I lowered her!

Well... The sun shone - this morning. So I set to and did the "free modification".
Of course (being a bank-holiday weekend) it started raining before I'd finished. But - it does definitely seem to have dropped the back end down. Not sure how far it's actually lowered the seat, or what effect it has had on the way it rides - it's still raining so I haven't been out for a test yet.
Hopefully we'll get some sun tomorrow...

 

Oh, and I didn't shorten the side-stand either - but it still doesn't seem to be too much of a problem...

 

OK... It works... What a difference !
Firstly - I can now get my feet (comfortably) on the floor.
Secondly it has improved the way it rides - on tarmac at least. That might have something to do with the fact that I also took all the pre-load off the rear spring. The combination of a slightly softer spring and a lower rear end has made it a lot more comfortable on the road. It has also take out the slight weave that I was getting at full speed - I was thinking that might have been caused by the MT43 tyres, but it might have been because of the front end being slightly steepened because I had dropped the yokes as far down the forks as they would go... Whatever, it's now not there any more.
I haven't had a chance to test it off road yet - but it's looking good so far.
The only problem was that it was standing far too upright on the side-stand - that was cured by putting a bit of a bend in the stand, which has sorted that out...
All in all, a highly recommended modification : and it's free !

 

Glad it worked out for ya, and you can't beat free.....

Dog

 

Second problem... And something that I maybe should have predicted... Last night I rode it in the dark for the first time since the modifications - and, of course, the headlight aim is too high. The instructions in the Honda workshop manual for adjusting the headlight are pretty vague to say the least : "turn the headlight adjuster..." and a picture that could be of anything and is no help at all. Oh well, the sun is shining, so off I go again...

 

Did you lower the front as well/? Just pull the forks up a little bit (I brought them up as far as I could).

 

The forks are already as high as they will go through the yokes, but the rear end is still low enough to make the headlight aim too high. I found the adjuster, so I'll have a twiddle and see what happens...
Also - had a ride up a couple of local lanes and all seems good in the "off road" department...

 

Further update - Due to an injured shoulder (some numptie drove into the back of my car and wrecked it) and the terrible weather that passes for "summer" in the UK my Laverda has remained firmly rooted to the garage and I have been using the CRF as everyday transport. I have to say that I am really starting to like it a lot... (Now that I have recalibrated my brain down to the 70mph top speed). Comfortable for as long as the fuel lasts - which is not very far if we're being honest. Handling seems fine. It's light enough, easy to ride and fun too... All in all, I'm a happy bunny !

 

I lowered Sue's bike 44.5 mm with a Kouba link then fitted 25 mm handle bar risers and slid the forks through the clamps 44 mm. With a cable tie around the fork tube which slides down under fork compression to allow us to measure fork movement and make sure there is clearance under the mudguard, so far it has been fine and the bike sits level. We then set up the rear race sag with her stood on the pegs with full riding gear and gained another 15 mm, the cheap forks are not adjustable for sag and are standard. Recently 25 mm was taken out of the seat so that she can get the balls of both feel down.