lowering kit

[dcs]

Is there any lowering kit available in the US or canada for the rc390?
My wife is only 4'11.
I found this on a UK website.
KTM RC 390 Lowering Kit -60mm

thanks.

 

[JKBC]

...I ordered their 30mm lowering kit, side-stand for the 30mm drop and a bolt on wider foot from them last week. Haven't gotten them yet but maybe tomorrow. Looking at the bottom of my RC 390 and seeing the 60mm drop is about 2.5 inches I'd be surprised if that may be a little bit much for around here since speed-bumps are common in big parking lots and parks here. RC 390 I guess the 60mm is usable or else they wouldn't have made it. Altogether they aren't cheap but you're paying for the development cost since they make these kits for Triumphs, KTMs and Yamahas with the help of a racer in Northern Ireland. I'm 5'6" and am almost on my tip toes so I look forward to having the seat 30mm lower. And I can always raise it back if I find I have clearance issues after really getting used to riding it. Haven't had a bike on the road for about 24 years before seeing (in the press) and having to have a RC 390.
...Here's the side-stand plate which is a genuine KTM part KTM Side Stand Plate - Large

 

[JKBC]

Is there any lowering kit available in the US or canada for the rc390?
My wife is only 4'11.
I found this on a UK website.
KTM RC 390 Lowering Kit -60mm

thanks.

I should have also said you can order it straight from them. They are on the Isle of Mann which is cool and I'll get a kick out of when I get my package. And you're gonna want the shortened side-stand too besides the different end for the rear shock. 30 and 60mm lowering kits and shortened side-stands are available from them. Nice guy, Doug, to communicate with too

 

[A1VW2NV]

Did I convert that right?? $236 FOR THE REAR LOWERING "KIT"!!

 

[MrHix]

Looks like $170 to me?

MrHix

 

[dcs]

...I ordered their 30mm lowering kit, side-stand for the 30mm drop and a bolt on wider foot from them last week. Haven't gotten them yet but maybe tomorrow. Looking at the bottom of my RC 390 and seeing the 60mm drop is about 2.5 inches I'd be surprised if that may be a little bit much for around here since speed-bumps are common in big parking lots and parks here. RC 390 I guess the 60mm is usable or else they wouldn't have made it. Altogether they aren't cheap but you're paying for the development cost since they make these kits for Triumphs, KTMs and Yamahas with the help of a racer in Northern Ireland. I'm 5'6" and am almost on my tip toes so I look forward to having the seat 30mm lower. And I can always raise it back if I find I have clearance issues after really getting used to riding it. Haven't had a bike on the road for about 24 years before seeing (in the press) and having to have a RC 390.
...Here's the side-stand plate which is a genuine KTM part KTM Side Stand Plate - Large

Thanks for the infos.
Let me know how it goes.
I'm about to order the 60mm for her.

 

[JKBC]

Did I convert that right?? $236 FOR THE REAR LOWERING "KIT"!!

I copied and pasted this from my invioce KTM RC 390 -30mm Rear Lowering Kit - Black	1	£149.99	£149.99
KTM RC 390 -30mm Short Side Stand	1	£89.99	£89.99
KTM Side Stand Plate - Large	1	£34.25	£34.25

Subtotal	£274.23
Shipping/handling	£25.00
Total	£299.23 GBP

[h=4]Terms and conditions[/h]All item are shipped be Royal Mail International, 5-7 working day service.
[h=4]Note to recipient(s)[/h]Thank you for your business

As said it isn't cheap but well made stuff and you're paying for their R&D. Right now 300 pounds sterling is 471.72 US dollars.

 

[JKBC]

Finally got it 2 days ago. Haven't had time to take the shock off until today. I'm not equipped to compress the spring, etc to change the end of the shock so I'm taking the shock to a shop for that. I'll still put the shorter side-stand on, raise the forks and put the shock back on myself. Their side-stand looks the same as the original quality-wise and the shock end better. The bigger foot is a genuine KTM part which I bought from them because they had them. Pretty cool that it came from the Isle of Mann too motorcycle racing history fans.

 

[dcs]

Finally got it 2 days ago. Haven't had time to take the shock off until today. I'm not equipped to compress the spring, etc to change the end of the shock so I'm taking the shock to a shop for that. I'll still put the shorter side-stand on, raise the forks and put the shock back on myself. Their side-stand looks the same as the original quality-wise and the shock end better. The bigger foot is a genuine KTM part which I bought from them because they had them. Pretty cool that it came from the Isle of Mann too motorcycle racing history fans.
View attachment 537View attachment 538View attachment 539View attachment 540View attachment 541View attachment 542

awesome! let us know if you have any clearing issues

 

[A1VW2NV]

JKBC you win ingenuity awards of the day! Well played!

 

[ToraTora]

4'11" is rough--I would seriously suggest finding another bike. But at 5'6" you should just learn how to ride. Seriously. Lowering kits mess up the handling of a bike. It's a myth that you have to have both legs on the ground at a stop. While in motion as long as you can reach the controls it doesn't matter, and the lowering kits wont change the control placement.

At a stop just make sure that you are slung to one side, and the balance of the bike goes to that side. It's not hard. Just a learned skill, and a whole lot safer than riding a bike with screwed up suspension.

 

[dcs]

4'11" is rough--I would seriously suggest finding another bike. But at 5'6" you should just learn how to ride. Seriously. Lowering kits mess up the handling of a bike. It's a myth that you have to have both legs on the ground at a stop. While in motion as long as you can reach the controls it doesn't matter, and the lowering kits wont change the control placement.

At a stop just make sure that you are slung to one side, and the balance of the bike goes to that side. It's not hard. Just a learned skill, and a whole lot safer than riding a bike with screwed up suspension.

Yea I know it's rough. She used to have a 2011 ninja 250 for the past 4years. but she felt in love the the RC390. She manages to ride with one leg but that's not the real problem... she's not using the bike to commute to work anymore because she cant get off. she cant reach the stand when the bike is resting on her other leg.
I know lowering a bike is not ideal and not recommended. but I rather have a lowered suspension and have her being able to get off her bike.
beside she weighs 100lbs and will never take it to the track or drive it hard.
here she is on the rc

 

[Arahant]

lol, I know how you feel I'm like 5"5 and I to find it abit to high, although its not a huge problem, I can operate the bike fine... but the problem is when your on your tippy toes, if the bike goes over just a tad to far your going over onto the ground, because you have no leverage. That shouldn't happen very often, but honestly imo it happening just once is to often, and its bound to happen because the bike doesn't have to lean over that much for it to happen. I'm a new rider, the rc 390 is my first bike and I'v had it for less then a week, I dropped the bike once when I first picked it up from it stalling.

And then again in my driveway, from coming to a stop to fast, which is what happened the first time from stalling. Sure I'm new and I'm still learning, so maby its possible with experience for this not to happen at all, but I think people who are taller stopping suddenly would be able to put their feet down and have proper leverage to stop it most of the time. When I got the bike I asked if it was possible to lower it, after I dropped it in the parking lot and they had to replace the clutch pedal that broke, he fiddled with something on the back of the bike, and said that it should lower the bike 3/4 of an inch. It seemed like when I got back on the bike the height was the same but when I put my weight on it, it sank abit where it didn't before, I guess about an inch or less. So there is a way to adjust it abit without a lowering kit, but by those pics I don't think 3/4 of an inch is going to cut it.

Let us know how that kit works out as I would consider it if some people tried it and said that the bike still handled fine.

 

[ToraTora]

I've got some bikes with the auto up side stand. You pretty much have to get off the bike to put them on the stand, because it will come right back up if you straighten the bike. It's just as simple as getting off the bike, then putting it on the stand.

From the photos it looks like she could totally handle it. It's just something you get use to doing.

You don't have to be a track rider to enjoy the benefits of a bike with good handling. By lowering the bike's the suspension, and handling, the design could be compromised in ways that can be unpredictable. At certain speeds there could be resonating issues that could cause the bike to go out of control. It's really not worth the risk for such a low benefit.

A friend of mine, who happens to be short, and has a shorter wife, bought a lowered Ninja 250 for them to learn on. I rode it to a parking lot from his house to help him learn some riding skills. I've ridden a lot of bikes (my dad use to own a shop)--that Ninja was easily the scariest bike I've ever ridden. It was very unpredictable, and exceedingly easy to bottom out. Mind you this was all at speeds under 25mph. Nothing fancy. Unless you have someone skilled in moto design/setup taking on the task it's a big risk. Most lowering kits ruin the bikes on which they are fitted.

I just put this in the other thread but I might as well add it here too.


Outside of doing things like shaving the seat (and there isn't much to shave), don't lower the bike. Messing with the suspension that way introduces issues that are hard to deal with inexpensively, and even with a lot of money it still isn't easy.

It's much better to either a) learn how to ride so that when you stop you slid to one side of the bike to put a foot down, or b) just get a different bike with a lower seat. But remember most of the MotoGP guys are tiny little jockey like cats riding huge monster bikes. You can learn how to ride without having to put both feet on the ground. In these videos you'll see riders that can't even put one foot on the ground. Seriously!

[video=youtube;uekU93Dgj-E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uekU93Dgj-E[/video]

[video=youtube;A-GcGjQXwoA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-GcGjQXwoA[/video]

[video=youtube;vYDBCeJg4bk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYDBCeJg4bk[/video]

[video=youtube;LscPyTU0JHM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LscPyTU0JHM[/video]​

 

[ToraTora]

lol, I know how you feel I'm like 5"5 and I to find it abit to high, although its not a huge problem, I can operate the bike fine... but the problem is when your on your tippy toes, if the bike goes over just a tad to far your going over onto the ground, because you have no leverage. That shouldn't happen very often, but honestly imo it happening just once is to often, and its bound to happen because the bike doesn't have to lean over that much for it to happen. I'm a new rider, the rc 390 is my first bike and I'v had it for less then a week, I dropped the bike once when I first picked it up from it stalling.

And then again in my driveway, from coming to a stop to fast, which is what happened the first time from stalling. Sure I'm new and I'm still learning, so maby its possible with experience for this not to happen at all, but I think people who are taller stopping suddenly would be able to put their feet down and have proper leverage to stop it most of the time. When I got the bike I asked if it was possible to lower it, after I dropped it in the parking lot and they had to replace the clutch pedal that broke, he fiddled with something on the back of the bike, and said that it should lower the bike 3/4 of an inch. It seemed like when I got back on the bike the height was the same but when I put my weight on it, it sank abit where it didn't before, I guess about an inch or less. So there is a way to adjust it abit without a lowering kit, but by those pics I don't think 3/4 of an inch is going to cut it.

Let us know how that kit works out as I would consider it if some people tried it and said that the bike still handled fine.

It does seem that you probably should have started with a much smaller bike. I know here in the States where most people have penis size issues, and they feel that bikes like the 390, Ninja250/300, R3, etc are starter bikes. This is really a great injustice to new riders. These bikes are much too big for new riders. I'm sure lots of folks on here will give me grief for saying this--and bike dealers will say I'm nuts, but it's an easy argument to make.

If you are stalling your bike, and then having tip overs it illustrates that you have yet to gain some basic experience. This would be much better accomplished on a smaller lighter bike. While people will say that the RC390 is a light bike it's because they are comparing it to liter bikes, and from that perspective yeah sure it looks light. But can you lift it off the ground? Yeah it's not light.

What this does is create a psychological barrier which slows down the learning process. Now when you do something on the bike there is more fear involved. This fear interferes with the learning process (I studied biological behavior). This is why fire drills take place on sunny days. If you learn in a safe environment you learn faster, and can apply that learning to other applications. Learning done under stress takes longer, and doesn't transfer well to other applications. In the case of fire drills for instance you wouldn't be able to apply the learning to another room from which to exit.

This is getting long so let me give you some options to think about. Get a small dirt bike, like a KX80, YZ80, or something along those lines. Get a used one because you are going to be crashing it. Make friends with some folks that go trail riding. Spend some time learning how to ride. It's lots of fun, much harder to get hurt, and will provide you with some really important skills that will probably save your life many times in your riding career.

If you can't do that then get a smaller bike that you can take to the local cart tracks (there's a huge list of these). You'll probably have to do a bunch of parking lot learning before you feel comfortable on the cart tracks, but again the same thing applies. You will crash, but you will be doing so at much lower rates of speed without nasty things like curbs, poles, other vehicles, i.e. things that will hurt and kill you if something happens.

If you can't do these things there are other similar things that you can do. But seriously, until you have developed some real moto skill park the 390, and learn how to ride on something else. You will end up a much much much better rider.

 

[minarose]

lol, I know how you feel I'm like 5"5 and I to find it abit to high, although its not a huge problem, I can operate the bike fine... but the problem is when your on your tippy toes, if the bike goes over just a tad to far your going over onto the ground, because you have no leverage. That shouldn't happen very often, but honestly imo it happening just once is to often, and its bound to happen because the bike doesn't have to lean over that much for it to happen. I'm a new rider, the rc 390 is my first bike and I'v had it for less then a week, I dropped the bike once when I first picked it up from it stalling.

And then again in my driveway, from coming to a stop to fast, which is what happened the first time from stalling. Sure I'm new and I'm still learning, so maby its possible with experience for this not to happen at all, but I think people who are taller stopping suddenly would be able to put their feet down and have proper leverage to stop it most of the time. When I got the bike I asked if it was possible to lower it, after I dropped it in the parking lot and they had to replace the clutch pedal that broke, he fiddled with something on the back of the bike, and said that it should lower the bike 3/4 of an inch. It seemed like when I got back on the bike the height was the same but when I put my weight on it, it sank abit where it didn't before, I guess about an inch or less. So there is a way to adjust it abit without a lowering kit, but by those pics I don't think 3/4 of an inch is going to cut it.

Let us know how that kit works out as I would consider it if some people tried it and said that the bike still handled fine.

I had the same problem my first week on my Honda CBR 250R. My problem was always my slightly inclined drive way...if I didn't come to a perfect stop and was able to slide off just in time, i tipped it over, and I'm 5'2... do you happen to know what that guy did to your bike? I'm looking at purchasing an RC390 and am worried because of my height...

 

[Fasteddy]

Here is the part number for the KTM lowering kit, pics in google, 90212955044.
The link below shows another one.



[url]http://www.ebay.com/itm/KTM-Duke-390-and-RC390-lowering-kit-/252110508558

[/URL]

 

[motoputz]

what they did to Arahnant's bike is take all of the pre-load out of the shock; very bad! it will ruin the handling. When I met my wife she had a XR-250 that her previous boyfriend did that to so it was easier for her to get her feet down. I road it out of a rock filled road cut once and was surprised that she could even ride it. It handled that bad. She now has a KTM 400EXC, full size and can ride it no problem. She just needs to be more aware of the ground when she stops.

If you lower both ends of the bike evenly about 25 or 30 mm ( that is a pretty extreme change) with out messing with spring pre-load it should be OK. You will be making slight detrimental changes to the handling and run the risk of touching hard parts down during cornering. Once you get comfortable with the bike raise it back up.

 

[minarose]

what they did to Arahnant's bike is take all of the pre-load out of the shock; very bad! it will ruin the handling. When I met my wife she had a XR-250 that her previous boyfriend did that to so it was easier for her to get her feet down. I road it out of a rock filled road cut once and was surprised that she could even ride it. It handled that bad. She now has a KTM 400EXC, full size and can ride it no problem. She just needs to be more aware of the ground when she stops.

If you lower both ends of the bike evenly about 25 or 30 mm ( that is a pretty extreme change) with out messing with spring pre-load it should be OK. You will be making slight detrimental changes to the handling and run the risk of touching hard parts down during cornering. Once you get comfortable with the bike raise it back up.

thanks for answering my question! So you're saying if I do the lowering kit, which gives me 30mm, that you think it would be enough? Even for my height? I'm 5'2 on a good day haha and only 90 pounds. So I just want to be safe on it and whatnot without screwing with the bike too much.

 

[motoputz]

the biggest risk with the lowering kit is that you are changing the angle of the swing arm relative to the frame when you shorten the shock. This will effect handling a bit. 30mm is a lot. If you go that much I would seriously think about raising the bike back up after you get more comfortable with it.