AF1 Racing]

The used stock RS50 shock I have in the spares box measures 10.25" center to center on the eyelets.

The easiest fix would be to use a shorter custom shock...like the Works Perforfance shock previously mentioned. Then lower the triple clamps on the forks to match changes to the rear.

This will alter the way the bike handles....and give less cornering clearance.

[Heritage Pman]

thanks guys for all the help.

I'll see what works can do for me...toughest sell I've had

Paul