General Discussion Forum

Ok, heres my question.  By adjusting the ride height on a 2006 Honda CRF230F would it hurt the overall ride and performance of the bike to lower the seat height by an inch or two max?   My girlfriend is height challenged and CRF150F fits her perfectly but she wants more motor than it has to offer.  Thanks    

you talked about lowering the ride height, then you mentioned lowering seat height. Two completely different things. I would recommend getting a seat with less foam in it as opposed to lowering the suspension. Suspension height changes can dramatically alter the way the bike handles. One of the most obvious changes is it would cause the wheelbase to become shorter which will affect stability at higher speeds, the 230 has a short wheelbase to begin with. I could go on and on about why you shouldn't mess with the suspension height other than adjusting sag to optimize handling characteristics.~later  

Let me say that differently so there is no confussion.  I want to lower the seat height of the 2006 CRF230.  I dont want to put a seat that has less foam on the bike.  She would still like to be comfortable on the bike (shes not going to be racing, just trail riding).  I thought that you could adjust the ride height by lowering the suspension just an inch or two to get the overall seat height lower.  I also figured that by lowering the suspension that the wheel base would actually get wider.  You say that it will shorten the wheel base, I dont see how, but I am obviously no moto mechanic.  And by altering the ride height by an inch or two at the most you say that could greatly hurt the handling of the bike.  Shouldnt people adjust the ride height on every bike they own to fit them better?  Maybe this is where Im confused, I know what setting the sag on the suspension is, it just seems that an inch or two on the ride height isnt that big of a deal.  What do you think?

I'll try to explain how it gets shorter in the most simple way I know, I'm not being sarcastic so dont take it that way. draw a triangle, this resembles your suspension. (its a little more complex than this though, but stay with me.) as you travel from the base of the triangle towards the peak the distance gets shorter. next time you have the bike in the truck, measure the distance from axle to axle with just the weight of the bike. now pull th straps down in the front, and toss a strap over the rear to compress the rear also, now measure from axle to axle again, you will find it is shorter.

small changes can make a big difference, so don't discount the effects on handling if its only 1/2 inch shorter, thats huge! when I add a link to my chain to increase the wheelbase on my bike, it makes a noticeable difference in the way it handles.

and the "short" seats from SDG that have less foam in them are still quite comfy, while reducing the height of the bike.

In short, messing with your sag to lower the ride height screws up how the bike handles.

Thank you both for your reply.  I think that we will check into a shorrt seat and see if that will work for her.  Again thank you. 

Anytime Grizz, Anytime

Aren't the seat heights only different by like a decimal, between a 150 and a 230? Im only 5 3 and the bike is ok for me.  

If she is trail riding and out there just to put, performance isnt really her important thing. If she isnt comfortable on the bike becuase it is too tall, mess with the sag until she gets use to the bike. Once she gets use to it, set it up correctly. She will be more comfortable one-footing it and she wont havy any problems.