When I bought mine, RMS adjusted the suspension just a bit for me and that helped. Do that before you lower the bike.

 

There are a couple of things like getting the suspension setup, shaving the side of the seat etc. Lowering is an option but I wouldn't go more than an inch....

 

The cheap and dirty way to do it is slack off the preload on the rear and let the forks slide up in the clamps a little.

But PLEASE DO NOT DO IT THAT WAY ! ! ! ! Yes sliding the forks up is fine but slacking off the spring in the rear will make the bike handle like hell and feel like hell when she rides it.

What is needed is some new link plates or a new knuckle depending on what the suspension of the 500 looks like underneath.

And Skydivesonic has the right order of work to do this. FIRST you should get the saddle reshaped to both thin it and make it more narrow near the tank so she both sits lower and can also stand with her legs as vertical as practical. Only then should the bike be lowered by up to but no more than an inch to finish it off. Any more than that and there's all sorts of complications both mechanically and from a riding standpoint with the chances of dragging mufflers or other hard bits in even a moderate lean corner becoming far more likely.

 

The cheap and dirty way to do it is slack off the preload on the rear and let the forks slide up in the clamps a little.

But PLEASE DO NOT DO IT THAT WAY ! ! ! ! Yes sliding the forks up is fine but slacking off the spring in the rear will make the bike handle like hell and feel like hell when she rides it.

I do agree that dropping the front triple clamps and changing rear preload only is probably not the correct way. But you may benefit from leaving the triple clamp alone and adjusting the preload at both ends. Depending on what your girlfriend in all her gear weighs you may find that there is too much preload at both ends and it is adversely affecting the ride height.

In any case I'm sure RMS could set the static sag for you. I'm assuming that the forks on that bike will not have external preload adjusters so I guess adjusting the preload will involve busting open the forks and changing the length (making it shorter) of the spacer on top of the fork spring. The rear should be just a mater of winding a little less preload onto the shock. Not too hard if you have the correct ring spanner (and a royal PIA if you don't)

It is my understanding that if this is done at both ends of the bike you could increase the sag a reasonable amount and she'd be able to touch the ground better.

 

Everything you and her could ever want to know about that bike:

http://www.ex-500.com/

 

You can cut the seat down quite a lot and it will still be comfortable. My girlfriends 500 has the seat done this way and it worked very well for her without dropping the suspension.

 

Thanks for all the input guys, i did some reading on it and as some of you said you can play with the suspension yourself but it doesn't sound like the greatest idea.

I took it down to an upholstery place and they said for about $100 they can take the seat apart, shave about 3/4 of an inch of the foam out and still have a lot left, and then recover the seat, giving it a lower seat hight.

I think that's the easiest and safest way, then there will be no scraping of anything on speedbumps or corners in the future for her.

Thanks once again for the words of wisdom.

 

The quality of the ride could still improve with having the preload set for her weight and riding style. It's probably not pressing but something to think about.

 

The issue with setting the preload to match any rider's weight is that you are most typically looking to stiffen the preload rather than soften it. In her case this may not apply but the goal is to set the suspension for around 1/5 to 1/4 of the total travel in sag when the rider is sitting on the bike in the usual riding position. And that's still quite tall. So what is needed is to move that whole travel range to a lower setting by altering the linkages to the swingarm and moving the fork tubes in the clamps.

 

fog bones

http://www.ex-500.com/index.php

 

You mean dog bones right?

 

http://www.ex-500.com/index.php?topic=8234.msg100410