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lowering the clip-ons

1205 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Sticky
I have a nice set of Vortex cli-ons that don;t have enough clearance when mounted abov ethe triple tree in place of the stockers. After riding Kevin's Ducati, I realized how high mine are and also noticed that his bike wasn't that unconfortable IMO.

So I wanted ot know. Would lowering the Clip-ons 3" down improve my handling. I've never seen how the supersport guys are setting up their bikes. I know if I take off the ram air covers there is enough clearance. The vortex clip-on are also 1" forward. Looking at the ergonomics published in Motorcyclist, that would give my F4i nearly identical ergo's as the GSXR600, except my seat is lower (but my rearsets are closer). I always feel like on the track or in the twisties my arms feel kind of high, not quite awkward, but almost.

I was just wondering if there were any problems to consider when doing this. An I going to need a steering dampner with the extra front end weight?

What d oyou guys think?
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To my understanding, moving the clip ons would not change the performance of the bike per say. The forks are still in the same place in the tripple clamps. It would however change you seating position. More in a lowered crouched position. Since its your track and street bike, you'd have to weigh out the position you want to be in.
Champ91 said:
Since its your track and street bike, you'd have to weigh out the position you want to be in.
Mike seems to wanna bend over more and more as time goes on :laughing Come out of the closet, Mike. You are mini-Hayden :D
cherrypicker said:
I have a nice set of Vortex cli-ons that don;t have enough clearance when mounted abov ethe triple tree in place of the stockers. After riding Kevin's Ducati, I realized how high mine are and also noticed that his bike wasn't that unconfortable IMO.

So I wanted ot know. Would lowering the Clip-ons 3" down improve my handling. I've never seen how the supersport guys are setting up their bikes. I know if I take off the ram air covers there is enough clearance. The vortex clip-on are also 1" forward. Looking at the ergonomics published in Motorcyclist, that would give my F4i nearly identical ergo's as the GSXR600, except my seat is lower (but my rearsets are closer). I always feel like on the track or in the twisties my arms feel kind of high, not quite awkward, but almost.

I was just wondering if there were any problems to consider when doing this. An I going to need a steering dampner with the extra front end weight?

What d oyou guys think?
Improve your handling?? Thats subjective. It WOULD put more weight on the frontend and may let you stretch out a little more. I'd say try it. You already have the parts and it wouldn't cost anything to find out. And ditching the "Ram-air" covers would probably do little (are there ducts under the covers?).

Off topic:::
Has anyone actually setup an F4i with a REAL CAI/Ram-air setup(any gains to be had???) recently saw a 929 with a pretty slick setup. The stock F4i snorkels look pretty efficient(not as good as the R6/RC51 setups...), but as I've learned from smarter men than I; If you don't have the airbox divided for each snorkel you will never achieve positive pressure in the airbox. The alternative is to just run one intake (prefferably on the high pressure point of the front fairing ala RC51/R6)
I know it won;t change the geometry, jsut my riding position. It should help me get more weight on the front tire. The ram air covers are the gray plastic trim pieces next to the tank. I hav eot take the moff to get enough clearance for the clip-ons. Someone did this on another wite.

I was just wondering if this was a common way to set-up a F4i for the track. Thanks for the input. I'll give it a try.

Do you guys think the reduced weight in the steering will cause more headshakes. I know it already give me a good shake if I'm riding tight in the arms when I go to WOT in a hgih speed turn like exiting onto the front straiht at Gratton.
Tired it.... didn;t work. There is almost no steering clearance. I really liked the position too.:( Poop.

Anyone want to buy some 43mm clip-ons? The R6 uses 43mm forks too. They are also slanted less than the R6, and can be adjusted in/out. They are about 1/2 further forward.

I'm wondering what the hell the factory SS riders do??? They must have some really trick custom made clip-ons.
[Anyone want to buy some 43mm clip-ons?]
Dude I had to do the same thing. Bought and tried them on and had to get rid of em. I heard we can use Honda XX clip ons and mount them below the triple. All you have to do is modify them a bit with a dremel and there is no clearance issues.
So I wanted ot know. Would lowering the Clip-ons 3" down improve my handling. I've never seen how the supersport guys are setting up their bikes. I know if I take off the ram air covers there is enough clearance. The vortex clip-on are also 1" forward. Looking at the ergonomics published in Motorcyclist, that would give my F4i nearly identical ergo's as the GSXR600, except my seat is lower (but my rearsets are closer). I always feel like on the track or in the twisties my arms feel kind of high, not quite awkward, but almost.
When I moved the clip-ons on my 400 it was like night and day on the racetrack. I had tons more mid-turn confidence with the lower bars, of course that was on a 1990 400 that had pretty high bars to start with.
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