‘You won’t catch me in platforms; I’m not Elton John!’
DAVID MORTON 5FT 4IN KAWASAKI Z1000SX Lowering methods Rear suspension lowering kit, dropped yokes
David’s biking career includes a Yamaha RD350LC YPVS, Kawasaki GPX750R, Honda VTR1000 and a Yamaha Fazer 1000, but the Z10000SX is the first he’s modified to suit his frame: “Up until now, I’ve just coped, with sliding a cheek off the seat and putting a foot down,” he says. “It never put me off buying the bike I wanted. For example, when the Fazer came out I wanted one straight away, and it fitted me perfectly; I just dealt with it.”
David says back in the 90s he could cope a bit more easily: “A bit younger, more agile, fitter, not carrying as much weight all helps,” he smiles.
David bought the Z1000SX secondhand a few years ago. “I remember sitting on my mate’s SX and thinking, this feels alright. But when I tried my bike, I was right up on my tip-toes. The then owner, who was six foot or so, said,
‘Oh, my mate set it up for me.’ He’d jacked the rear preload right up, on 40 clicks. Stock is eight clicks.”
David rode the SX home and put the suspension back to standard but didn’t like the handling, so he started adding preload. “But by the time I got the bike where I wanted it to be, my feet weren’t! After a couple of hairy situations on uneven ground, when you go to put your feet down and they’re paddling in thin air, I thought I’d give a lowering kit a go. I ordered a Lust Racing kit – it’s basically a replacement for the rear linkage. It lowers it 30mm, so I dropped the yokes down the forks as far as I could; on the SX, the clip-ons foul the fork tops at around -10mm. But it’s enough; the bike is spot on. I would say it’s more stable. It’s a simple modification and if I sell the bike, I can put it back to standard.”
Dave’s never been put off a bike because it’s too tall. “I guess I’m lucky; I’m not into adventure bikes. You’ve got to plan ahead as much as anything. When I used to teach CBT, it was put it in neutral, left foot down, right foot on the brake. But sometimes you just can’t do that, if the camber is against you. You’ve just got be a bit more aware of where you plan to stop.”