RIDE HEIGHT: WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?
What is ride height? It’s the height of the ride. Or raising the seat, but not raising the seat itself, rather raising it through the chassis so the distance from the rear wheel spindle to a fixed point on the chassis as a vertical line. When you apply ride height, it alters the angle of the swingarm, which, of course, then lifts the chassis accordingly.
As you increase ride height, your wheelbase will become shorter and generally, from a track riding perspective, you want faster steering, or to make the bike turn quicker, or to hold a line better because it’s running wide. Most aftermarket shocks now have a ride height adjuster (otherwise it’s washers and spacers), and putting 1mm or 2mm on will have a big effect on handling and tip a bit more weight on the front of the bike. Subsequently, you’ll get the bike turning faster and, usually, more confidence in the front end. Conversely, it could be that the bike is a bit twitchy on the brakes, so you may want to flatten it off and reduce the ride height. For example, Fireblades respond well to lowering the back end to increase acceleration grip.
And what of the front? The rule of thumb is, generally, you move the forks through the yokes as a last resort (from OE manufacturer setting) because when you change the fork length, it has a knock-on effect to other items. Believe it or not, it’s (usually) easier to take the shock on and off rather than play with the front. If we think about rake and trail, as soon as the fork length is changed, the geometry is altered too. By changing the rear, you’re not altering rake and trail, as the fork is still the same length – only direct-damped bikes like the ER-6 will benefit, as they have no linkage. That’s why proper thoroughbred racebikes have adjustable yokes, so if the fork length is adjusted, they can push or pull the stem.
Not many people think about this one but without making any suspension adjustments you can also increase your ride height by changing your wheelbase. Did you know that? If you didn’t, well, it’s true! By putting a tooth on the back sprocket, this moves the rear wheel forward and instantly shortens ride height. As a rule, a tooth on the back will equate to around 5mm, which is a massive difference. If you’re on a 2:1 ratio on your linkage (which is most common on modern sportsbikes), you move the wheel two to get one movement on the suspension.