Adjusting rear ride height
 

I installed a Works Performance shock a while ago and it seemed that the bike sat a little lower in the back. The bike rides nicely, feels stable. Last weekend though, I was in a sweeper and hit a dip in the road. The loud noise I heard turned out to be the lower fairing scraping the road. More underneath than on the side. So I increased the shock height today by a half inch vertical to the rear axle. My question: is this a huge jump? Will the handling be a lot different and should I back it down a tad? Thanks.

Are you talking about adjusting the preload?

If you are, then this needs to be set according to your weight.

Is the Works Performance shock adjustable for over all length? Spec OAL for the rear shock is 13.63 inches. If it is adjustable, adjust it to that.

No, I've got the sag set. If I recall, it wound up just under 26mm. The bottom eye bolt on the shock is threaded, with about a 1/2" travel. I took the bike for a ride today and it seems fine up to 70 and handled nicely in some turns and uneven road conditions. I've never had a height adjustable shock, so I never had to learn what the parameters were.

Hi RK,
When I bought the shock, it was adjusted longer than the stock one. I measured the centers of the eyebolts and matched the Works shock to that. The bike seemed to stand up straighter on the side stand a little and my knees felt more bent when I sat on the bike (feet on the ground). So now the shock is about 5/16" longer than the stocker. I also have the CBR1000 forks up front raised 13mm in the 3-clamp as per Greg's (Hawkrider) own swap.

The only after market shocks I've had are Fox, which were adjustable for OAL by turning the top mount part.

If the WP isn't adjustable, it should be the same OAL as the stocker (13.63"). If it isn't the same OAL maybe it is the wrong shock? Did you order it from Works Performance or buy it second hand?

No way to comment on the half inch up without knowing what length it was in the first place.

I'm no expert on this stuff, but sag and shock height are two different things. Getting the sag set right with a shock that is too short or too long still leaves you with a problem.

I think you have to make sure the shock is the proper height first.

Greg;

Looks like you answered my later question before I asked it, but I don't know what's going on unless it's too high rear/ too low front causing the problem.

Maybe, I'll go back to Greg's thread on height measurements and double check my bike next weekend. I did put the new shock on a couple months after I finished the front end. So I know it was the rear that sat differently. Thanks.