Lowering the 2021 CSC RX4 front and rear.

[Bob Kelly]

Ok the proccess of lowering a RX4 is not all that hard you just have to have the stuff to do it with.
to Lower the front I simply bought some pivoting handle bar risers that fit into the original handle bar clamps and provide a place to put the handle bars that is higher and further back
this gets the handlebars out of the way so you can raise the front fork tubes up in the tripple trees to lower the bike....
I lowered mine 2" by raising the tubes 2" in the tripple trees
.... for the rear it is much more complicated, as I've discovered that just backing off the preload which does indeed lower the rear , but it also bottoms out the shock and the only suspension you have left is the flex of the tire.
so that is not the way to go....
I've changed the rear shock spring to a 400~450 lb/in. spring to make it a softer ride but it could go to a 350lb spring I think.
....
after studying the rear suspension and the short stroke of the original shock
I've come to the conclusion that the only way to lower the rear is by making a new lowering link for the rear one that is longer than the stock one.
Right now I am in the process of making that link
I could not find any 1/4" bar stock so I bought 3 pieces of 1/8" thick x 1.5" wide bar stock and I cut 6 pieces out of it 10" long ( which I will trim to size later) I drilled a 17/32 hole 5/8" from the end on one end for the bolt to go through and then cut a piece of 1" o.d. steel axle to 3" long and drilled a 17/32" hole through that as well then bolted the 4 pieces of bar stock to the round rod.... with that the 1/2" of bar stock added too much width to the rod so I had to trim it down to fit the original links width where it connects into the frame.... now with that measurement secure I will drill another hole
in the bar stock at a distance that is equal to the original hole spacing plus 1.5" and that should be enough length to drop the rear 2"
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EDITED:{{{ turns out 5/8" is about maximum length the thing can handle not 1.5"... i determined that distance by taking the lower link loose from the shock pivot and lowering the bike to a seat height of 28+ inches then measured the distance between the bolt holes, center to center.... any longer will not work as the swing arm's angle won't allow that but that is plenty low infact I had to add preload to raise it some !}}}
...
.....I will then take the pivoting link and bolt it together with the bar stock in place on the link to get it's width correct and then tack weld everything on place on the link sense the round rod/axle part is skinnier than the far end bolt hole hookup it is difficult to get everything just right so using the parts
they connect to is the key. there is a slight bend in each of the barstock sides I am making up and that is the main problem right now ...
do I bend the individual bars and then weld them together or weld them together and then bend them ? I plan on adding one more 1/8" piece to each side for added strength and perhaps a gusset or two not sure on that yet.
those bends are NOT necessary at all.... when assembled the link arms are straight (good to know if your making a lower link! ) see post below.
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that's all I have for now !
Bob......