[Kookopelli]

Changing the shocks is pretty easy, although I haven't done it on this bike yet. If you put the bike on the centerstand and put something under the rear tire to take up the space you can undo the top and bottom bolts on one of the shocks, remove it by pulling it off the studs. Remove the other side and the wheel will be free to move up and down. If you are replacing the shocks with shorter ones, you will need to move the rear wheel up a little. You can do this by adding something under the rear tire or by lifting up on the front wheel and adding something under it to raise the back wheel some. You can hang the new shock on the top stud to see how much the wheel has to come up and then raise it until the bottom stud lines up. I would use something like a 2x4 under the tire with it sticking out to the side with a fulcrum under it so that you could press down with your foot while lining up the shock hole with the stud. Once you have one on both studs, then the other one is easy. It really isn't as hard as all this text makes it seem. Very basic project. As Nike says, You can DO IT!

 

[TomP]

That is exactly how I pictured doing it! I have not yet done my research on the vtx café, but I did suffer sticker shock when browsing shock prices. This along with Juan's success makes me think I'll take you up on your offer and cut down the vtx shocks. I can drive or ride up to get them or meet you somewhere or I can send you the shipping cost. Just PM me with your preference.


I would certainly not install them until I can give everybody a full report on the results of the seat mods at Mean City Cycles. My seat shipped out today. I'm trying to be optimistic about the seat mod, but we'll see how that goes.

 

[Kookopelli]

We could both ride towards some middle point. I can do it any day you like.

 

[TomP]

We could both ride towards some middle point. I can do it any day you like.

Sounds great - of course I am seatless for a while. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Kookopelli]

Sounds great - of course I am seatless for a while. I'll keep you posted.

OK. Just pm me when you are ready and we will get a plan together.

 

[TomP]

Hey guys - I got my seat back from Allen at Mean City Cycles. He is very professional and honest. He replaced the driver's seat foam with memory foam but he was only able to get me a 1/2 inch lower by cutting down the actual sitting area. There just wasn't a lot to work with. However, he was able to shave foam off the sides of the seat that keeps your legs apart unnecessarily. This part of the project gets the feet closer to the ground too. So, bottom line is that I installed the seat late yesterday and my feet are fully on the ground when I wear the shoes with the 1/2" lift. They are on the fully on the ground but not firmly as I have to stretch a bit to do it.

I also need to get a 100 miles or so on the bike to get the memory foam broken in. This should get me lower a little closer to the ground too and provide the final overall result of seat mod. I'll post this result and pics as soon as I can. My sense at thiis point is that yes, the seat mod helps, but we need will a multi-pronged approach to get it right, including the right shoes and maybe shorter schocks as well.

I should also note that Allen cut small channels in the rear of both the driver and the passenger seat to relieve pressure on our tail bones.

I'll post again in a couple days when I get the foam broken in.

 

[ember]

Thanks TomP for doing the research on the seat lowering. I am 5'4" and had real difficulty at first with not being flat footed. Had my seat customized which helped some, but it is really the width which is the problem. I slide forward a bit when I stop, and slide to one side or the other when the ground is not even. I now have 1800 miles on my bike and am more comfortable and am starting to bond with her. I am looking forward to seeing what was done with the sides of your seat.

I have ridden almost 150,000 miles so am not a newbie, however it was really stressful the first time i had to turn her around in my driveway.

 

[TomP]

Hey guys - sorry I didn't post sooner. I got my seat back from Mean City Cycles last Wednesday. I was waiting to post until I could get some pics, but I'll just give you the results in text and add pics later.


The first thing is to say that Allen and the other people at Mean City are the best. They are highly professional and they do what they say they are going to do.


I posted last week that Allen told me he could shave only 1/2" off the top of the seat, but that he could also reshape the sides of the seat which would, effectively, accomplish the same goal. Whatever he did, it turned out much better than I was expecting. I took measurements of how far my heels were off the ground both before and after the seat mod. My practice has been to ride the bike with my butt fully back against the built-in backrest and then slide forward when stopped to get my feet more planted on the ground. I took measurements for both positions.


I was able to take a 95 mile ride on Friday to get the memory foam broken in before I took the "after" measurements. Before the seat mod, my heels were 3" off the ground in the riding position and 1.5" off the ground in the forward position. Now, after the mod, my heels are 1" off the ground in the riding position and my feet are fully on the ground in the forward position. So, the net effect of the seat mod was 2" of lowering. HUGE IMPROVEMENT!


However, I am never satisfied with anything, so I am still considering both lowering the front and possibly changing the rear shocks. I'm wondering whether the bike would feel out of level if I just lowered the front by about .75" and what effect this would have on the seat height. Anybody done this?? If Kook is reading this, I'm still considering the shock offer. I'll ride it this way for a week and then get back to you.

 

[BuddhaBiker]

The Final Solution (for me)

The final simple solution (for me)

1) I had 1" added to the soles of my riding boots by Novis Shoes in Pasadena, CA. Fix Leg Length Discrepancy by Adding Orthopedic Lift to Your Shoes Cesar is a very friendly and skilled guy, and has worked on my shoes before and does quality work. He's a Certified Pedorthist and really knows what he's doing. If you're anywhere near Pasadena, he's worth the drive. Not cheap, but well worth it, and probably much less $$ and hassle than modifying or swapping out the shocks, seat, etc. Please tell him Lou sent you (just want to send referrals to him as he's such a skilled and nice guy).

2) I put in 1" heel lifts from here: Height Increasing Insoles - LiftKits 1 Inch Shoe Lift for Men It was the thickest that allowed me to still get my boots on. I tried the 1-1/2" but couldn't get my boots on. They are flat, with no arch support, as I already have custom made orthotics in my boots from my podiatrist.

3) I added two approximately 1/4" heel cushions like these: Amazon.com - Remedy Memory Foam Instant Comfort Heel Cushion, Men's - Heel Cushions And Cups OR Amazon.com: Tacco Leather/Rubber Heel Cushion (Medium (mens 6-8 womens 7-9)): Shoes They are flat, with no arch support. You can find them at your local sporting goods or drug store.

Now, I can FINALLY reach flat-footed and so have much more confidence, especially when stopped on a road with a rise, on a driveway apron where it meets the road, or in the wind, and I didn't have to modify my bike.

I also discovered that the shock preload was at 3, so I changed them both to 1 (I weigh about 165+ lbs), and so now it sags down a little, which also helps and I hope it eliminates the harshness over bumps. I'm nearing 1000 miles on my bike and loving it! I'm also adding Grip Puppies and a CrampBuster, as my hands/fingers keep cramping up. Oh the joys of aging!#% (I'm in my 50's).

 

[TomP]

Finally got around to posting a couple pictures. The first is the factory seat and the second is the seat after completion of the seat mod. These pics can be found in the Gallery under my name TomP.

 

[HwyFuzz]

LegUp by Chopper Design - LegUp Home Page

 

[jmmont]

That is exactly how I pictured doing it! I have not yet done my research on the vtx café, but I did suffer sticker shock when browsing shock prices. This along with Juan's success makes me think I'll take you up on your offer and cut down the vtx shocks. I can drive or ride up to get them or meet you somewhere or I can send you the shipping cost. Just PM me with your preference.


I would certainly not install them until I can give everybody a full report on the results of the seat mods at Mean City Cycles. My seat shipped out today. I'm trying to be optimistic about the seat mod, but we'll see how that goes.

I want to tell you that the vtx shocks don't hold the CTX weight,they becomes a junk in less than 1000 miles and also can touch the saddlebag bracket bolt with the rear brake caliper if you have a passenger.I think a better option is to send the stocks shocks to a qualified tech to cut them.

 

[TomP]

I want to tell you that the vtx shocks don't hold the CTX weight,they becomes a junk in less than 1000 miles and also can touch the saddlebag bracket bolt with the rear brake caliper if you have a passenger.I think a better option is to send the stocks shocks to a qualified tech to cut them.

Thanks for the info Juan. My current plan is to stick with the stock shocks. Since my back surgery in late Feb, I have been riding more and more aggressively and I now find that I am scraping pegs at angles that I don't think are all that severe. I never thought I would scrape with this bike, but oh well...


I have been speaking with Mr Kookopelli via PM regarding the vtx shocks he was going to give me. By the time I decided to try cutting down the vtx shocks, he had already decided to have his vtx shocks cut professionally and try them. He found a guy in Milton, FL that would do the pair for $85. If he likes the length of the modified vtx shocks, he plans to buy new shocks ordered to length. I'll PM him a copy of your post to make sure he sees it.


Tom

 

[TomP]

Thanks for the info Juan. My current plan is to stick with the stock shocks. Since my back surgery in late Feb, I have been riding more and more aggressively and I now find that I am scraping pegs at angles that I don't think are all that severe. I never thought I would scrape with this bike, but oh well...


I have been speaking with Mr Kookopelli via PM regarding the vtx shocks he was going to give me. By the time I decided to try cutting down the vtx shocks, he had already decided to have his vtx shocks cut professionally and try them. He found a guy in Milton, FL that would do the pair for $85. If he likes the length of the modified vtx shocks, he plans to buy new shocks ordered to length. I'll PM him a copy of your post to make sure he sees it.


Tom

Hey guys - it's been a while but I've changed out my rear shocks and I thought I'd post an update. I've been PM'ing back and forth with Kookopelli about the rear shocks. He's been running the 11" VTX shocks with good results, but I'll let him give you that info. I think he's going to go to Progressives and I didn't want to spend that much so he referred me to MB Shocks (shortshocks.com). A great guy named Mike (who I highly recommend) runs the place and I turned out to be his CTX1300 guinea pig.

I have about 400 miles on the 11" MB shocks and I'm very happy. The shocks are 5-position adjustable gas shocks and I've been riding at the softest setting with no problems and with my feet pretty firmly on the ground. The softest setting on these shocks feels about the same to me as the second setting on the stock shocks.

My preset on the MB's at the low setting is 180 lbs and would be about 210 lbs at the second setting. I weigh in at 210 lbs. I scrape just a tad more on the same turns that I did before - no big deal. And, consider that I was riding the stock shocks at the second softest setting. Mike can set the shocks up any way you like.

I am right now agonizing over whether I should go ahead and change these out for 10.5" shocks. I think I could actually get away with this in terms of my own riding style (very subjective decision). Unfortunately, I did not make a careful measurement as to how much the change from 12" to 11" shocks lowered the bike.

The shocks can be had in chrome and black or plain black. I choose the chrome and black because they are so close to the mufflers. Here's a pic: