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LOWERING BONES INSTALL- detailed pics

138K views 257 replies 136 participants last post by  RFM1009 
#1 · (Edited)
First off, thanks to Delmustator for his tutorial, but for some reason, I needed more information than his tutorial provided. I hope that the combination of both of our tutorials answers any questions that you could think of during the install. Here Goes:



This is my bike before starting the bones install. Note the position of the rim and the trim piece above.



Start by removing the skid plate under the bike before jacking. I know that some say that it doesn't need to be removed, but I noticed that the bike sat much more solidly on the jack without the piece on as it is slightly rounded and narrower which made the bike less stable....which made me nervous.



The side cover comes off first. It has 2 push in connectors on back and a third that the upper trim attaches to. pull gently until the bottom two release and then push in to release the top one. See picture below.



the back of the sidecover.



A picture of the mounting points for the sidecover. Note that I also removed the trim bolt in preparation to remove the upper side trim.



I removed the side trim which has the same push-in connectors. At the top you will see a single special connector. Take a small allen key and push the center portion down and this connector will come apart. Here is a pic of the special connector beside the hole it was in.



Set the side trim on top so you dont have to disconnect the seat release cable.



The chrome drive cover needs to come off, and is held by 2 remaining allen bolts. Remove and set aside. (the 3rd upper trim bolt was already removed in the previous step)



The side cover bracket needs to come off. 2 bolts come out and set aside. Good idea to keep all the bolts with the respective parts, so you don't get confused as to which bolts go where.



Next, you have to take off the "resistor thingie" (this is offical lingo for this part:joke:) Note the 2 connectors which have push in tabs to separate them.



Need to remove the "resistor thingie" bracket. Set aside.



Here are the exposed bones. As Delmustator mentioned, remove the bones in this order.



I had real trouble with removing the bolt on the right side bone. I ended up using a ratchet on the far side, a box wrench on the near side and a hammer to give the ratchet a few whacks to unseize this bolt. Be careful not to round off the bolt!!!

Also, note the direction of the remaining bolts, if the shock blocks their removal, try moving the jack farther forward. It will be tight, but they should come out.



A picture of the stock bone beside my cycle house 2 1/4 bones. Thanks DLP! (Shameless Plug...) Don't be alarmed if they are almost the same length, Kyrider assured me that this was normal through a quick reply to my post, and I stopped worrying that they had sent me the wrong ones.



A picture of the bones installed. Be sure to use a good quality grease before installing the original metal sleeve that just slides out of the old bones very easily.



Here is a picture of the bones installed. From here, all you have to do is reverse the disassembly procedure to get everything back together.

Note: I also used a trolley/floor jack under the rear wheel to raise/lower the wheel which will align the shock with the bolt hole and allow for easy bolt reinstallation.



Here's a picture of the finished bike. It looks much better and meaner!! The seat is noticably lower to sit on.

I did use a couple of pieces of wood under the rear wheel to allow for jack removal, and then rolled the bike off the wood. I think my jack is low enough that it isn't a problem though, but I haven't checked yet.

Hope this helps you with the install of your bones. Good Luck!!!
 
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17
#5 ·
I have noticed no change in handling or cornering characteristics.:a18: I do not scrape pegs during regular driving, but perhaps someone coming from a sportbike background and taking corners very aggressively would find any lowering treatment to be a problem.
 
#4 ·
I wished there was some way to avoid that step. Trust me, I moved the shock left, right, up, down to try and free the bolt without removal, but it was not to be. Perhaps having the motorcycle jack situated further forward would have assisted, but at the risk of an out of balance situation I guess. I would love input from others on that subject.
 
#8 ·
to get the shock to line up with the new bones just stack a couple 2x8s or so under the rear tire. slowly lower bike putting upward pressure on the rear tire. the bolt will line up and slide right in.
you will scrape regularly at 2.75...took mine off and reinstalled stockers.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I must admit...the looks are great with 2.25 bones , but it does rip the hell out of the heals on my boots and my pegs are as good as worn away now....if it wasnt for the scraping and worn out boot souls id give 2,25 100% ...but the sparks im leaving around our UK round abouts are getting outa hand now!! ???


 
#13 ·
Good write up but you do not need to remove the shock. I have done about 8 sets of these now. You put 2 boards under the rear tire and let the jack down and it releases pressure on bolts. You have to play with it sometimes but I have no problems. From bringing the bike in, putting it on the lift and getting the tools to the bike back off the lift and tools put away in 40 minutes.
BigPapa knows the 9 inside and out! He's done a lot of work on mine and has a vast knowledge of this steed!
 
#16 ·
CanadianM109R, great write and pictures bro! :bigthumbsup::bigthumbsup:

I've had mine on and off a few times and never removed the shock either. Maybe I put my jack a little further forward. I usually break the bolts loose with the bike on the ground so I don't worry about it moving. I then jack it up and then lower it until the rear tire is just touching the ground, then remove the bolts. Having the rear tire on the ground takes the pressure off the bolts. I've also left the tire off the ground and placed a 2x4 under it that I could move up and down with my foot (or have my wife do it) while I pull the bolts out.

Same thing putting them back in, I adjust the bike height to get the holes to line up.

It's probably a little easier on mine with my single exhaust too.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Excellent additional tutorial :bigthumbsup:

As for the shock, I never remove it, it's just a matter of jack placement. Then find that sweet spot by raising or lowering the bike on the jack and the shock goes on/off with ease.

Note: I have found inconsistencies when it comes to the bolts. Some have been snug while others required a jack hammer to get loose. I think I pulled my left nut muscle on one once..
 
#21 ·
Lowering bones install

Hi all,

Don't mean to be a pain but several times it's mentioned "no need to remove shock".That's right there is no need to remove the shock entirely, i think that this is a confusing statement . What it should say is "only need to remove bolt#1", to drop shock out of the way so can remove the other bolts ie #2 and #3. Other wise very helpfull how too.

Note.. the bottom bolts either side of the bones should, always be positioned from the inside out so that in the event of the nuts ( unlikely but possible) coming undone cannot come adrift completely.

Happy days ,

Gez.
 
#22 ·
Canadian...

Thanks so much for the post.
I used it to lower my bike today.
Used 2.25 cycle house.

I'm so happy I didn't pay Suzuki to do it for $130.
I went to Sears instead and got myself a 260 piece set of tools :bigthumbsup: that were on sale in Sears for $199.99
Now I have tools for life and can do more work myself.

Thanks to my friend Andrew and Damaso for the extra set of hands.

We didn't remove the shock and no motorcycle jack either, we used a car jack to lift the bike and then slid a cinder block underneath. When we couldn't remove one of the bolts on the bones, we just lifted the bike and moved the cinder block forward a little to give the shock more leway....

Yeah it was crazy but you gotta work with what you have :p

Thanks again Canadian :a18:

p.s. The bike looks BADASSSSSSSSSS.
It's 2.25 but looks a lot lower then your pics.
 
#24 ·
I have a question. The DLP page says "The 1.5, 2.25 and 2.75 use the bushing that is installed in the stock bones. The 2.0 and 3.0 version do not use the stock bushing."
So do the 2" bones come with the bushings they need, do I have to buy them separately, or do they not need bushings at all? If I just go with 2.25" do I still have to mess with the bushings?
Sorry if this sounds kinda ignorant.... I'm thinking of putting 2" bones on my bike, but want as much detail about it as possible before I drop $100 on bones.
 
#26 ·
I have a question. The DLP page says "The 1.5, 2.25 and 2.75 use the bushing that is installed in the stock bones. .
The bushing is no big deal.
You just take it out of the stock bones, no pressure or strength needed.
You just push it with your finger and it comes out the other side.
Then you take that (it's metal btw not rubber) bushing, grease it up and slide it in the 2.25 bone. & that's it.

Then you can slide the bolt thru with no free play.

Trust me, super easy...
 
#27 · (Edited)
Just glad to help my fellow 9'ers :bigthumbsup::bigthumbsup: Trust me, you guys have also given me a world of information to use on my bike. This site really rocks both in the quantity of information available, and the great attitude and generous nature of all the riders on here! My hat is off to everyone on here!
 
#29 ·
CANADIANM109R - thank you for the "how to" guide. Lowered my m109 this evening with 2.75 bones. Bike looks great.

I noticed some people had to remove the shock - there is no need to remove the shock in order to remove stock bones. Easy way to get around it place bike lift closer to the engine, so the schock is not blocked by the lift rails. As you remove all bolts, shock will drop down slightly to allow enough room to allow bolts removal.

My recomendation on the tools to use to replace bones:

1. Motorcycle Lift
2. Craftsman 8 pc. Standard Pawless Ratcheting Combination Wrench Set
3. Hammer
4. Flat head and phillips scredrivers.
5. 4x4 lumber - it seem to be helpful to place it under the rear tire, when mounting new lowering bones.
 

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