RS Suspension & Seat Height.

Hello Triumph People!
I have a bit of a problem, my legs are not long enough! I have a 29'' inside leg, which is not ideal on by beloved RS. So does anyone know of a ride height mod? Also what will I need to do to the front forks to compensate?
Any ideas will be welcome.

TonyRS :???: :???:

[Huladog]

Tony, I'm in the same situation! Short 29" inseam too. I did have an upholstery shop shave down the stock seat by about 1 inch but I could use more help reaching the ground.

Come on guys, jump in and help us short guys!

Huladog

[Scottius]

I'm not sure if anyone makes a lowering link for the Sprint suspension, but if you don't have a hugger and never plan on putting one on you can move the eccentric cam on the chain tensioner to be above the axis of the axle instead of below it. This will affect ride characteristics and lighten the front wheel so lowering the triple-tree down the forks a bit to even it out would be in order.

[OlyKen]

I have only had my RS for a week, so I am clearly no expert, but I also am inseam-challenged, and can tip-toe with both feet, or flat-foot on one side.

In the 250 or so miles I have put on, it hasn't really bothered me too much, and I actually like the ergonomics while riding (though I may eventually go with the ST bars - my arms are short as well, and I am bothered more by the reach to the bars than the reach to the ground!) Also, I will likely have the saddle customized at some point, this is a route I have used with bikes in the past, and seems to be a good compromise.

I am reluctant to do much tweaking with the overall geometry of the bike (eg, lowering suspension or modifying the chain adjuster cam) inasmuch as the handling characteristics are one of the primary reasons I bought the bike in the first place.

Not much help, I guess, but I have grown weary of having my pant size determine which bike I ride, and will just learn to live with toe-tips on the ground, and pushing the bike out of difficult parking spots.

Ken

[Huladog]

Oly Ken, I too reach the ground with the balls of my feet or flat foot on one side only. Tricky part if when you stop at an off camber surface, you gotta pay attention before you put your foot down!

Learned to be careful where I park. To just get off and walk the bike backwards even in my garage to move it around. Takes a bit of planning when you pull up to park but saves you major embarrassment later.

I too don't really want to tweak my suspension so I've been adapting (came off a Honda Shadow cruiser). Besides shaving the seat, did add the GenMar risers which help a bit.

If we could only find a truly modern sport-tourer that let us short guys flat foot it with both feet! Otherwise, we're stuck with cruisers.

Note: Only the 2004 Sprint RS has an eccentric for chain adjustment. All previous have a standard two-sided swingarm, so we don't have the option of those with single-sided swingarm bikes.

[dolson]

It has been discussed a bit ago. For those with SSSA turning the eccentric 180 is definitely NOT recommended. It seems it really screws up the whole geometry back there.

For better clarification I will stop at my dealers and get the straight scoop on this.

But I wouldn't do it.

Don

[Scottius]

I agree with Dolson - as I said it does affect the riding characteristics and would need a corresponding adjustment of the front suspenders to even things out. I would work with your local dealer/mechanic to see what you can do.

I'm also inseam challenged and agonized over the ST and RS ergonomics for many months before finally buying the ST simply because I could get it lower and fix the bar reach with Helibars. I was told that Great Bay Motorcycles would be selling a drag link for lowering, but that hasn't happened yet.

In my searching to find ways to get the RS lower, I found out from my dealer (Southern California Triumph) that they regularly perform a simple modification for their very short customers that gets the bike lower by about 3 inches. I know, hard to believe. The mod is to reverse the bracket that holds the shock and drag link in place. Of course, they also raise the forks through the clamps by several inches to keep the same weight distribution. Other people have figured out this trick and apparently it works fine.

On another note, I had an inch of foam shaved out of the seat on my ST and some of the remaining foam replaced with gel. It works fine and now I can get the balls of my feet on the ground. After a year, I've found I can live with it; but I'd still like to be able to get flat footed.

Dave

[Redbike]

For those of you who have had your seat shaved down, did you go to an ordinary furniture reupholsterer to have it done? Did it come out looking good cosmetically, and about how much do they charge for doing it?

I suppose it also reduces the lean to the bars. Does the tank feel especially tall afterward, or is the difference not really enough to notice?