The Speed 400 is way too tall for shorter riders (like me). I have a -30mm shock absorber coming from EMC Suspensions in France. An expensive solution, I hope it achieves the lower height I need in order to be comfortable. I'm on tiptoes now.

 

How did the new shock work out for you. I am on my tiptoes also. I have looked into a shock from EMC but am not sure of it is the solution.

 

I will live with it's height for now. @dmorris29 don't forget you really need to lower the front end as well to try to keep it's well behaved handling characteristics

 

I had the shorter EMC shock installed, and dropped the front forks 20mm. It is an improvement...but I'd still like to have it another inch or so lower.

 

I went to a local upolstry shop with my seat and had them shave it down. They were able to do it in such a way that they were able to reuse the stock cover. I've been happy with it but could would like it slightly lower.

 

I have a similar issue with my Speed 400 (and with my NC700X & Z650RS). To help with the "short legs" problem, I bought a pair of thick soled Noru boots that have soles approximately 1 inch thick. Got them on sale for a little over $40. Check them out.

 

Is it possible to drop the front forks in the clamps?

Possibly sculpting and/or thinning the seat might help...plus a thicker/longer sole on your riding boots?

 

These were posted on another forum with a similar thread running - not sure anyone would wear these....

Home - Upbikers

Or maybe we just need a return of platform shoes!

More seriously, I have a pair of US Army Jungle Boots (new imitations I'd guess, bought from an Army Surplus store) and they have a good thick sole which might help a bit..... very comfy on and off the bike, and a shallow enough toe that they don't affect the gearchange.

 

I got in touch with Hagons regarding lowering the Speed400. Here is their reply:-

Hello Ian,

Thanks for your email.

We can supply a replacement rear shock that can lower the seat height by -40mm, and is a very popular choice with the 400 Speed / Scrambler owners.

Built on a Stainless steel damper fitted with a Black spring, the units is priced at £460.00 inc vat and would be assembled to your rider weight at no extra cost.

Shipping is £11.50 to a UK mainland address.

Please give our Sales team a quick call to discuss your requirements and to order if required.

Kind regards
Tony
Hagon Sales Team
7 Roebuck Road
Hainault Business Park
Hainault
Essex

 

I got in touch with Hagons regarding lowering the Speed400. Here is their reply:-
Built on a Stainless steel damper fitted with a Black spring, the units is priced at £460.00 inc vat and would be assembled to your rider weight at no extra cost.

I thought that too, Hagon used to supply really good value shocks and while we are not talking Ohlins prices, it is nearly 10% of the cost of the bike.

 

That's a chunk of change for a shock.

 

I know. Even the French one was cheaper. I may try the German Washer....that's only about €160 ish. Or I may even try and machine one (or two) myself 🙄

 

I haven't yet sold my present bike and have to do that before buying a Speed 400.... However, the present bike is a 2017 Honda CBR-500F and for $50 Vortex makes easy to fit suspension links that lowered the seat 1.25", about 27mm I believe. I rode the Honda afterward and noted no changes in how it steered. Had I raised the rear I would most likely experienced faster turning in and possible speed wobbles, but that never happened. I did have to cut an inch from the side stand and weld the two halves together. Not doing that will prevent the side stand from allowing the bike to lean sufficiently to achieve stability on the stand.

 

An addendum to my post of 7/31/24: While the Vortex and other links definitely lower the bikes they are fitted to, they also affect the functioning of the shock absorber to the point of becoming rather harsh, as in the case of my 2017 Honda CB-500F. Apparently, this is a predictable outcome when the rear suspension's linkage geometry is changed.

 

Hi all I've just replaced spring retainer with one from Lust racing which has reduced ride height by about 30mm

 

Please can I check what spring compressors you used? I purchased some which said they were for the job but not heavy duty enough

 

Makes sense, why spend more money if you are happy with the shock but all you want is for it to be lower.

 

Hello @deejay. Hope the lowering of your 400 went to plan. Could you give a few more details of how you did it etc, and how it is handling, your feelings about it? Would be nice to have first hand knowledge of this modification.
Cheers Ian👍

 

Ian, You may have asked the wrong person about lowering the Speed 400. I did not lower mine (it would be a minor improvement), but I did purchase new Noru (Resu WP) riding boots that have ~1 inch thick sole that definitely help get my feet flat on the ground when I stop. They were on sale for ~$46 at my local MC dealer. Hope that helps......

 

Hello @HawkGT Guy , I'm sorry if you thought I directed the question at you but I did mention @deejay at the top of my post. I use the forum on my phone and sometimes things go awry 😔. My apologies to all concerned.

 

Lowering "washer" now made and fitted. I had to make a spring compressor to disassemble/reassemble.

 

That looks a great job, obviously you're a very skilled engineer have you lowered forks ! what next maybe lowering ling for bottom of shock i don't think anyone is manufacturing one yet but is there room !.

 

Not lowered the forks as yet. That's the next job. Got a few other non bike jobs to do first 🙄

 

"Hi all I've just replaced spring retainer with one from Lust racing which has reduced ride height by about 30mm"
I don't understand how that "lowers" the bike. The shock is still the same length, it appears just the preload has been reduced. I can see where the bike would ride a bit lower as when the rider sits on it the bike will settle lower more as the weight will compress the suspension more due to the lessened preload.

 

How did you compress spring? What brand are your clamps

 

I have now fitted my lowering spring retainer/washer. I machined it to 30 mm overall length retaining the 5 mm wall thickness. I have also lowered the yoke on the forks by 10 mm. I will give an honest opinion after riding it. I'm in the process of machining a 22 mm overall spacer.....just in case! If I use the smaller one then the 30 mm one will be available.

 

Hope it works out.

 

Just as an addenda to my last post, when I sat on the bike after lowering it, the rear suspension felt very soft. I sincerely hope that the handling is not affected. Time will tell 🤔

 

after lowering it, the rear suspension felt very soft

that shouldn't be a surprise, the mod you did reduced the spring preload.

 

I have installed the Metisse lowering flange for the rear shock on both my wife’s Speed 400 and my Scrambler 400x. It lowers the rear by 35 mm and 29 mm on the forks per the instruction sheet. I’ve also had the kick stands lowered by a. Inch (25 mm). This worked very well and the handling is about the same as stock. Obviously a little softer but still good. I shaved and reshaped the seats as well. The did everything myself except compressing the spring and welding the kick stand since I don’t have the necessary equipment. All said and done I got about 1 3/4 inches lower on both bikes.

 

Hello and welcome to the forum from North Yorkshire.

 

The two lowering spring collars, Metisse and Lust, strike me as ridiculously expensive for such a simple part. I note that one 400 owner apparently is a skilled machinist and has made one himself. I suspect that there is a very lucrative market here for a home shop machinist who wants to make a run of a dozen and "test the waters". This is not a part I'd want to have fail in use, so sturdy construction would be mandatory. A bonus is that the home fabricator has used himself as the test beneficiary.

 

I have installed the Metisse lowering flange on my wife’s Speed 400 and on my Scrambler 400x. I did the work to remove and replace the shock but had a local shop do the spring compression and fit of the flange. I also had them shorten the side stands to fit. I then lowered the front forks per amount noted on the instructions from Metisse. It works well and the handling is good. You can make your own if you know what you’re doing and want to take on the liability of a failure but the quality of the Metisse part and install instructions are worth the piece of mind for me.

 

Hi all I've just replaced spring retainer with one from Lust racing which has reduced ride height by about 30mm View attachment 529 View attachment 529 View attachment 529 View attachment 529

Hi all I've just replaced spring retainer with one from Lust racing which has reduced ride height by about 30mm View attachment 529 View attachment 529 View attachment 529 View attachment 529

What did you do with the kick stand,also did you remove the shock to compress it?

 

I bought a Speed 400 stand from Rally Raid. But you can have it cut and shortened also