If all goes well, I'll be buying a 01 F4i this weekend. First things first though, I want to know how to raise the bike up to stock settings, a girl owned it and lowered it 2".

I have a general idea, put the stock links on and raise the front of the bike accordingly. the main aim of this question is to find out how to raise the front, I understand the triple tree is important. I need to know how far up the TT is on your stock bikes, if anyone has pictures to go along that would help me a lot as well.

 

The stock height is 33mm (1.3in) between the top of the triple tree (top yoke/top bridge) and the top of the fork cap (not the damper adjuster, just the fork cap itself - the flat bit by the big hex nut). The 33mm of exposed stanchion is then covered by the clip on.

like this:

 

The factory Honda service manual lists the proper position/height & the process.
There are links here on the forum to download the online version.

As you can see in Donny's photo, the clip-ons stop just shy of the stop rings on the fork tubes.
Both triples have pinch screws. Once those & the clip-ons are loosened, movement will be easy.

Its very important that you support the front of the bike in some fashion to safely do this.
I use a front stand that lifts by the lower triple...makes it super easy to do fork work.

Good luck.

 

Thanks, Ill let you know when/if I get the bike how this goes

 

Well, I picked up the bike on Sunday : ) The guy said he didn't lower the front any, just got the aftermarket links and brought it down two inches. So, I figure this should be an easy job. Dang, I'm excited, I got a 250r last year to learn on so I could fully enjoy my dream bike when I got it. The day has come, happy valentines day F4i

 

ok, so I talked to the guy and they didnt lower the front at all. Given that, What do I need to do to raise the back? He said I would just need to replace the dogbones, but wouldnt I have to get a new thing (metal link that is inside the suspension coil)? or will that not matter. Im confused about this. Also, he recommended getting the suspension adjusted for my weight, what does this mean? is it necessary, if so how is that done?

 

I am doing this very same job. I lowered the bike and inch and REALLY didn't like the change in the way it road, so I'm going back to factory height but i'm going to soften the suspension so it will feel a bit lower for my weight.

When you go to the shop the mechanic he/she will have you sit on the bike and adjust the rear suspension so you are comfortable and the bike is safe to ride. He "should" adjust the front to how he adjusted the rear.

Thats what my mechanic told me so thats what i'm telling you. Hope this helped

 

Yargh.

My F4i was lowered as well when I bought it. To be honest the only right way to lower a bike is with a modified shock but you could also get away with using a lowering link and lowering the front end a bit. Just lowering the rear without lowering the front will be rather horrendous for your turn-in, amongst other things. Another good option would be a different seat. The problem with adjusting ride height at the dogbones or link is that it affects other things.

My lowering link was adjustable so it had 3 holes (3", 1", stock positions) so I had some buddies hold the bike up by the tail while I put it back in the stock hole, and then I did the same with the front end - had them hold it up and just dropped the forks into the tripples (raised the front all the way up).

You need to relieve pressure off the rear shock so putting it on a stand won't work, so you'll either have to lift it with people/ a hoist, or some other means that does not involve the rear swingarm. The front on the other hand is pretty easy with a helper.

Now as far as getting your suspension adjusted for your weight, there is really only so much that can be done with the stock fork and shock springs. They are designed to operate within a certain weight range. Still, by setting sag (spring preload) as close as possible and then adjusting the dampening, the stock setup isn't that bad.

 

I lowerd the front of my F4i and raised the rear. Lowerd isen't always a bad thing

 

Well I did the job yesterday, and the guy lied and did put a longer link in that put tier bike lower and longer dog bones. He stripped the bolt on the bottom of the link do bad it will never come out. But I replaced the dog bones so now it is just .5" lowered and handles soooo much better and it looks a lot better too. But now, since the front was never lowered, do I need to bring that down .5" too? Or would that small increment not matter? Btw thanks for all the advice this far, I had some buddies come over and lift the bike when needed and we put a big rubber mallet between the tail and tire to keep it jacked up. Haha is there any torque specs we should be aware of? We just tightened everything back tight as $#it?