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Lowering kit for 1700 Nomad

8K views 19 replies 7 participants last post by  MarkinFairfax 
#1 ·
I saw this lowering fitting on eBay for the 1700 Nomad (and other 1700s) looks simple but the description said you must do some mod to make the saddlebags fit after the lowering kit is in place? Have any of you put this on your 1700? I sent the seller (a Kawasaki dealer in MN) for a pdf of the installation instructions.
 
#2 ·
The eBay seller wrote me back told me to call him. Did not want to send instructions due to his suspicions that people are copying his bracket. I completely understand so I'll call him.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Instructions are provided when you purchase. Asked some very specific questions about engineering and installation and can say shop was great with communication. There is many other small shops not freely handing out instructions so people can copy their work.
 
#4 ·
Hi Glenn, small niche parts are not worth the (lawyers, guns, and money: Warren Zevon) it takes for a patent not to mention liability. No I can easily see the why.
 
#5 ·
That'll be Rick from Luverne Kaw? He's a stand-up guy, and makes a well regarded product in that lowering kit. He's a member over on the "other" forum.

He once helped me out by sending me some photos of work they'd done to move a customer's Voyager trunk back a few inches, and asked at the time me not to send the photos around so they could keep the methodology to themselves. Fair enough, I thought. He only sent them to me because he appreciated that I live so far away that there was no possibility I'd be able to send them my trunk, or my bike.

I've heard nothing but good reviews about the lowering kit, but I'm aware there's work required to the saddlebag mounts for Nomad or Voyager to eliminate the possibility of damage to your shocks, but no such modification is required for the Vaq.

One of the members of that "other" forum recently posted pictures of his saddlebag mounts after the modification. I won't link to it here or I'll likely get another telling off. :smile2:
 
#6 ·
Lowering Links



Like PEG said Rick is a stand up guy. I've had my Lowering links going to 2 yrs now and love what they have done for me. It was a little costly for me but in the long run well worth it. I had to have the saddlebag brackets on my Nomad modified to account for the change in the angle of the shocks, that's where the xtra cost came in. They use to do the bracket mod but I think now you can get the specs from them and have it done local to you instead of sending them to Rick's shop. Like Ivan's ECU flash it will make a big difference in your bike.
 
#7 ·
Like PEG said Rick is a stand up guy. I've had my Lowering links going to 2 yrs now and love what they have done for me. It was a little costly for me but in the long run well worth it. I had to have the saddlebag brackets on my Nomad modified to account for the change in the angle of the shocks, that's where the xtra cost came in. They use to do the bracket mod but I think now you can get the specs from them and have it done local to you instead of sending them to Rick's shop. Like Ivan's ECU flash it will make a big difference in your bike.

Thanks for the great info Nomad, definitely on the todo list!
 
#9 ·
Like PEG said Rick is a stand up guy. I've had my Lowering links going to 2 yrs now and love what they have done for me. It was a little costly for me but in the long run well worth it. I had to have the saddlebag brackets on my Nomad modified to account for the change in the angle of the shocks, that's where the xtra cost came in. They use to do the bracket mod but I think now you can get the specs from them and have it done local to you instead of sending them to Rick's shop. Like Ivan's ECU flash it will make a big difference in your bike.
Did it decrease your turning ability? I scrape my boards all the time as it is. I would like to lower the back end by about an inch, but can't afford to scrape more than I do...
 
#10 ·
I posted my complaints about the Kawasaki lightbar on another lightbar thread so far as the turn signal mounting goes, pretty shoddy IMHO.
 
#13 ·
I am curious as to why the saddlebag mounts need to be modded for this kit?

Also... lowering links? Why use lowering links on a dual shock setup? Wouldn't it have made more sense to use shorter shocks to do the job? Every Harley (non-Softtail), Honda Shadow 750 & 1100, VTX, ect. ect., that I have seen lowered was done with shorter shocks. The only bikes I have seen use lowering links are monoshock sportbikes.
 
#14 · (Edited)
BD no one wants to lose the utility of their air shocks so aftermarket shocks are a no go. I had a Valkyrie that I put one inch shorter progressive shocks in place of the OEM shocks and it did the job of lowering the seat height but made the bike look funny by putting the rear wheel closer to the rear fender. The mod to the saddlebag support(s) is necessary to use the lowering fixture that we are discussing in this thread.It is needed to avoid the shock from striking the the saddlebag's un-altered support due to the new shock absorber angle that drops the saddle height.
 
#15 ·
I've re-built the OEM air-shocks on both my Nomad and my Voyager trying to get better performance out of them. I ultimately gave up, went with a pair of after-market (Öhlins) shocks, and I don't miss the "utility of my air shocks" even slightly.

One of my riding buddies is finding riding behind me a lot harder than it used to be. He says he used to be able to see me hit a bump & he had time to either avoid it or brace himself for it... Now he can't tell when I've hit one at all.

The lowering links are a good solution for those who need or want a lower bike, but don't want to spend the big money a set of quality after-market shocks will cost.
 
#19 ·
Here's a snip from my invoice... HD146 is what Öhlins call an entry level shock, but I'm very happy with them on the Voyager. That price works out to about US$860, and I'm sure I could have gotten them cheaper - but with this price they came installed by the Öhlins agent in NZ, and with a lifetime warranty. I've been back a couple of times for tweaks to both front & back, and one of the shocks needed repair after it blew it's oil a year after the install - so I'm pleased I got it done through a suspension shop rather than putting it all together myself.

After I had the shocks installed, the front felt just awful by comparison. So I then spent about the same amount on Race Tech springs and emulators up there, with the shops own blend of oil. It all feels very nicely balanced now.
 

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#20 ·
Thanks Peg, it's just there isn't much in the way of aftermarket shocks for the 1700s in general. I checked the Ohlins USA site and they don't mention 1700s period. Progressive either.
 
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