lowering xz550rk

[johnnyb]

So excited to be back as a Vision owner once again.
Just bought an 83 for my wife, I find it a little tall for her and wondering is there a way to lower the height of it until she learns how to ride and gets more confident. I will want to return it back to original height later.

Thanks

[The Prophet of Doom]

Easiest/cheapest way would be to get another seat and remove some of the padding.
82 tyre sizing will drop the bike 1/2 an inch also.

[dingleberry]

I second that. Mucking around trying to lower front and rear evenly will be a pain in the backside and still leave you with incorrect swingarm geometry. There are products like gel inserts to make a slim seat soft, talk to an upholsterer that does a lot of bikes. Alternatively buy her some cream cakes to make the seat area more comfy. Don't be tempted to take all preload out of spring to lower as that will have an adverse effect on handling, unless she is very light. I would invest some time in learning the proper way to set up suspension (static sag, rider sag etc) and do that first so you have a good baseline height before you carve up the seat. This will also help her ride better and know what a bike should feel like as well as being a lot safer.

[johnnyb]

Thanks guys I will be checking out Kijiji for a second seat.
I am hoping that after a few months of riding she will be confident enough to go back to the stock seat.