lowering the front on a cb200

[XsteveedgeX]

so i have been reading a lot, and basically it got confusing, so... i have a 74 cb200, and i was thinking of lowering the front as well as the back, the back is no problem, but the front, i'm clueless. thanx for any help...

 

[VonYinzer]

How much? If its only an inch or so, just slide the fork tubes up through the top tree.

 

[Koestum]

AND if you're tying to get the grips lower you can mount clip-ons under the top triple tree clamp.

 

[surffly]

Lowering the bike will make it handle worse the stock...

 

[Big R]

Lowering the bike will make it handle "different" than stock. Why are you trying to lower it, anyway?

My CL175 was raised about 1" in the rear and the front was lowered about 1.5". The steering was VERY quick to say the least.

 

[Rocan]

lowering the bike front and rear the same amount will allow you to retain MOST of the stock geometry, so it wont handle "worse," per se, but youll be dragging pegs faster. having said that, the cb200 is low as it is and would probably benefit more from being jacked up an inch in the rear and leaving the front at its stock height simply to quicken the steering a tad.

why the drop? bobber?

 

[surffly]

Dragging hard parts more then stock means you can do less things then you could stock.....
soo in my view you now have less of a bike then stock....
If what you do makes your bike less then stock then you are just doing it wrong.

 

[crazypj]

Unless your a midget, lowering front of a CB200 probably isn't a good idea.
Raising the rear an inch or so is a much better way to go.
The steering won't be so quick it's dangerous but may be a bit more 'precise'
Stock tyres are pretty narrow (I think 2.75" front and 3.00 rear"?)
You don't want to fit wider than 80/80 or 80/90 front and a 90/90 rear (unless you change wheel rims), stock size will probably be better if you can find them
Wider tyres WILL make steering 'too quick' and also slow bike down because of extra drag

 

[Erskine]

+1
Fitting taper race head bearings, air tight fork seals, synthetic oil to OEM volume and weight, new wheel bearings AND secure bracing from the mudguard, along with good brake pads / concentric drum (depending on model) will do wonders.
I.E. Blue print the f'ker to manufacturers spec and you'll be just dandy. I did and it and I have a front end I trust. If you have money to burn spend it on rubber and ally rims, in that order. If you go for longer shocks remember you are paying for the damping not for the springs. There is no such thing as a free lunch, expect to pay at least $200+ for a good set, unless you have the knowledge to tweek the Chinese 'piggy back' models to work properly. I bought some Taiwanese shocks marketed under loads of different names, even dime city sell them. They're copies of Girlings and are about $100. While they work as good as OEM if not better, they aren't really high performance units. Assuming everything else on the rolling chassis was spot on and I still had $ to burn, I'd buy the best rear shocks I could afford with a tailored spring weight. The 200 has a stiff frame so its all about the interface with the road.

If you are a pyschopath and do manage to get the bike to a point where it gets head shake and you need a steering damper, again the price reflects the quality of the damping valve not the anodising.