2" Lowering Bones on C800................................By Mistress K

Thread reproduced with the express permission of Mistress K

2" Lowering Bones


My lowering bones came in from john at john's kits, and i decided to get right after it!



Here she is before lowering. looks nice, but i'd like the position of the rear mudflap a little lower, closer to the position of the front one.



So we start pulling pieces off, beginning with the side cover and tool box.

Time: 2 minutes
Tools needed: ignition key, phillips screwdriver

Instructions:
Unlock cover using key. once unlocked, pull forward mounting post out (front top corner of cover), then firmly pull down and out at the top rear corner of the cover to release rear mounting post from rubber grommet.
Set aside the cover. unlatch the plastic clip at top front of toolbox, then pull outward and up to remove and set aside. remove all contents and set aside.
Remove lower frame cover at bottom rear of tool box by pulling firmly to get mounting posts out of rubber grommets (one top, one bottom) and set aside. use phillips screwdriver to remove one screw from inside tool box near top front, and one screw at top rear (just above lower frame cover's original position).
set parts aside.



Now remove the rear chrome case

Time: 2 minutes
Tools needed: 4mm hex key socket, ratchet, 6" extension bar

Instructions:
Remove top front, bottom front and bottom rear allen bolts using ratchet and extension with 4mm hex key socket. The top rear bolt is fake! no need to touch it!. set case aside.



I also removed the right side cover and lower frame cover

Time: 2 minutes
Tools needed: 4mm hex key

Instructions:
Remove allen bolt from top of right side cover by the saddle with 4mm hex key. pull firmly away from the bike to remove mounting posts from rubber grommets (one front, one rear, i think..). set cover aside. then remove allen bolt from lower frame cover in behind pipes using 4mm hex key, and pulling firmly toward the pipes to un-mount posts from rubber grommets. once free, pull frame cover up and out, and set aside.
I also removed the rear right side cover, for no good reason other than to see what it took and what was under there.



All nice and exposed on the right side now. just need to remove the strut on the left side that holds the electrical box in place

Time: 2 minutes
Tools needed: 12mm socket, 10mm socket, ratchet, 6" extension bar

Instructions:

Remove the front bolt, which tends to hide behind some wiring, using the 10mm socket and ratchet. then remove the bottom rear bolt on the strut with the 12mm socket, followed by the top bolt (also 12mm socket).
Gently pull the electrical box out and set it down - there is no need to disconnect the wiring. sorry, I didn't get a good photo of this until much later!



This is tanker being a total bonehead, and looking like he's been possessed by the spirit of cletus the slack-jawed yokel.
He's also going about removing the top bolt from the wrong side!

Time: 15 minutes
Tools needed: 17mm box wrench, 14mm box wrench, 17mm socket, 14mm socket, ratchet, breaker bar (or piece of pipe that slips over the ratchet handle), flat-headed screwdriver, bike jack, rubber mallet, bamboo skewer of the kebab persuasion
instructions:
Now we remove the stock bones!
The first step is to get the jack under the bike, but don't raise it yet! simply position it under the frame, making sure that you are clear of the swingarm. now put a 14mm box wrench on the left (bolt) side of the top bolt on the stock bone, and if you're lucky enough to have a helper (it will be much easier if you do), have them get the 17mm socket on the right (nut) side of the top bolt and use the breaker bar and ratchet to loosen it off.
This will take some doing! you'll notice that our piece of pipe is about 7' long, and even with that kind of torque it took tanker (aka operation brute force) some effort to crack 'er loose.
Once you've got it loosened off, it's time to jack the bike up. raise it just until the rear wheel lifts off the ground and you can spin it freely.
Now use your flat bladed screwdriver and mallet to "persuade" the top bolt to slide out towards the left side of the bike, being careful not to hit the collar it sits in. now you need to remove the bottom bolt. do the same thing again with the bike still up on the jack (do not lower it back down). To remove the bottom bolt once
the nut is off (and due to the position, you'll likely have to use a 17mm box wrench to get the nut fully off), you will have to use the bamboo skewer (or other small item, like a hex key) to push the collar around the bottom bolt towards the right side of the bike. once you've got it out a bit, you can reach around and grab it from the right and pull it back manually. this will allow you to get the bolt out without hitting the frame.
Trust me - it works!



You can just see the new bone from the right side here

Time: 10 minutes
Tools needed: 14mm & 17mm box wrenches, 14mm & 17mm sockets, ratchet, loctite, new bones

Instructions:
To install the new bones, you essentially reverse the removal process for the stock bones. put the bottom bolt in first, then lower the bike on the jack until the new bones line up with the top holes. put the top bolt back in before you start tightening the bottom bolt, or the bones may shift and you'll have a devil of a time getting them lined up again.
Keeping in mind how hard they were to crack loose, i used blue (medium) loctite on the threads at the nut - don't want my arse end suddenly vibrating apart while riding! tighten everything down, making sure the bolt collars are centred back in the original position, and getting it all as tight as possible.



And here you can see the new bone on the left, with the removed strut and electrical box hanging down at the left of the photo

Now we just need to slap all the covers back on (though i took the opportunity to clean each one with lemon pledge before reinstallation -
Call me anal retentive if you want to, but it was easier to clean them before putting them back on than doing so while they're on the bike),
And we're done!



And here she is lowered - looks nice!



Here's the direct comparison of the pre- and post- shots - 2" makes quite a difference!