http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/TriumphTrophy/ in "Database" file
**ALL SUSPENSION MODIFICATIONS ARE DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK!**
(1) Chris's instructions for lowering a '95 model (and similar) Trophies:
I recently lowered my wife's '95 Triumph Trophy and it made a big difference in her handling and comfort level with the bike. I would highly recommend it if you feel the bike is too tall.
The eccentric chain adjusters that hold the axle for the rear wheel are normally arranged with the axle in the lower portion of the adjuster. You can temporarily detach the brake caliper from the stay-arm or remove the rear axle and wheel to allow you to reposition the caliper and its mounting plate and turn the adjusters 180-degrees so the axle is now in the upper portion of the adjuster. (If this is confusing, go look at the back of your bike and you'll see what I mean.) I found it easier to work with the axle and tire removed, because it allows more room to work.
Before you can turn the adjusters completely though, you will need to remove or loosen the bolts holding the rear fender - without doing this the tire and rear sprocket will hit the inside of the fender/chain cover. The rear bolt holding the chain cover will need to be exchanged with a longer bolt and some plastic or nylon spacers to allow the chain cover to clear the sprocket & chain in its new, higher position. It will need to be about a half inch (15 mm) taller.
There is only one permanent modification you will have to make to your bike: In order to turn the adjuster 180-deg, you have to saw (or file) off a little tab that sticks out from the rear brake caliper. Otherwise it will not allow the caliper to rest in the proper position once everything is moved around. It is a minor and easy thing to do , and no one will notice once everything is put back together. remember to tighten the pinch bolts for the adjusters and make sure your axle bolts are tight if you removed the wheel.
Once you have lowered the rear, you want to lower the front to match. Several of us have computed that the rear is lowered 40mm by turning the adjuster, so you want to lower the front 40mm too. This would be an easy task on a Trident, but is not too difficult even with the fairing on a Trophy.
After getting a starting measurement of how much fork tube is sticking out from the top of the triple clamps, you will need to loosen the pinch bolts that hold the top of the fork tubes. It should be possible then to hold the tubes below the triple clamp and twist them back and forth so the weight of the motorcycle causes it to slowly slide down the tubes until they protrude 40mm MORE than before. It would be a good idea to have a helper at this point and maybe a jack under the bike in case you go too far.
Once the adjustments are done, tighten the pinch bolts, compress the front suspension a few times to make sure it is not binding and then go for a ride.
The bike will feel much lighter due to its lower height. Just remember you have less clearance when going over speed bumps, curbs and big pot holes now. It might help to stiffen the tension on the rear if you find that the underside of the bike occasionally scrapes. Also make sure your fork tubes a filled with the specified amount of fluid. If they are still too soft and allow the bike to bottom out, you may try adding a little more fluid or increasing the fork preload with some spacers added inside the top of the forks.
Good luck!
Chris Bell
Austin, TX
'95 Triumph Speed Triple "TaCO"
'95 Triumph Trophy 900 (wife's bike)
(2) Michael Hurst's instructions for lowering his '98 model (and similar) Trophies:
Basically, you will be rotating the rear axle eccentric adjusters
180 degrees, which results in a drop of 1.6" at the rear. You have
to drop the front a corresponding amount by pulling through the fork
tubes an additional 40 mm to a total amount of 60 mm. Doing so will not
allow you to keep the plastic triple clamp cover. Other Archives have more details and experiences but this was the main series.
Having done this your handling will be markedly different (IMHO,
vastly improved along with much easier parking lot maneuvers)and your
ground clearance will shrink. I cranked up the preload on the rear
so that my weight doesn't sink it too far and I am adjusting
the front preload with a longer spring spacer to have less sag at
rest with my weight. The softer stock setting was okay with lots
of ground clearance but I found I could use up the reduced clearance
all too easily without these adjustments.
The centerstand is tooooo long when the Trophy is lowered so you
either need to use ramps, remove it, or shorten it. The sidestand,
at least on my '98 model, becomes the right length whereas for 99
and 00 models with their longer ones, it would be too long.
Anyhow, search through the Archives for more info than in the six
mentioned above and if you have questions, etc., post them to the
list.
Michael
(3)A rather technical description written by Michael right after doing the lowering job on his Trophy:
Okay, today I made more careful measurements and came up with the following:
Rear axle center to eccentric center=20 mm; 180 degree rotation = 40 mm. =~
1.6 (actually closer to 1 9/16 inches). Due to initial slant of swingarm
and eccentric (and the length of my chain), wheelbase was lengthened 8 mm
(the center of the axle moved from in front of the eccentric center at the
bottom to in back of the eccentric center at the top). The included angle
between the vertical and the new and old axle center positions =~ 30
degrees, which is very close to the 27 degree steering head angle and it was
in the same direction (slanting backwards). Hence the movement at the fork
tubes can be set equal to the movement between the new and old axle center
positions, or 40 mm. This amount is very close to what Ron reported as 1.5
inches and is probably within measurement error or differences in chain
length, etc.
For a 98 Trophy, the top of the fork tubes, not including the cap, are
supposed to be 20 mm from the top of the triple clamp. Add 40 mm and the
new distance should be 60 mm or =~ 2 3/8 inches.
The chain length, due to stretch or the difference between 17 (900), 18
(1200 thru '98) , and 19(1200 for '99+) tooth engine sprockets, does effect
the actual angle of the change in axle positions (and therefore how parallel
the front fork is along with the equivalent fork adjustment distance), but I
don't think these measurements are bad as starting points. If the steering
seems too quick or a little unstable (after getting used to the new lower CG
effects), you can always drop the tubes back down a few mm's to increase the
fork angle, trail, and stability. Conversely, if the steering seems to have
slowed considerably, you can pull the forks through a few mm and retest. Do
all of this testing very cautiously, or let the dealer do it (and the whole
change-over) for you.
To tell you all the truth, the effects are so marvelous that I would
definitely put this change in the top 10 that I just forwarded to ToA. They
could reroute or make a flat section, rather than round section, muffler
connector pipe to regain about ½ inch (if flattened) to 1 inch (if
rerouted) in ground clearance, etc, etc. to make it feasible. Stiffer
springs or adjustable ones would help too. I know that my extra weight at
220# with helmet, boots, and heavy jacket probably sags the ground clearance
at least an extra inch compared to what it should be. A rider would do the
same; so here adjustable ride height (air or preload) would help
considerably.
For cornering clearance, remember that the angle that the footpeg feelers
touch down is only minimally affected by the lower centerline since they
are so far away from it. With an appropriate tire selection and/or with
stiffer springs or adjustable ones like I and a few others on the heavier
side could use, even more cornering clearance could be recovered with
minimal change in the lowered CG. Just late night thoughts.
In my limited testing to date, I have not tried going over curbs or speed
bumps (nor do I think I will)! Nor have I gone over 65 mph with my
stability tests (only a matter of time and opportunity). Nor have I had a
passenger, although I did put on the travel trunk with its 10# rated load
and half loads in the saddlebags and noticed absolutely no adverse effects.
If fact, I had less feeling that the travel trunk was having a heavy hand.
I have to say, again, what a difference!
Linear Mode
