Lowering the DR650

[TW_rider]

DR650 owners (past and present)...has anyone lowered their ride?
Did you do the "factory method" or cheap out and go the easy way?

Last year while riding "two-up" we bottomed out a few times, since the DR has notoriously lame rear suspension. I am installing the 8.3 spring to take care of that aspect, but I am curious if anyone has
lowered theirs and if they had any problems afterwards.
Even with factory suspension we have never yet bottomed-out while on my TW...go figure.

 

[Rambocycle]

DR650 owners (past and present)...has anyone lowered their ride?
Did you do the "factory method" or cheap out and go the easy way?

Last year while riding "two-up" we bottomed out a few times, since the DR has notoriously lame rear suspension. I am installing the 8.3 spring to take care of that aspect, but I am curious if anyone has
lowered theirs and if they had any problems afterwards.
Even with factory suspension we have never yet bottomed-out while on my TW...go figure.

Tom T lowered his DR650 for me and I am guessing went the "cheap" way, he put a "dogbone" in and him and Ted added some cut pipe to the forks, but it worked fine, and I am not a small person, I had no bottoming out issues that I know of anyway. You can ask Tom about it if you like. He will give the more detailed version.
hope my reply helped in some small way.
Sharon

 

[bkoz]

Have you set the DR's supension at it lowest factory settings?

The shock has 2 bolt holes on the lower clevis and there are spacers to flip in the forks. The bike will be pretty low at that point.

 

[joker650]

Pretty sure the "Factory" way is the cheap way. I thought everything is already installed on the bike...
Don't the forks have a spacer in them that U just install in a different position?

EDIT:
From another site.

Basically reversing the rear shock lower collar, raising the bottom shock bolt to the upper hole and moving the spacer on top of the fork springs to below the damper rod.

about inches but 40mm according to the book.

Yup...that's what I remember about lowering the DR.

 

[TW_rider]

The "factory" method involves moving the shock bolt to the bottom hole, and reversing the collar. The spacers in the forks are also removed, the shock dismantled and the spacers installed on the bottom of the damper rods.
The "Cheap way" moves the shock to the bottom hole and slides the forks up, in the triple tree.
Both methods require a new, shorter stand.

I've considered doing it a-la cheap, but since I'm rebuilding the rear shock, I might as well do it properly.