I read about a lot of guys putting lowering links on their DS's, but I ride mine more in the dirt than I do the highway. Most of my highway riding is spent getting from trail to trail, so I've been thinking about getting links to raise the rear end but don't know anyone who's actually done it (which could be telling me something, right there). I've already brought the triple clamp up as high as it would go & have plans to send my forks/shock to MotoPro in the next couple weeks.

What can you guys tell me about the pros & cons of doing a lift? What would I lose by doing this? Any advice would be great, thanks!!

 

I have a 2009 KLX250SF and I found it to be a little too low for me... I bought a raise kit from eBay (exact same as the Kouba lowering kit but raising) and I do not see a difference in riding... I cannot help you for the dirt experience but on the road (except the highway which the bike is not made for anyway) it works fine.

You should buy the raising kit and experience by yourself... If I remember correctly, the kit was like ~$30 shipped...

If I find the link to another kit, I will post here.

Found the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2009-...Q5fAccessories

That guy is selling all type of raising/lowering dog bones for our bikes and other bikes...

 

Only bike I ever rode with a link was a lowered DRZ 400 and it had a negitive overall affect on the way the bike handled, not so sure about raising it though.

 

Thanks for this. I guess I'll give it a try & see how it goes. I'll keep you posted!

 

I got the raising links for mine. Noticed nothing other than the bike sits a little higher. Also put on bar risers.

I'm 6'1, the bike felt like a mini bike before the risers and links. It feels good now, though I can still flat-foot it.

 

I have unshortened 2001 KX500 forks on my 09 KLX250S. To raise the rear a bit I installed a set of "dog bones" from a 2000 KLX300. The bike rides fine both on road and off road. The dog bones being shorter actually stiffened up the rear a bit(lever ratio). It made it that much better for off road ugliness.

Just my 2cents.

 

Same as CousinLarry for me...

 

This is all great to hear, thanks for all your help. I went ahead and ordered a set of dog bones for mine that are supposed to raise it 1". I would imagine that, plus a MotoPro upgrade all the way 'round will make a huge difference. It seems like most of us have modded these bikes to be waaay different than the ones sitting on the showroom floor. IMO, mine is almost nothing like the bike it was when I brought it home. Everything I do to it, I like it a little bit more.

 

Here's what John at MotoPro had to say about it:

The lower chassis height starting in 09 reduces suspension travel and ground clearance a little bit. The problem with replacing linkage parts is you alter the leverage ratio so my valving and spring calculations will be affected. I would rather perform our suspension work on your bike with stock linkage components in place. You will notice a significant increase in performance and ride quality. Offroad / woods control and handling will be on par with most dirt bikes. Don’t worry about the total travel.

 

John's right in that quality of travel usually trumps quantity of travel within reason. You would steepen the head angle of the bike with raising links which may or may not make the bike a bit twitchy in certain situations. I think the only time I would install raising links would be in a case like cpr1's with a longer fork on front. Otherwise I think you might add a little instability to the bike's handling. But I haven't done it, so I'm just speculating. I hate twitchy front ends for off road use. I'll give up a bit of quick handling to gain/retain stability in ugly, fast conditions. You're also raising the bike's center-of-gravity. Where you ride may make the difference.