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Lowering A 2019 G310r

37328

New member
Hello,

My daughter has become interested in riding. This winter we purchased a G310. So far we have installed a San Jose lowering block, dropped the front fork 28mm, installed a HyperPro lowering shock, and trimmed the seat foam to one inch. Does anyone have any ideas on how to lower another 25-30mm. She is down to the balls of her feet, but would prefer if she were flat footed. She is 5'00".

Thanks so much,
Mitch and Kathryn
 
Any lowering affects the suspension and things like fork rake and trail etc. To push the lowering numbers I would suggest you may be changing the important angles of the bike's geometry into unpleasant/unsafe regions.

When I bought my KTM 640 Adventure and realized I was dealing with a 37" seat height and a 30" inseam I was terrified! I looked into lowering links etc and the last decision came when another forum member said he just got used to falling over. Problem solved! I can only get 2 toes on the ground on one side, I got used to it, no big deal. Now I'm even comfortable travelling 2up with barely 2 balls of the feet on the ground.

Is she can get balls of both feet on the ground I say she's got lots of comfort room, all she needs is some time on to get used to it. Short runs close to home to learn how it handles and how she likes it. Flat foot is false security.

You want to see a woman who's not afraid of height and size look to 5'1" Jocelyn Snow who rode the GS Challenge in NZ and rides a 1250ADV in serious terrain according the the latest issue of ON I'm reading. It all comes back to self confidence in what you can achieve and that's something you can work on in your back yard.

Onward and Upward!
 
Thank you so much, I'm trying to ride once or twice a week with her. We've gone from 7 miles to 25 mile to 50 mile loops. Still just a little scary.
 
BMW’s aren’t well-known for low seat heights. I wouldn’t consider them good starter bikes for folks with short inseams.

Your daughter is just learning how to ride, right? Be careful about advice from folks with lots of riding experience who ride bikes that are tall for them. There’s a big difference between managing a tall bike with years of riding experience under your belt, and learning to ride on a too-tall bike.

My suggestion is park (or sell) the G310 and find her one of the many many much lower bikes offered by other makers. Almost any cruiser-style bike will have a seat low enough for her. Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha etc all offer low-displacement, low-seat starter bikes that remove seat-height issues from the learning equation. They can be purchased on the used market in great condition at very affordable prices.

Building confidence is your goal for your daughter: Flat-footing is confidence inspiring for new riders. Once her skills develop, she may graduate to a taller bike like the G310. Or she may well prefer to stick with something originally designed with a lower seat.
 
Hello,

My daughter has become interested in riding. This winter we purchased a G310. So far we have installed a San Jose lowering block, dropped the front fork 28mm, installed a HyperPro lowering shock, and trimmed the seat foam to one inch. Does anyone have any ideas on how to lower another 25-30mm. She is down to the balls of her feet, but would prefer if she were flat footed. She is 5'00".

Thanks so much,
Mitch and Kathryn

Welcome to the forum!
Sounds like you have done quite a bit of work on the bike to get it ready for her :thumb
An easy way to get a bit more is to increase the thickness of the sole of the riding boots- usually done by a cobbler.
Having the ability to touch both balls of the feet is actually way ahead of most riders. I’ll bet in short order she will get used to the “feel” and be on her way.
Good luck.
Gary
 
Hello,

My daughter has become interested in riding. This winter we purchased a G310. So far we have installed a San Jose lowering block, dropped the front fork 28mm, installed a HyperPro lowering shock, and trimmed the seat foam to one inch. Does anyone have any ideas on how to lower another 25-30mm. She is down to the balls of her feet, but would prefer if she were flat footed. She is 5'00".

Thanks so much,
Mitch and Kathryn

I am a little under-tall myself. I have a GS that I added a Russell Daylong Seat to that only made it higher so I got a shock from Ted Porter to bring the rear end down an inch. I was still struggling. What helped me out in the end may work for you. I moved and replaced the horn with a Denali Mini Sound Bomb. I moved the horn from over the front fender to the left side of the engine facing forward (snugging it to the cavity there with a fabricated bracket to the frame/engine bolt). By getting the stock horn out of the wheel well I increased the front wheel clearance and was able to lower the triple trees on the fork tubes that made the front of the bike lower. Your forks and wheel travel is different than the GS (yours is 5.5") but you should be able to look up and verify the front fork travel (to make sure) and measure under the fender and see if you can drop the forks in the triple trees to any degree. Remembering that mine is different than yours I was able to drop my tubes by 1.5" or 38 mm. Also, to have room under the bars, up top, I installed Pro Taper Universal Bar Risers to give me extra room. There are less expensive bar risers that take up more room than need be - look at the Pro Taper. After the lowering I went back to see what my front wheel travel spec was and cut a piece of wood to that length and checked to see if there was plenty of room after the change. There was. Additionally, I molded a clay fin on top of my fender to see if I was coming close to making contact. It was not. I think dropping the front makes it better on dirt roads. I am touching the ground comfortably. Handling does not seem to be effected. Your results may be different. Check twice on clearances.

Rode 175 miles today. Life is good.

Wayne Koppa
Grayling, MI
#71,449
 
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