Article & Photos By: Will Ramsey www.faithforgottenchoppers.com
Originally Published In The July 2016 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
Lowering a stock motorcycle is one of the quickest ways to improve the overall look of the bike. Often times a lowered bike will feel more responsive on the road, but there is always a consequence anytime something changes. Generally, lowering a motorcycle stiffens the ride, so those bumps in the road are going to feel a little bit bigger. When it comes to lowering a springer front end, most riders will pass on the difficult job of disassembling and replacing all the springs. Speed Dealer Customs has an amazing lowering kit for springers that is easy to install and maintains the stock spring rate. I was so anxious to check out this product that I called my friend Jason Eggena and told him to bring his bike down from Columbus Ohio. Jason had already lowered the rear of his bike but he had left the OEM springer stock. Once we got our hands on his bike and ordered a lowering kit from Speed Dealer Customs, we tore right into the job.
In order to start breaking down the front end to gain access to the rockers, Kekoa starts by removing the side covers. This allows access to remove the front axle.
The rotor is easily removed by simply extracting the two mounting bolts
With the axle and rotor removed the front of the bike is raised to allow the front wheel to slide out.
Before removing the front fender, Kekoa unplugs the wiring to the indicator light located on top of the fender
Although one person can certainly complete the job it is always nice to have a second set of hands when handling painted surfaces. The front fender is carefully maneuvered out from between the front legs of the springer.
Kekoa uses Zip ties to secure the legs prior to removing the rockers. This is done to ensure that the front leg of the springer does not decide to become a projectile weapon.
The old bearing races are removed by simply using a punch. The copper jaws on the vice help to avoid damaging any parts that are held.
The kit provides brand new shiny bearing races which must be pressed into each side of the threaded bearing retainers. Be sure that the races are facing in the proper direction before pressing them into place.
The vice is often used for small press fit operations like this one.
There are two more bearing races that must be pressed into the rockers. Kekoa uses a deep well socket to reach inside the rocker and press the race in the vice.
The reassembly is very simple but always take the time to properly torque the fasteners to factory specs.
With the fender and wheel back in place Kekoa puts the final torque on the caliper bolts before pulling this bike off the lift.
This lowering kit performs as well as it looks. Dropping the front end a full 1” while maintaining the stock spring rate. By the time this article went to print Jason had put over 500 miles on his bike and was thrilled with the improved performance and ride characteristics of the Speed Dealer Customs Springer Lowering Kit