Lowering seat high 1200GS

[andygbsmith]

We want to change the wife's 650 GS for a 1200 but even with the lowest seat fitted we still need to gain another 1".
Has anybody modified their bike to lower the seat high?
At the moment the only option would appear to be different shocks and that's going to cost over a grand !!
Any info appreciated

 

[Thunder]

We want to change the wife's 650 GS for a 1200 but even with the lowest seat fitted we still need to gain another 1".
Has anybody modified their bike to lower the seat high?
At the moment the only option would appear to be different shocks and that's going to cost over a grand !!
Any info appreciated

I have heard of people having seats adjusted to give a lower height by removing padding and such but not sure how that would effect rider comfort on the already lowered seat.

Your right that some aftermarket shock manufacturers offer a shortened shock specifically for the bike (eg Ohlins) and that is a way of lowering height but also improving performance over the stock Showa.

What shocks where you quoted for at over a grand? I can get you a deal on Ohlins shocks a lot less than that although it would not include fitting.

 

[bmwrich58]

We want to change the wife's 650 GS for a 1200 but even with the lowest seat fitted we still need to gain another 1".
Has anybody modified their bike to lower the seat high?
At the moment the only option would appear to be different shocks and that's going to cost over a grand !!
Any info appreciated

BM' also offers a "low seat" option.

 

[Yellow Peril]

New Touratech extra low seat option Lower than bm's low seat by 20mm I think waiting on report from another gser about it , tis on order.

 

[Deadskin]

we still need to gain another 1"

Is that with both shocks on there lowest settings

 

[Miriam]

Andy - I'm a 5.5 girl and have the low seat on my 12GS + bought a shorter upper paralever arm from a specialized company here in Holland. It lowers the bike not quite an inch, but I now get 3/4 feet on the ground. You can contact me if I can help you with this, [email protected].

 

[andygbsmith]

Thanks for all the feedback,
to answer some of your questions;

Both shocks were on their lowest setting and she tried sitting on both new and secondhand 1200's because BMW have recently changed the rear shocks, we also tried spoke wheels and alloys to check the rolling radius.

We've only tried the BMW low seat but obviously if you start taking foam out of that it will probably start to effect comfort.

The shocks that we were quoted on were ohlins and I was told the pair would cost me about £1500

Another thing we though about was buying a bike without ABS and fitting a smaller front wheel but again this will have a knock on effect to the way the bike handles.

 

[bustupbiker]

I have had to put Ohlins on my 12 inorder that i could get my feet down, i think they cost me £800 give or take a squid. I fitted them my self in an hour, they do two sizes 20mm and 28mm shorter shafts that gives you about an inch lower bike if you have them fitted it is just over a grand but they do set them up for you. Hope that helps.
PS: they will make them lower but they do not like doing it.
Lyn.

 

[MATKAT]

Technoflex suspension

Best way to the lower the bike is buy a set of technoflex suspension !!! It has excellent adjustment fore and aft and with my short 28.5" inside leg standover height is always a problem. The standard technoflex set up lower the bike around 7/*th of an inch, plus the rear shock can be adjusted 1.5" which is a fantastic gain. Of course ground clearance etc needs to be considered.
Because of the adjustment I believe i now have the perfect set up for solo, pillion and fully loaded, all infinitably adjsutable. Far far better than Ohlins for my money, even if a little more expesnive. Well worth a look and a definite solve short leg problems. Riding my 1200 is os much more enjoyable now, call me for further info.
Fred

We want to change the wife's 650 GS for a 1200 but even with the lowest seat fitted we still need to gain another 1".
Has anybody modified their bike to lower the seat high?
At the moment the only option would appear to be different shocks and that's going to cost over a grand !!
Any info appreciated

 

[Thunder]

Best way to the lower the bike is buy a set of technoflex suspension !!! It has excellent adjustment fore and aft and with my short 28.5" inside leg standover height is always a problem. The standard technoflex set up lower the bike around 7/*th of an inch, plus the rear shock can be adjusted 1.5" which is a fantastic gain. Of course ground clearance etc needs to be considered.
Because of the adjustment I believe i now have the perfect set up for solo, pillion and fully loaded, all infinitably adjsutable. Far far better than Ohlins for my money, even if a little more expesnive. Well worth a look and a definite solve short leg problems. Riding my 1200 is os much more enjoyable now, call me for further info.
Fred

I could be wrong but I read somewhere that Technoflex were closing down following an unsucessful court case with Wilburs.

 

[GSYank]

If all you need is another inch, why not just have a shoe repair shop add a 1" deep sole to her riding boots?

 

[Marty Hill]

Fellow who bought my old 12gs added wilbers and lowered the bike over 1"