First ride thoughts

[macthered]

Well I picked up the bike (2014 DL1000) on Saturday and I've put a few hundred miles on it already.
I find it super comfy ( I'm a right leg below knee amputee with a spinal fusion, Bloody Taleban!) and it was a pleasure to ride. Great position for lower and upper body,great mirror view and to my surprise not as " slow" (previous bike was a1098 streetfighter) as I thought. Its not rip your face off fast by any stretch but if in the right gear you can overtake cars with ease. Overall I'm very pleased and glad I made the switch.

Only problem for me is the height(I'm 5`8) and my feet are about 2" from the ground when I try to sit on seat and put both feet on the ground. I've looked at many posts to fix the problem so I'm after your opinion and thoughts on the following.

1. Should I get a lowering link( would I need to drop the forks slightly to keep the steering correct)

2. If I went for the low seat what are peoples thoughts who have the low seat on comfort and would it drop the bike seat height by much?

3. Should I just drop the front forks by an inch? If any one has done this did they encounter any other riding issues turn in etc?

Like I said  I have looked at the posts concerning this but experience is what I'm after from you blokes and girls.

Cheers

[MartinW]

I'm not sure the lowered seat on it's own will be enough to cover the distance you need. I suspect you will need that in conjunction with something else.

[bosnjo]

For your height, you'll need lower seat and then lower both front and rear. Then remove hero blobs from your footpegs.
The seat is not comfy, but then you can add something like airhawk or similar.
What I learned in 30 years of biking, if you drop the front, you need to drop the rear of your bike. Never do just one.

[stevecro]

I can only give my personal experience regarding balance from the opposite perspective - raising the bike.  I added 28.5 mm to the rear height via different linkages.  I dropped my forks through the triple grips about 5mm (as far as I feel it's safe to go on this bike). So the rear is now nearly an inch higher than the front from stock spec and in the 20,000 kms since I modified it the bike has never felt strange in the handling department. And I do go off-road (hence the raised ride height) as well as sometimes 2 up on bitumen.
You'd be actually bringing the forks UP through the triple grip to lower the front and to keep ride heights front and rear similar.
The bloke in the States I bought them from also does lowering links up to 1 1/8"

[Downunder]

I bought the low seat after experiencing difficulty reaching the ground comfortably. It has turned out great and I am much more confident at being able to put a foot down to save the bike when travelling on uneven ground at low speeds. For me it is also quite a bit more comfortable than the standard seat.
I also have pushed the forks up through the triple clamp by 1/2 inch. I don't notice any difference in the way the bike handles after this mod.

[Dougie]

macthered, I'm 5'8 and I have just a lowered seat on mine. Not a Suzuki one, but done by a local bloke for the shop, lowered by an inch and its good enough for me to get both feet almost flat footed.
I normally only put one foot down so not a problem. As for comfort I had a normal hieght seat for a couple of weeks and found the lowered version a little flat, not as comfy. Only done a few hundred miles so far on it, hopefully I will get used to it.

[Loz]

I'm also 5ft 8 and started off with the standard seat but found it just to high to  give me confidence when at a stand still, especially with luggage and a pillion. I opted for the Suzuki lower seat and can now touch the floor enough to give me confidence with maneuvering the bike, I have not felt the need to alter forks or rear suspension.
As for comfort I have managed 250 plus miles in a single trip without to much discomfort.

[macthered]

Thanks all.
 
Some great ideas and feed back. I found a link selling original Suzuki lowered seat for £180 which I think is quite reasonable. I`ll start with that and see how I get on.

Its nice that accessories and spares for this bike are bloody cheap compared to owning,servicing buying after market bits for a Ducati !

[Simmo24]

Hi , I tried the low seat, but found it a bit like sitting on a plank, so kept the standard seat. 

[macthered]

How much padding would you was on the low seat. One of the other posts said the seat was OK comfort wise

[Downunder]

I have found both the standard and low seats to be firm. I weight 85kg. Apart from having less foam thickness, the low seat appears to be flat across the area where you sit (which I prefer)  whereas I find the standard seat is raised a bit in the middle, which I find uncomfortable on rides of more than 2-3 hours. I the end seat comfort is often a personal thing. The only way to know for sure is to try it.

[Cris]

I am vertically challenged and used a Lust Racing lowering kit and dropped the yolks 15mm on the forks. No ground clearance problems ( only go down the odd dirt road). Side stand still works, SW Motech centre stand can be used with a grunt. Handling is fine. I also got the local cobbler to thicken my boot soles by half an inch.
Works for me

[Simmo24]

How much padding would you was on the low seat. One of the other posts said the seat was OK comfort wise

Hi, much less padding than the stock seat, It felt like they'd just cut some foam out to make it lower. See if the dealer has one you can try out, that's what I did.