XT600E to tall for a 5'8 Female ??
 

Me and the missis are planning a long trip. Iv already got my XT600E all kitted out and really want us to use the same bikes..

Well, shes 5'8 and although not small, im thinking the bike will be to tall for her as im 6 foot and find myself on tip toes at times.

So !! What dya reckon ? lowered seat ?? Does anyone make a lowering linkage for the shock ? Are they any good.

Cheers in advance !

Lowering an xt600e
 

Hi, If you do a search a company called KEDO based in Germany sell a lowering link and a front fork lowering sleeve, cost is about 140 euros from memory. I am only 5'6" 29" inside leg and have used this kit on a 17000 km jopurney through Europe an Russia with 2000 km off road. Kedo also sell oil temp filler plug gauge. Hope this helps. Have fun.

Jimmy

Just what i was after... ta very much.

Did you get the lowering kit???
 

I'm just over 5ft 5" and I am usually on tip toes. Most of the time it doesn't bother me, but when I'm on a steep hill (and there are lots of those in Spain) my legs aren't quite long enough so I'm seriously thinking about lowering my XT.

My husband is only 5ft 8" and has very short legs (28") so he has a similar problem on his XT.

One thing to think about, when the bikes are fully loaded up, the bike will be about an inch lower anyway but they are also more difficult to keep upright if your feet aren't firmly on the ground (as I found out several times travelling through Europe last year).

I put a Talon lowering link (on my drz400sm) and left it on for a week, then took it off. The problem is that the linkage moves the range of travel of the shock away from the optimum. It uses up the soft initial range and makes the shock feel much cruder and harsher. Just be aware of this.

I sorted my height problems by shaving 1.5in of foam from the seat (from the underside so the seat appearance wasn't affected). Comfort is no worse and I can now flat foot one foot. I'm 5' 7".

TM...the lady I purchased my XT from was...5'4" ! She did lower it but I'm not sure how she did it, probably lowering links. I'm a 5'8" stature and it fits me well with my feet flat on the ground and a stock seat.

Have you considered buying your wife assjacks?? ( thick soled boots):rofl:

I must admit that being “altitudinally challenged” (the politically correct name for a short arse :)) I have been going through the same thought process recently, i.e. lowering the suspension or modifying the seat.

I have read the comments on shock performance when combined with a lowering kit with some interest, which is something I had not previously thought of. Duh!!

So for now I think that I may be going with the "zero cost" option of modifying the seat and see how I get on with that. Thanks for the info.

XT seat height .....
 

I'd never ridden my hubbys XT until last week (that's him above in case anybody was wondering ). He took a spill in Gibraltar a couple of weeks ago (thank you to the nice car that pulled out in front of him and then drove off after putting him into the path of the white van who hit him).

I had to drive it to the menders to get it fixed (the bike, not my hubby) and I realised why he's always complaining (soz hun) that his seat is too high - it must be an inch higher than mine!!! Why is that? We've checked both bikes and can't see why there would be any difference in seat height. Apart from his is a 2004 and mine is a 2003, they are identical in every way - same panniers etc.

He's decided against a lower kit and took his seat off the other day so I could trim it off a bit. Luckily, before we took the seat cover off, we realised that my staple gun wouldn't reach all the way round to staple it back on. Anybody got any suggestions???

Glue and staples
 

I bought a can of contact glue (Bison/Bostic or something similar) then I just stapeld a couple of places to hold the cover in position,applyed the glue and fitted the cover back on.

Good luck.

Tom

Arrow staple gun
 

If you buy a good quality heavy duty staple gun it will definitly take care of the job.
I done a few seat recovers and mods and have always used the staple method. Caution what length staple you use, you don't want them poking out the other side.
You can also buy stainless steel staples. (glue may work but what do yamaha do? Staple)

I'm 5' 8", my Tenere is not a problem...

The reason why bike heights may differ could be down to the shock absorber. At one time I had two 3AJs, it was quite obvious that one was higher than the other. During rebuild/s I pulled both rear shock abserbers and compared them - one was slightly longer than the other.

A bit more research revealed that a shock from a TT600 will fit into an XT600, but the TT600 shock is a little longer - resulting in higher ride height. My shock is from a TT600 - and I appreciate the extra height/travel when offroad and loaded up.

If you're going to replace your shock anyway, most decent shocks have adjustable links (maxton, wp, ohlins) - so this may solve the problem. Also you could just drop the forks through the yokes a little to balance things up - but check clearance front wheel against exhaust pipes...

B

Hi Ted,

I'm a 5'9" bloke and my XT is no problem, and women tend to have longer legs and be more flexible than us blokes. Shouldn't be a problem I'd think.
I went from an enfield to an XT and it felt monstrous for a while but within a week or two it felt natural.

Matt

I would suspect the shock absorber is adjusted differently. When changing my settings (in function of the load) on my previous rear shock I could have my seat lower or higher by an inch!
I have now changed for a WP one (without the possibility of adjusting to weight) and the seat is now set much higher (when the bike is unloaded)

Updating! lol

Where do you get them?! the lowering links that is... and how much do they lower?

Depending on how my XT behaves with the rear shock repositioning I might have to lower it just a little bit... which might also help if I do go Supermoto on her...

Vando :innocent:

35mm lovering kit from kedo (did you search :innocent::thumbup1: )

KEDO - Product Details

not really lol... forgot about kedo :oops2:

still 229euros damn... =|
thing is.. I don't know if that'll even fit...

I moved the top shock mounting point 6.5cm center-to-center hole further back to balance the height gain of my new front 02 YZ250F forks and to fit my Mikuni BST40 single carb conversion...

but since I had to have the mount point welded 1.5cm further back (it was supposed to be 5cm only) because the mount screw wouldn't clear the frame enough to fit and secure the shock..

That said.. I guess I'll have to simulate that lower link..

Can you or anyone let me know the lenght center of hole-to-hole so I can simulate it?!



Vando :innocent:

Heres a link to a thread I posted a while back
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-shortys-46263
First to collect from St.Neots, Cambs. can have it if it's any use.

Kedo Lowering Kit
 

Hi I have a brand new unused Kedo lowering kit. The kit includes a new lowering y link, two tubes to lower the front and an insert for the side stand so you can adjust its length to suit the lowered bike. If your interested I am open to offers.

Jimmy

This tread was started in 2006, the girl is probably an 'EX' by now! :rofl:

Hi!

jimmy46
Could you take some measures of the link and give them to me? some pictures would help to..

In the Easter I'm heading back to my homeland island where I got my XT and if you can help me with the measures and if you still have the link I'll make you an offer!

I can't make the offer right now because I don't know if with the shock mod I made the link will actually fit...


dave ede....LOL :rofl:

Vando :smartass:

Lowering Kit XT600 35mm
 

Hmm never posted pics before hope this works, the oily one on the left is the Yamaha original the shiny longer one is the Kedo part. 2nd pic includes the tubes for front forks and the side stand left right threaded insert. Last is the box with Kedo part number, all original instructions and diagrams included.

Jimmy

Hi!

Thanks for the pictures Jimmy!

the tubes for the front forks.. how does that work?!
I'm not able to imagine how it works lol...

So the Kedo part is just 17,5mm longer than the XT's stock one.
I have to say, It 'looks' much stronger than the OEM piece.


I do have one question... If I make my rear shock stiffer, will that make the shock go a tiny bit smaller from eye-to-eye?

It is currently set to the minimum as possible....
How much can the difference be?


Vando :rolleyes2:

Rear Shock
 

Hi I am not sure what you mean by making the shock stiffer...If you make the spring shorter ie remove the spring and chop off a section of the spring you will lower the ride height ( you will have to work out the ratio, it will not be inch for inch. You could raise the spring pan and see how much a quarter of an inch raise does to the ride height. You can then work out how much to chop off the spring. As to the damping, never run the damper any stiffer than you need, you will put higher loads on the seals the stiffer you go, run it as soft as you can as long as you are not bottoming out, bottoming out puts extreme loads on the components and can make the bike leap around.

Lowering kit is still for sale by the way...

increase the stock rear shock preload =)

Increase the pre load
 

If you increase the pre load ( compress the spring) you will shorten the springs static length...but all that will happen then is when you mount the bike it will not drop as much when you put your weight on the bike. If you think about the spring in isolation..it will compress a certain amount for a given weight, if you start with the spring free and unloaded and apply yoir weight it will compress until it has a resistance equal to your weight, it will shorten to a new length. If you started again but with the spring pre compressed, it will still only compress to the length it was in the previous test. Having too much pre load will give little sag in the bike and a harder ride since the spring is now only working in the range pre compress load to full load. Sorry I porobably am not making it very clear..but if you read advice on pre load etc it always offers a sag amount...the change in ride height from the unloaded state ie the back wheel touching the ground without any weight on and the ride height with the back wheel on the ground and supporting the bikes weight. Clear as mud I hope lol

XT lowering kit
 

Hi Jimmy

just joined the forum - is the lowering kit still for sale ?:confused1:

Kedo kit
 

Hi Yes the kit is still for sale.

Thanks for asking Jimmy

Hi Again Jimmy

could you send me a PM with details of how I can contact you please:thumbup1: