stellarparadize
New member
So I finally decided to get a lowering kit for the C90. I checked around for the type of kit, instructions, reviews, etc. I decide on the Barron’s BA-7580-00 model (options of 1” or 2” drop, also allows stock setting). Most of the reviews weren’t that in-depth and the instructions that come with these things are pretty vague. That said, I decided to share my installation experiences and a few other thoughts.
I'm 5'8” and ride 2-up at times so I decided to go with the 1” drop. Prior to the drop I had to tiptoe slightly. After the drop my feet were squarely on ground. When the wife gets on it drops a little more, probably like a 2” drop would have been if I were solo. Before the drop I could see over the top of the windshield. Afterwards I’m sort of looking right at the top, the wife gets on and I find myself looking through the windshield. There always seems to be tradeoffs to upgrades, customization…
My installation experience: first of all get yourself a good lift; I recently purchased a Larin (ML-2) lift
, simply do a little research and you’ll see what I mean. I would recommend using a second person to help with job. I did it myself and was wishing someone was holding the bolts still while I was wrenching the nuts.
Steps:
1: Line up the jack make sure the jack's rear cross member is about 1” behind the oil drain plug (toward rear of bike), otherwise the suspension lever (see step# 5) won't go down far enough, it will hit the jack. I would also recommend strapping the bike down to the lift, Safety First!
2: Lift the bike so the rear tire is still touching the ground a little, you'll know if it's the right amount of pressure because the connecting arms and the lower shock bolt will have some free-play. If you can't jiggle them a little then you need to adjust the jack up or down accordingly. Note: You can lift the bike higher initialy to give you more room to loosen the bolts , but will need to bring it back down to slide the bolts out.
3: Remove the left side tool box/cover for easy access. These were the only things that I needed to remove to gain access to the bolts/nuts. You can complete this step prior to step 1, your choice.
4: Loosen the top connecting arm nut first. I found it easier to keep the left side (17mm bolt head) stationary and use a 19mm wrench to loosen the nut on the right side. Tip; use an additional wrench on the end of your 19mm wrench for leverage, a 21mm worked for me (it will look like one long wrench when hooked together, hope this makes sense to you). You will need to put a lot of force on it to break it free, they torque them down pretty good at the factory. When you slide the bolt out you will notice that the sleeve will probably come out as well, that’s OK, I would recommend putting some grease on the sleeve/bolt while things are apart anyway.
5: Loosen the bottom shock nut and slide the bolt out. This will allow the entire suspension lever to drop down. You can also grease the bolt/sleeve here (see step# 4).
6: Remove the bottom connecting arm nut, this will allow you to slide out the bolt to the left (it should clear the frame; if not the suspension lever isn’t low enough as mentioned earlier). Note: you can't perform this step without removing the bottom shock bolt (see step 5). Again, I would recommend some grease (see step# 4).
7: Install the new Barron’s connecting arms; bottom bolt first, shock bolt, then the top bolt. When you install the new connecting arms make sure the unused holes face the rear of the bike, i.e. if you use the #1 hole then the #2 hole will face the rear of the bike. I called Barron's and asked which direction these should go; they said “it doesn't matter”. Well come to find out they won't fit going the other direction, at least they didn’t for me. I used the # 1 hole and the # 2 hole hit the top of the swing arm.
8: Upper/Lower connecting arm bolt/nuts torque = 100 ft lbs / shock bolts = 37 ft lbs. This step is a little weird. You really can’t get a socket and torque wrench on the bottom nut/bolt while everything else is connected. You can prior to connecting the shock but then the top doesn’t line up correctly once tightened. Bottom-line, connect it all up and use a good amount of force to tighten up the connecting arms. I don’t think you need to worry about over torque on the main bolts, just snug them down and then give them a couple of good tugs, you’ll be OK. You can get a torque wrench on the top-left, if you want.
My first go-round took me a couple of hours. If I had better knowledge/directions it may have took me an hour from start to finish. I hope this makes sense and saves others a few headaches and time. If you have any easier ways or comments please feel free to add...
I'm 5'8” and ride 2-up at times so I decided to go with the 1” drop. Prior to the drop I had to tiptoe slightly. After the drop my feet were squarely on ground. When the wife gets on it drops a little more, probably like a 2” drop would have been if I were solo. Before the drop I could see over the top of the windshield. Afterwards I’m sort of looking right at the top, the wife gets on and I find myself looking through the windshield. There always seems to be tradeoffs to upgrades, customization…
My installation experience: first of all get yourself a good lift; I recently purchased a Larin (ML-2) lift
, simply do a little research and you’ll see what I mean. I would recommend using a second person to help with job. I did it myself and was wishing someone was holding the bolts still while I was wrenching the nuts.Steps:
1: Line up the jack make sure the jack's rear cross member is about 1” behind the oil drain plug (toward rear of bike), otherwise the suspension lever (see step# 5) won't go down far enough, it will hit the jack. I would also recommend strapping the bike down to the lift, Safety First!
2: Lift the bike so the rear tire is still touching the ground a little, you'll know if it's the right amount of pressure because the connecting arms and the lower shock bolt will have some free-play. If you can't jiggle them a little then you need to adjust the jack up or down accordingly. Note: You can lift the bike higher initialy to give you more room to loosen the bolts , but will need to bring it back down to slide the bolts out.
3: Remove the left side tool box/cover for easy access. These were the only things that I needed to remove to gain access to the bolts/nuts. You can complete this step prior to step 1, your choice.
4: Loosen the top connecting arm nut first. I found it easier to keep the left side (17mm bolt head) stationary and use a 19mm wrench to loosen the nut on the right side. Tip; use an additional wrench on the end of your 19mm wrench for leverage, a 21mm worked for me (it will look like one long wrench when hooked together, hope this makes sense to you). You will need to put a lot of force on it to break it free, they torque them down pretty good at the factory. When you slide the bolt out you will notice that the sleeve will probably come out as well, that’s OK, I would recommend putting some grease on the sleeve/bolt while things are apart anyway.
5: Loosen the bottom shock nut and slide the bolt out. This will allow the entire suspension lever to drop down. You can also grease the bolt/sleeve here (see step# 4).
6: Remove the bottom connecting arm nut, this will allow you to slide out the bolt to the left (it should clear the frame; if not the suspension lever isn’t low enough as mentioned earlier). Note: you can't perform this step without removing the bottom shock bolt (see step 5). Again, I would recommend some grease (see step# 4).
7: Install the new Barron’s connecting arms; bottom bolt first, shock bolt, then the top bolt. When you install the new connecting arms make sure the unused holes face the rear of the bike, i.e. if you use the #1 hole then the #2 hole will face the rear of the bike. I called Barron's and asked which direction these should go; they said “it doesn't matter”. Well come to find out they won't fit going the other direction, at least they didn’t for me. I used the # 1 hole and the # 2 hole hit the top of the swing arm.
8: Upper/Lower connecting arm bolt/nuts torque = 100 ft lbs / shock bolts = 37 ft lbs. This step is a little weird. You really can’t get a socket and torque wrench on the bottom nut/bolt while everything else is connected. You can prior to connecting the shock but then the top doesn’t line up correctly once tightened. Bottom-line, connect it all up and use a good amount of force to tighten up the connecting arms. I don’t think you need to worry about over torque on the main bolts, just snug them down and then give them a couple of good tugs, you’ll be OK. You can get a torque wrench on the top-left, if you want.
My first go-round took me a couple of hours. If I had better knowledge/directions it may have took me an hour from start to finish. I hope this makes sense and saves others a few headaches and time. If you have any easier ways or comments please feel free to add...