Don't hate to bring it up, keep poking with a stick till you get it right!

Raising the front will make it slower, but also more stable, you might try something in between (I have mine raised about 8-10mm above the gullwing, but I have longer forks) to find what works best for you but leaves enough stability to be safe.

As for the rear, I'd look into measuring another SH if you can so that you have a reference to go from. I know many people actually like to raise the rear 5mm over stock to help turn in and make it more flickable. But without knowing exactly where you are at compared to stock it is hard to know what to suggest.

 

I'm running CBR 1000RR forks and a 954/929 gullwing... I have it set with the cap flush, no leg showing... That was the same way I was running it with the stock swingarm and shock... Then I had the rear raised around 16 mm at the rear footpeg-mounts, or around 5 mm shim... That was stable but very quick steering, very flickable... And I was pushing it... Hard... Hard enough to destroy both front and rear full slicks in a full day of several "race" sessions with perfect wear pattern...

How much higher is it in the rear now compared to stock? What length of shim or adjustable shock?

As for the damper... Put that on the shelf until you have figured out the dynamics of the bike, or set it at it's absolute minimum setting... Trust me, unless you have the other setup figured out it will not save you from any mishap, more likely it will put you in a ditch... Once you have the basic geometry right and the bike is "stable", or a bit nervous/flickable and basically stable then you put it back and use it to dampen out the parts where you push to hard... Right now it's most likely just masking the bikes natural behaviour making it more dificult to find the basic setup...

 

I agree. From what you are describing, it lounds like your trail is high. since your front fork is short from stock but longer than before, it sounds like you must be low in the rear.

Generally people add 5-10 mm to the shock length, which adds 15-30 mm, or so to the rear.

For people who are really interested in understanding the details, I just purcahsed software by Tony Foale. It is a complete simulator for geometry and the effects of changes. I started building a spreadsheet for it and learning about how to take measurements and do the calculations. When I discovered the software, I found it to be exactly what I was looking for. It is available on ebay for $59. I also bought Tony's book (Amazon). Highly recommended.

 

BTW if you like I'll take a measurement on the rear end over the ground on my bike now to compare too... I'll have to do that on Monday though since the bike is taking a winter nap in my parents garage...

Just keep in mind I'm running a SP2 swing, so I have a longer wheelbase as well now... Rock stable... I could probably let go of the handlebars in 6'th gear without problem (Not going to try though!) And it's still extremely flickable... I have been toying with the idea of adding a steering damper, but I'm not too sure I really need one...