Motorcycle lowering kits typically bring the rear end down two inches.
Installing a lowering kit on the Harley-Davidson FXSTC Softail Custom motorcycle lowers the center of gravity of the motorcycle, making it easier to handle and easier to mount and dismount. Installing a lowering kit on a motorcycle also significantly reduces its turning clearance. With a lowering kit installed on your FXSTC, make sure to allow plenty of room in your turns to prevent grinding the foot pegs on the asphalt.
Instructions
1. Raise the FXSTC with a motorcycle lift until the rear wheel is approximately 3 inches off the ground.
2. Place a wooden block under the rear wheel so that it is supported. From under the motorcycle, you will see two large cylinders that run parallel to the direction of the motorcycle. These are the shock absorbers.
3. Unbolt both shock absorbers from the frame of the motorcycle and remove them using a 3/8-inch drive socket set.
4. Place the shocks one at a time into a hydraulic press so that you can compress the spring inside. They should be in the hydraulic press so that the stud of the shock is facing upward and the round eyelet is at the bottom. This gives you access to a retaining ring on the inside of the shock cylinder that will become visible when you compress the shock's spring.
5. Remove the retaining ring with a set of needle-nose pliers, then slowly release the pressure on the shock.
6. Pull the shock absorber out of the spring cylinder. No tools are required to do this.
7. Place the shock absorber in a bench vise with the round eyelet ring at the top. At the end of the shock where the stud is located, you will see an assembly that consists of a hex nut, a metal plate with four holes, another hex nut and a flat-sided round nut. Secure the shock in the vise by clamping the vise on the lower hex nut. With this in place, use an adjustable wrench on the uppermost hex nut.
8. Unscrew the shock absorber from the nut in the vise when the assembly is loosened. Secure the flat-sided round nut in the vise, then loosen the hex nut with the adjustable wrench. The threaded screw and flat-sided nut are the parts that will be replaced with the lowering kit.
9. Screw the lowering kit threaded screw with the flat-sided nut into the hex nut and black, four-holed plate in the same manner that the stock shock stud was mounted. Run a screwdriver through one of the holes in the plate to prevent it from turning, then tighten the hex nut securely in place.
10. Reassemble the shock absorber and spring unit in the opposite way from which it was disassembled, applying thread locking compound to the screw shaft of the shock where it screws into the assembly you just put together.
11. Reinstall the shocks into the FXSTC, making certain that each of the mounting bolts is tightened to an equal number of turns to ensure that the shocks are correctly adjusted.
Tags: shock absorber, absorber spring, adjustable wrench, flat-sided round, hydraulic press
