Lowering a hawk for vertically challenged riders

[TotalitarianRuler]

An acquaintance will be visiting to examine my new hawk as he has an interest in buying one. I am 5'11 this machine is a perfect fit, the potential buyer is a foot shorter than me. I see sliding the fork tubes through the trees would take care of the front but has anyone shorten or swapped out the rear suspension?

[TotalitarianRuler]

I found an answer by searching the archives but I am unsure just how much an 11.4 inch shock would effect seat height
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...im/refuge08-20

[Marc Hufnagel]

Originally Posted by TotalitarianRuler

I found an answer by searching the archives but I am unsure just how much an 11.4 inch shock would effect seat height
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...im/refuge08-20

Each 10mm you go down on a shock is roughly 1" lowering at the seat. If the bike comes with a 320mm, a 290 would be roughly 3" of height reduction. From what I understand.

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by Marc Hufnagel

Each 10mm you go down on a shock is roughly 1" lowering at the seat. If the bike comes with a 320mm, a 290 would be roughly 3" of height reduction. From what I understand.

I can't see how that could be possible. Even if the shock was vertical, a 30mm shock height reduction is only about 1.2", since one inch is 25.4mm. 10mm is only .4". The more horizontal the shock is, the less reduction you would get from a shorter shock.

[culcune]

Originally Posted by TotalitarianRuler

I am 5'11 this machine is a perfect fit, the potential buyer is a foot shorter than me.

There is a seat cutting process one can do where inches are taken out of the seat. BUT, if this rider really is 4' 11", a Hawk is something they will have to get used to no matter how low the bike is lowered. Boots with big soles. But, to be honest, I think other brands of bikes should be researched. The Lifan XPect 200 is much lower from stock (32.7" according to American Lifan's site) https://www.americanlifan.com/208.html That is over 3" shorter from stock.

The more high end bikes from Pister Pro/GPX , Kayo, or Orion have adjustable suspension and might be able to get lowered dramatically.

Speaking of Orion, they do offer a 150cc pitbike that has all the street stuff and the specs for it say '33" or 32"' adjustable. It has good reviews. https://www.orionpowersports.com/pre...embled-tested/

Now, the issues with the Pitster, Kayo, or Orion bikes for Nevada if planning to get plates for a bike is they are all technically 'off-road dirtbikes' according to the EPA, and are certified as such. I understand that Nevada does not easily plate dirtbikes converted to street, so you might want to look into that. Did you get your Hawk plated?