First drop - Lowering advise

[Deadonkey]

Well, after 700 miles in 3 weeks since having my first bike,
It went over.

I stopped on an off camber, put my foot out and it was a bit further than usual till my foot touched the ground.
At this point the bike was past the critical angle where I couldnt hold it.

Some nice cyclists helped me pick it up, Very minimal damage. Im also absolutely fine

Slight scratching to the engine casing and the bar end.

Bar ends simple enough to replace but what do people do with scratched engine casings? I guess they are a pain to change? can you get matching paint to spray them?

This is the second time Ive dropped an XJ6. The problem is for me to flat foot the bike it has to be at an angle, so if anything causes that angle to become slightly more the bike goes over.
Its not much either.

There is a lowering kit available for the XJ6 that lowers the back end by 40mm by modifying the position of the rear shock, after discussing this with a biker friend he suggests I just keep with the bike as it is, as using lowering kits causes further issues with the side stand/bike angle and the centre stand. But i feel it would help me confidently move the bike around.
I would be interested to hear some views.

Many Thanks
Richard

[notabikeranym...]

Dunno what you're going to do about fixing up the scuffs, but these will prevent it happening again/will help if you slide it down the road:

https://www.rg-racing.com/browsetype/Engine_Case_Sliders/Yamaha/XJ6/

Rather slide on those and pay £50, than a cracked open case with engine oil going everywhere.

I'm getting the full engine casing kit that they make for the R6 because I recently dropped my bike too so I feel your pain. Unfortunately mine's costing me £700 in fairings ontop of new bar ends and swingarm spools, of which I've popped some R&G ones on a few weeks ago.

But thankfully, no damage to swingarm/engine or any metal parts at all.

Neutral, facing downhill, took hands off bars, leaned back up off the bike, it rolled forwards, clunk.

Shit happens.

[ThatDippyTwat]

Learn to get your bum off the seat?

I know a 5' 3" (ish) lass that can ride a stock KTM motard (690 IIRC), her arse is off the seat and her leg hooked over it if there's an off camber, and a less pronounced but similar positio at normal lights, junctions etc. Must do 6-7K on it a year, and she's not shy about getting a hustle on.

That said, I damn near dropped a YBR a few weeks back by not having my brain turned on at 5:30AM, and I'm 6' 3", it's not all about your height or inside leg.
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[The Shaggy D.A.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHm_wizutuA
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[Tracer1234]

My Street Trip, I think was lowered by the previous owner. I never knew this for sure, but the angle of lean when on the side stand small.

When on anything other than flat ground, it always felt precarious, so just be aware of that when thinking about lowering it.
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[Deadonkey]

[RhynoCZ]

[Rogerborg]

Great to see the usual "you don't need to" advice from the stork-leg brigade.

40mm is a fair bit but it looks like the only kit available for your techno-suspension. You can drop the front forks through the yokes to match, but I would indeed be a-scared that it's going to cause issues with the stands. My lowered GS can't take the standard centre stand and I believe my side stand is shortened.

However, it's super easy to flat foot it both sides - it's my lowest bike, and sod riding when you're fretting about dropping it. Life's too short, pun intended. I reckon I'd give it a go and deal with the stands if necessary.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[RhynoCZ]

[Marclev]

[Matt B]

[Hawkeye1250FA]

*Resolved*


https://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=65056017
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[Deadonkey]

I thought about a lowered seat.
Nothing is available.

Would it be an idea to get a local upholstery company to look at it?

Or is that just going to make an already uncomfortable seat even worse?

[Rogerborg]

How thick is the stock seat? If it were an older bike, I'd be looking at buying a spare seat and having a go with some camping/exercise mat closed-cell foam and a staple gun.

<TefAlert> Modern seats seem to be getting thinner though, there may not be a lot to be trimmed. </TefAlert>
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike