Pros and cons of lowering links

[TimeMachine]

Ok, possibly a little controversial, but I am suggesting that there may be more benefits to using lowering links than you might think. I recently fitted lowering links to my T7  just to test a theory that they could improve the handling of the bike, and it seems to be correct.

 

Since upgrading my suspension (retaining stock height) and setting my bike with the right preload for my weight a few years ago, I have noticed a tendency for the bike to feel like it is riding on stilts. It is only subtle, and the better setup and quality suspension is a revelation in many ways, but this tippy-ness is there that makes the bike feel less connected to the ground and less stable at speed on rutted or loose surfaces. I had also read feedback from some advanced riders suggesting that stock suspension height handled better than the 30+mm suspension being offered by Rally Raid and others, and (I am hypothesising) that the raised suspension was making that tippy, less connected feeling worse.

 

A few days ago I fitted a set of lowering links that set the rear suspension about 25mm lower than stock, and I pushed the forks up through the triple clamps till they protruded 30mm above the upper triples. I have since ridden a few hundred kilometres on wet and muddy back roads, which included a few log jumps over fallen trees. I am now convinced the bike handles better for being lowered. There are other factors at play as well that may affect the handling, like running knobby tires and a narrower rear tire and rim, and a lot of weight taken off the bike, but I believe some of that "on stilts" feeling is inherent in the chassis and can be corrected by lowering the bike. The bike now also feels less tippy in cross winds and a little easier to pick your way through obstacles at low speed. I can flat foot my T7 in stock trim without using the links, but being even lower now with the links also makes it easier to dab a foot from a standing position on the pegs, especially as I get older and my knees not as good as they were. 

Some will have concerns about the reduced ground clearance, but I believe the trade off is worth it. There is still enough clearance for everything except the most knarly of rocky tracks or jumps, and it is always a good idea to have a solid bash plate anyway, just in case. I do notice the pegs are closer to the ground and I get a few more sticks brushing my boots, although that is possibly just due to the recent storms and lots of fallen trees and branches on the trails.

 

Regarding the lowering links I purchased, I am not too impressed with them. I bought a set that I thought would give several options of ride height to test, but the least lowering option was already pretty much the maximum anyone would want compared to stock, so the longer link options were no advantage.

 

 

Motorcycle Linkage Lowering Link Kit Rear Suspension Cushion Drop Connecting for Yamaha Tenere 700 XTZ690 XTZ 690 T7 2019-2021 Decorate : Amazon.com.au: Automotive

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Motorcycle Linkage Lowering Link Kit Rear Suspension Cushion Drop Connecting for Yamaha Tenere 700 XTZ690 XTZ 690 T7 2019-2021 Decorate : Amazon.com.au: Automotive

 

 

Would be good to hear other riders opinions on this that have ridden the T7 with lowering links.

[Tenerider]

Interesting mate, I've raised my T7 (Tractive +25mm suspension both front and rear), and did not notice any disadvantages in regards of stability/"tippyness" (no matter what speed range).

I had come across these concerns previous to purchasing my set and I think I only found one source mentioning it, that was teknikmotorsport.com.

 

What's true is that dabbing is not as easy, so I think in difficult terrain the lower peg-to-ground distance helps.

But actually, a lot of mediocre riders like me more tend to waddle if the going gets rough, which is not "the right way" afaik. Especially on lower bikes, the temptation to do so is higher

 

But anyways, I'd like to try a standard bike vs a lowered bike vs a raised one. The problem is that other parameters might actually be of more importance, and it's more than unlikely that we'll ever find three identical bikes only differing in ground height.

 

The most important thing: If yours is more stable and handles better, it's right for you!

[CamT]

I have fitted Alt Rider Adjustable lowering links. Currently at -30mm but was at -20mm before that with a cheap  Amazon pair to test the waters. I have pushed the forks up in the triple clamp.  I find being lower to the ground much more comfortable (i'm 5'7"), so to me, the lower clearance is worth it (but I did make sure I put on a proper bash plate). I certiainly wouldn't go any lower.

 

The main drawback I am chasing is the rear suspension. I am looking to fit a stiffer progrssive spring to see if that helps. Right now it dosn't take much of a jump to bottom it out, and I like to trail ride. The Tenere stock is a bit soft to begin with, but with the anti-squat setup, I would say that the lowering links definately impact the ability to set the sag properly. 

 

Any recommendations for a rear spring that might work? and is it worth doing without doing the shock as well? I've seen mixed reviews on this, and some people who have been chasing their tail collecting springs that don't work

 

Thanks!

[Uncle M]

@CamT my strategy was to get the correct spring for your weight so sag is 30% with as little preload as possible, then ride it for awhile so you know what correct sag feels like, then play with the clickers to get the best ride for yourself, and only then think about revalving if you're still not happy with the ride.

With the correct spring, I think the OEM shock can be pretty good, depending of course on what and where you're riding.

[IAbeem]

I lowered just 20mm and I prefer it. I adjusted the preload up but it would probably be better with a heavier spring rate. It handles similarly but I can put my feet down easier if I need. I'm 5'9 with a 30" inseam 168lbs dry.

 

If your curious I'd recommend giving it a try. Cheap and super easy and you can switch right back if you don't like it. It really didn't effect the dynamics much at all which surprised me.

[RMMark]

The Boano fork set up uses different yokes to take out the head wobble and negative characteristics found on the tenere, it doesn't say what the rake/trail is - but i wonder if lowering the rear changes these dynamics closer to what they found and developed in their testing 

 

Either way mines lowered 20mm - just enough for my short ass to dab and i think it handles great (stock suspension pitfalls taken into consideration).

[Toppie]

On 7/9/2023 at 5:19 AM, TimeMachine said:

Ok, possibly a little controversial, but I am suggesting that there may be more benefits to using lowering links than you might think. I recently fitted lowering links to my T7  just to test a theory that they could improve the handling of the bike, and it seems to be correct.

 

I have noticed a tendency for the bike to feel like it is riding on stilts. It is only subtle

 

Some will have concerns about the reduced ground clearance, but I believe the trade off is worth it. There is still enough clearance for everything except the most knarly of rocky tracks or jumps,

 

Would be good to hear other riders opinions on this that have ridden the T7 with lowering links.

 

 

On 7/9/2023 at 9:00 AM, Tenerider said:

 

But anyways, I'd like to try a standard bike vs a lowered bike vs a raised one. The problem is that other parameters might actually be of more importance, and it's more than unlikely that we'll ever find three identical bikes only differing in ground height.

 

The most important thing: If yours is more stable and handles better, it's right for you!

 

I bought my T7 back in February 22 and, after some deliberation and perusing this forum as well as others, I used 20mm Rally Raid drop links to lower my bike. (This was post setting my suspension)

I raised the forks to 18mm through the top yolk and I have Avon Trailriders fitted.

The result was pretty much spot on for what I was looking for and is documented on this forum.

 

I'm a 'mature' rider at 75 years old and feel more comfy these days if I can 'flat-foot' when stationary.

I'm 5'9'' and 30'' inseam.

I use my T7 as a mostly tar-top-touring tool with the option for not-to0-knarly tangents.

Lowering the bike didn't just enable me to flat-foot, it actually felt generally a whole lot better and more stable.

 

That exercise, c/w a 16 tooth front has my bike pretty much where I want it to be.

 

All the above being said, my son recently purchased a new T7 and on a recent ride out we swapped bikes for about 40 kms.

The difference was immense.

The outa-the-box new jobbie, higher, with lower gearing and semi knobbly tyres gave me flash backs to when I took delivery of my own 18 months previously.

My immediate thoughts were exactly like @TimeMachine's comment.....the bike to feel like it is riding on stilts.

 

My son wont be altering his own bike in the same way I did as his riding will entail more off-road than my own.

It was oh-so-comforting to get back onto my lowered machine.

My bottom line is...If there's others that use their Ténéré 700 in the same way that I do, the lowered ride height, higher geared, more road biased rubber is the way to go.

I've found my ever-so-slightly adapted T7 to be a lovely platform for long days in the saddle for the type of riding I do these days....

 

 

You may be able to spot small differences in my bike's slightly altered stance to my son's out of the box version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Toppie

[Mapbook]

 Got a rally raid 95 nm rear spring which raised the back end slightly, lowered the rear -20mm no difference in handling.

At 6' 4'' with a 33'' inside leg  it's still hard to throw a leg over.

 

[TexasT700]

I used 1 inch lowering links and found that it messed with the sag numbers. It puts more leverage onto the linkage and requires a stronger spring if you wish to keep sag at about 30 percent. Eventually, I went back to factory links and immediately noticed the suspension was much more compliant, and required much less preload.

I am happy for those who find lowering links acceptable, but I did not. My solution was to sell the T7 and move on to a factory lower bike, 23 890 Adv S., with factory pretty good suspension. And, yes, I miss the great low end torque, and many nice features of the T7, but am giving the new ride a minimum of 2 years to check it out!

The Yamaha engineers have a lot of experience and tools to figure out the best config, and I think they got it right with the T7, except, yes, it is a bit too tall for many.

[Adrenolin]

4 hours ago, TexasT700 said:

I used 1 inch lowering links and found that it messed with the sag numbers. It puts more leverage onto the linkage and requires a stronger spring if you wish to keep sag at about 30 percent. Eventually, I went back to factory links and immediately noticed the suspension was much more compliant, and required much less preload.

I am happy for those who find lowering links acceptable, but I did not. My solution was to sell the T7 and move on to a factory lower bike, 23 890 Adv S., with factory pretty good suspension. And, yes, I miss the great low end torque, and many nice features of the T7, but am giving the new ride a minimum of 2 years to check it out!

The Yamaha engineers have a lot of experience and tools to figure out the best config, and I think they got it right with the T7, except, yes, it is a bit too tall for many.

You can’t just change the rear.. that absolutely screws up everything. I’ve found that on both the T7 and the WRR that you need to lower the front 1/2 the change in the rear. 
 

For example I installed 20mm lowering links on the rear. Up front I dropped the triples down the forks 10mm. This evens out the front and rear. 
 

If you used 1” (25mm) links then you should have dropped the triple down 12-13mm.

 

OEM spec up front is with the forks 10mm above the triple. On my bike with the 20mm lowering links my front forks are now up 20mm. Yours should have been about 22-23mm. 

[TexasT700]

Yep, I did that also.

Pushed front forks up, but not past safe tightening zone on forks.

The steering geometry was ok. My comments were about the change in leverage on rear shock. Totally changes sag to put longer links. If you get heavier spring, you can still get sag correct, but may need add preload also. At 225 pounds I had 95nm spring. After going back to factory links, I had 30 percent sag with almost zero preload, plus shock was much more compliant.

[TimeMachine]

On 8/6/2023 at 5:28 AM, TexasT700 said:

Yep, I did that also.

Pushed front forks up, but not past safe tightening zone on forks.

The steering geometry was ok. My comments were about the change in leverage on rear shock. Totally changes sag to put longer links. If you get heavier spring, you can still get sag correct, but may need add preload also. At 225 pounds I had 95nm spring. After going back to factory links, I had 30 percent sag with almost zero preload, plus shock was much more compliant.

Interesting. I did not notice that effect, but often adjust my preload depending on what I am carrying, so easy to miss. Looking at the geometry of the links, I can't see any change to the leverage, only that the angle of the swingarm is slightly more horizontal which on its own might provide a small difference in sag. So not sure why yours made such a big change. Perhaps an engineer can chime in with an explanation.