Why do people stretch and lower sport bikes?

[Darrell]

I've been thinking about adding an older liter-bike to the herd and have been surprised at how many have been lowered and fitted with longer swingarms. Both those modifications make sense if one is going drag-racing, but not for a GSXR or an R1, at least they don't make sense to me. While I love that liter-bike surge on throttle, I want the bike to corner well, too.

Is there something I'm missing, or is this trend just a fad? Perhaps it's even a localized fad. I've been in Tennessee just over two years and don't recall seeing this when I was looking at bikes in WA.

[Evans Ward]

Just as you said, for drag racing and keeping the front end planted. I do believe many think it looks good too which I disagree with. If a fad, I wish it would go away. Not my cuppa hot Java either.....

[brrrappp]

"Because my riding buddy did it and he told me he can beat a Tesla "S" now so I know it works"

[85RZwade]

Maybe you should have stayed here in Washington...

[Smoker]

Both those modifications make sense if one is going drag-racing

Looks like you answered your own question.

GSXR and R1 seem like good choices for a drag bike.


....I lowered my supermoto bike so it's more comfortable for street riding.



Gonna hate on me, too?

[Darrell]

Maybe you should have stayed here in Washington...

I miss it, but had enough of WA politics and high taxes. I can ride with lighter clothing for more of the year here, too!

[Darrell]

Both those modifications make sense if one is going drag-racing

Looks like you answered your own question.

GSXR and R1 seem like good choices for a drag bike.


....I lowered my supermoto bike so it's more comfortable for street riding.



Gonna hate on me, too?

Makes sense to lower a bike to make it fit your stature. HD even sells "lower" bikes for those with shorter legs. I doubt that many of those stretched bikes I'm seeing are actually used for drag racing, but who knows?

[Darrell]

One of the greatest things about motorbikes is that they're relatively easy to modify and customize to fit one's own taste and requirements. I've seen a lot of bikes that have been modified in ways that make me cringe, but so long as I'm not asked to pay for it then it's ok by me.

I hadn't noticed the trend toward stretching street bikes until I began looking at used liter bikes for sale around here, and was surprised to see more than a couple for sale. It seems a shame to me to degrade the handling of a bike that's had so much good engineering put into it just to make it handle well, but to each his own.

[silverstrom]

I'm hoping the Japanese Bosozoku craze gets here soon

[Evans Ward]

^ Cool! They do some crazy things revving the engine too when the bike isn’t moving.

[Darrell]

I'm hoping the Japanese Bosozoku craze gets here soon

I love Japan! I used to for a couple of weeks most every year, and I really enjoyed looking at all the little tiddlers on the street. There was quite a bike accessory marketplace in Tokyo, too.

[Off Road]

I was at work yesterday and my colleague asked me if I saw the R6 that came in on the weekend.
I said no I hadn’t and he said I should go check it out.
From this angle it looks like an R6.
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R6 stretch A.JPG (100.44 KiB) Viewed 659 times

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But this one has a few mods.
First item on the list was to install a new front wheel and get rid of 1 rotor and caliper.
Who needs good brakes on a sport bike?
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Next. Shorten the exhaust, toss the baffles, get a really long swing-arm, and replace some of the oem parts with some pretty trick, red anodized pieces.
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R6 stretch C.JPG (132.44 KiB) Viewed 659 times

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[Off Road]

Obviously, he needed a wider rear tire, and as we all know, bigger is better, so he installed a 300/35ZR17 Shinko.
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The owner did a really nice job on the paint, the graphics, and the custom add-on parts.
He has pretty good attention to detail, and cosmetically the bike is very nicely done.
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R6 stretch E.JPG (101.63 KiB) Viewed 659 times

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Some of you may be wondering how he got the R6 drive chain clear a 10” wide rear tire.
He used 2 chains and a countershaft with 2 sprockets.
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R6 stretch F.JPG (103.33 KiB) Viewed 659 times

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The customer came into the shop today to see if we found out why his engine is making a ticking/knocking noise.
The boss was on the phone, so I talked to him for a bit.
I really wanted to ask him what the hell he was thinking when he did all that to a 600 cc sport bike.
But I figured that that might be rude, so I tried the subtle approach and asked him if he had owned the bike for long.
He said it was his first bike and after he bought a new R1, it was just sitting in the garage.
He didn’t ride it anymore but he didn’t want to sell it, so he decided to turn it into a unique, one of a kind show bike.
Said he’s had it several shows and won a couple of trophies.
So, that’s cool.
I definitely like some of the mods that he made to the bike, and while it may not be my dream motorcycle, I can certainly appreciate the skill and craftsmanship that went into designing and building it.

[MK]

The excuse "He didn’t ride it anymore" explains a lot.

But why he was bothered by engine noises then or why did he leave the engine in at all?
I mean it'd save at least 50kg when he'd scrap the whole lot of unnecessary things...