[mmkleine]

I recently had my bike lowered by using the Kit by Lowering Wing Products using the 1" kit. I'm 5'-6" and it has really made a difference. I was concerned by some of the comments here as far as ground clearance. I have a curb into my driveway and the mufflers don't drag. I hit the corners fairly hard and no dragging, but they are not like the switchback curves on the Dragon, but how often do you ride roads like that. For those undecided because of comments here. You should be OK, at least with the 1" kit. You should order the drive off stand which gives you 1/2" additional clearance, but the drive off feature no longer works, also, if on the new center stand, it takes a little more effort to get on two wheels, because it is shorter. The shim supplied for the kickstand gives plenty of lean, even for not ideal parking areas. I'm glad I made the purchase.

 

[Two Wheel Wing]

That is good information to know. I'm sure it will help some of our riders that find the Wing too tall. Thanks for posting..

 

[Buzzy]

No disrespect intended but if you "Hit the corners hard" and it doesn't drag with a 1" lowering kit, you are no where close to cornering hard.

I drag pegs sometimes on a hard left or right turn from a dead stop at a red light. This is with a stock wing one up with suspension on 25.

If I were to drop my wing 1" I would imagine I would hit hard parts on the bike on a regular basis!

While the lowering kit may work for you, it probably would not work for anyone who rides aggressive or "Spirited" as some like to call it.

I am glad it is working out for you, thats what mods are all about is making the bike comfortable to the individual.

But I would venture to say that what you think is "Cornering Hard" is far from it. It may feel like it to you but not the guys who like to lean these bikes.

If you want to know what Hard feels like, go find a set of mild curves and ride them in your car/truck as fast as you feel safe doing it. then get the wing and add 10 mph to your top speed you got in the car, then kick it up 10 mph and keep doing it. When you feel that peg touch down and have no choice but to lean harder and roll the throttle to get thru the curve? That is spirited riding and the kind of riding that makes you build titanium pads for your pegs like I am doing...........lol

I still think the most impressive thing I ever say was an older couple in the Texas Hill Country one weekend. They passed me while riding the 3 Sisters and I could not keep up! I watched that big bad Wing scraping pegs looking like the saddle bags were dragging. I lost sight of them after the next set of curves but caught up to them in Leakey when they stopped for lunch.

I felt so ashamed it took me till they were leaving to get up the nerve to say hello. I felt like a little kid trying to get an autograph, that's how impressive it was to me!
I have learned a lot since then and I am much better but I doubt I am anywhere near the skill level that old man was/is.
May not have been safe as he was riding with his wife but they both had smiles on their faces and that is all that matters to me!

Anyway, the moral to this whole story is, careful what you advise others that it's ok to do. That is a good chunk of change for someone to find out the bike is no long ridable like it was and you have to take the slow lane!

 

[troypennock]

a matter of experience

mmkleine you are correct in all you said, I have the same three pieces (link, stand, and shim). This is the single biggest reason I came back to Wings, after an eight year absence. Being able to get two flat feet on the ground allows me to jockey the bike in and out of a very crowded garage, without a few moments of stark terror at the start and finish of each ride.
Buzzy you are correct in all you said. BUT my expectations from my Wing are not the same as yours. I seriously lean my Hayabusa, I do not seriously lean my 1000 pound Wing.

 

[santini1953]

My dad can beat up your dad ! Everyone has their style of riding and i wouldn't come close to trying to ridicule any rider for his style , although i may think that the guy dragging his bike all over the pavement is not the guy i want to go riding with ! I could care less about how much i can lean my baby , my idea of riding is a nice leisurely pace aimed at enjoying the wind in my face and the scenery . I guess i do get a little peeved when i know that alot of riders do not ride the dragon because of the " aggressive " riders and will never enjoy that ride because they don't wish to take the chance of being a statistic on that stretch of road and damaging their bike ! Just my two cents !! I hope i didn't step on any toes !!

 

[mmkleine]

To me a $25,000.00, 900 lb. motorcycle is not a peg dragger. That is for the sport bikes, unless you have money to burn of course.

 

[Buzzy]

To me a $25,000.00, 900 lb. motorcycle is not a peg dragger. That is for the sport bikes, unless you have money to burn of course.

Some of you must be missing my main point. All I was saying is, don't tell people it's safe to drop a GL1800 1". Anyone who even occasionally drags a peg will find out the hard way that the bike is no longer capable of what it use to be.

And as far as your statement? Why do you think Honda built the GL1800 with a sport bike frame? This bike is designed for performance. It has the power, the torque, the handling, to be ridden aggressively.
It was designed to appeal to a wider audience. If I remember correctly, the GL1800 has a lean angle of 55 degree's. There are not many bikes out there that can do what the wing can do and still be the luxury touring machine that it is.

I understand that not everyone wants to ride a motorcycle like it is designed to ride. A lot of folks are happy straight up @ 90 degrees and never touch the outer edges of the tire.
That is all fine and good but don't hate on the people who like to ride a motorcycle like it is meant to be ridden. A MC is meant to be leaned when turning, it is simple physics.
At what leaning angle is it no longer "OK" to lean in your opinion?

Also, go out and look at ALL the pegs on your bike. They all have one thing in common, they fold up and most of them have some sort of pad, bolt or nut on them. Those pads are made for a reason, They are "Wear Pads", they are suppose to be scraped, not just there in case you do.

I will never understand why people think that anything they will not do or can't do, means it is not ok if someone else can do or does it.

We are not talking about dragging a knee here, we are talking dragging a peg and about the loss of lean angle that Honda designed into the GL1800.
And I stick by my first post that it is not ok to advise someone that it is "OK" to lower it 1" and change the geometry of the bike and put someone in danger who may not be aware that he may hit the hard parts on his bike.

Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut, I seem to stir the pot where ever I go for simply voicing my opinion!

 

[Two Wheel Wing]

Some of you must be missing my main point.
Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut, I seem to stir the pot where ever I go for simply voicing my opinion!

Buzzy, nobody is here to "muzzle" anyone or keep them from posting their opinion. So please don't take any of this stuff personal. So please continue to post and give us your insights.

I think anyone who modifies their bike has to expect and be ready to accept that the original handling characteristics of the bike will change. If you're not willing to accept that, then don't make the modification or get another bike that fits your physical needs.

As far as riding styles, it's your (and my) bike and we have a right to ride it as we see fit within safe reasoning. I enjoy flopping mine through the twisties on occasion and enjoy the fact that the Wing can do that, but I don't consider myself a "sport rider". I also, like some folks, like to ride (as you put it) at 90 degrees and that's fine too. The nice thing about the Wing is it can be a lot of things to a lot of different people. That's what makes it such a great bike..

Ride safe

 

[detdrbuzzard]

and here i thought the " se " on the back of my 1500 was for " sport edition "

 

[Buzzy]

Buzzy, nobody is here to "muzzle" anyone or keep them from posting their opinion. So please don't take any of this stuff personal. So please continue to post and give us your insights.

I think anyone who modifies their bike has to expect and be ready to accept that the original handling characteristics of the bike will change. If you're not willing to accept that, then don't make the modification or get another bike that fits your physical needs.

As far as riding styles, it's your (and my) bike and we have a right to ride it as we see fit within safe reasoning. I enjoy flopping mine through the twisties on occasion and enjoy the fact that the Wing can do that, but I don't consider myself a "sport rider". I also, like some folks, like to ride (as you put it) at 90 degrees and that's fine too. The nice thing about the Wing is it can be a lot of things to a lot of different people. That's what makes it such a great bike..

Ride safe

I understand what you are saying. And sometimes it looks like I am PO'ed when I post but I really wasn't. A little irritated maybe but that's all.
I don't take anything on the internet personal.

I was simply defending my post and I do feel I needed to say what I did.
What I got from the OP was this, In short he said "Hey I did this and it's ok for you to do it because it worked great for me"

No That is not his words but that is the meaning I got from it. I have a problem with someone telling someone it's ok to modify the anything on a bike bike that changes the characteristics to a dangerous degree and assume that because he doesn't ride it hard, that the next guy won't either.

Some people use these forums as their sole resource for information and instructions for modifications to the Wing. And on a subject like this? You don't find that much information on this topic because not a lot of people lower their wing.

So lets say for example, Joe Blow signs up on the board, he is short and looking for a solution to make his wing more comfortable. He stumbles onto this thread, reads it and decides since the OP suggested the mod and it worked for him, he is now going to do it to his bike.
Only problem is, the guy likes to ride aggressive and his last bike was a sport bike. Thus far he has had no problems riding the wing, he just has a problem reaching the ground at stops.
So does the mod and he takes the bike out for a spin, hit's his favorite set of curves where before he just folded the boards up a little. But all this sudden he can feel vibration from the scraping and at the last moment, the rear tire lifts off the ground and traction is lost, he slides off into the ditch.
You get the point right?

It's one thing to say "Hey guys, I did this and it's awesome! It works great for me."
But it went something more like this "Hey guys, I did this and it's awesome, I have tested it out and you guys will have no problem with it"

I can show you some video's and pictures of exactly what I just described. People who thought they had more lean than the bike was capable of and hard parts hit ending in a straight line sliding off the curve. In one case there is a HD the guy hits the frame, tire lifts, he goes straight and another HD is in the oncoming lane, they both not have totaled bikes and lucky to be alive.

The most important thing besides knowing how to safely operate a Motorcycle, is to know it's capabilities and know the bike blind folded!

I am not and was not "coming down" on the OP. This is more than just an "Opinion" issue here. This is plain simple facts that anyone who is contemplating lowering his wing, or any bike, needs to know!

I have been straight and to the point. I am sorry if I come off as blunt or hostile. Blunt I am, hostile I am not but I do have a problem with coming across that way sometimes.

 

[budoka]

All good Buzzy as I see it. It sometimes hurts to wear your heart on your sleeve. If the OP is happy with his lowered bike then I'm very happy for him and if people realize that once lowered the bike will still be 'safe' if ridden in a prudent fashion, then fair play to them. Just don't expect to be able to heel a lowered Wing over at the same angle as the stocker would because it won't be just the fold-up pegs that contact terra firma, the sidestand tang and then the center stand will quickly upset your line and balance and that can get nasty real quick. Even a 900 lb full dress tourer can do the low-side/high-side flip-flop in a heartbeat under the wrong conditions.

There is some real merit in exploring the handling limits of your bike, no matter what the present state of clearance set-up. You don't have to consider yourself aggressive or a sporting rider to learn what you and your ride are capable of in the event of necessity. These bikesa re way more capable and agile than many (or likely most) of us will ever know. But if that one time of auto-response immediate reaction emergency counter-steer heel it over and push that big sucker to the limit to save your hide should come up, it is a very good thing to know you and your bike's physical and capability limits. Especially for those of us that do a lot of riding two up and heavily laden.
I know mine, and also the limits of every bike I've ever owned. And it has saved my butt more than once, and as long as I keep riding, if I keep current with my practice, it will continue to do so.

 

[mmkleine]

Buzzy, Your point is well taken regarding lowering. As someone else mentioned here, if you are a very aggressive rider you might not want to mess with your suspension and lowering. Common sense would rule. I wrote the original comment because, I probably would not have bought a Wing unless it could have been lowered some because of my height. Most of the guys I ride with with wings, have grey hair, pot bellies and lost the testosterone long ago. One dangerous thing I do see on Wings is the position of the after market foot pegs some people set for comfort, way to low.

 

[Buzzy]

Buzzy, Your point is well taken regarding lowering. As someone else mentioned here, if you are a very aggressive rider you might not want to mess with your suspension and lowering. Common sense would rule. I wrote the original comment because, I probably would not have bought a Wing unless it could have been lowered some because of my height. Most of the guys I ride with with wings, have grey hair, pot bellies and lost the testosterone long ago. One dangerous thing I do see on Wings is the position of the after market foot pegs some people set for comfort, way to low.

Your point is well taken as well. I just didn't see it like that the way the OP was worded and I saw where it could be take as I described in my last post.
Like I said, i mean no disrespect at all. And because of this entire thread, i think people on all sides learned something or are at least aware that it can be of benefit to some people and anyone new to riding knows what to look out for if they did it.