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[Sledge]

Before and after pics.

Take off lower shock bolts, swing shock back, put on the adapters, use their bolts and blue locktite to fasten the lower shocks back on.  Looks like I have plenty of clearance for bags.  Going to test the bike first nice weather to see about clearance of fender.  Should be fine since the hd lowering shocks lower it more than the one inch these adapters do.  I'll post back on handling, etc.  Lowered it just enough.  Looks good, jiffy stand still has a good angle, feet more planted. 

Tips if you do this:  Saddlebags off, loosen lower shock nuts a bit before jacking up.  Use some blue tape to keep from dinging saddlebag support bars or pipes with wrench.  Jack up so rear tire is slightly off floor.  When putting the lower nuts that they provide back in you'll have to raise the rear tire a bit.  I put a flat shovel under it (seen in last pic) to lever it up and put a 2x4 under te shovel blade to hold it up.  Worked like a charm.  I know these tips are obvious to you guys/gals who do your own work but it might be helpful for newer grease monkeys.

Btw.  Like the quality on the Craftsman Pro lift I just bought but when I took it up higher it was hard to find the center of gravity on my bike.  Plus that thing is aluminum and it flexes back and forth a lot imho.  Good for moving the bike around though on first lock position plus one pump.  Anyone have any suggestions on lifts I'm all ears.  They all seem too narrow for the length of the bike to me and I don't like the flexion of the aluminum one at all.  Want one that doesn't take up too much room and isn't too expensive.  Craftsman Pro was 175 I think.

Sledge

[Sledge]

After

[Sledge]

before 2

[Sledge]

after 2

[Sledge]

Lowered it just enough imho.  I'll post back after road test.

Oh, Brukus locks go on easy, look effective.

Sledge

[sammy56]

Looks good Sledge. I also have the Craftsman Pro lift and I have the same thoughts about it.

[mjb765]

As far as jack's go...Pitbull or J&S is the only way to go..Not the cheapest out there, but you spent a lot on the bike, why go bargain on the jack?

Both high quality units...I went with the Pitbull--a little more money, but the jack lifts the bike higher up.

http://www.jsjacks.com/

http://www.pitbullmotorcyclelifts.com/

[Sledge]

Going for the J&S.  As you can see from the pics of my garage, I'll need the smaller of the 2 and don't need the extra height.  The Sears lift is going back.  Call me paranoid: I just don't like seeing 850# swaying in the breeze before it's a few inches off the ground.

Sledge

[Brukus]

Lowered it just enough imho.  I'll post back after road test.

Oh, Brukus locks go on easy, look effective.

Sledge

Thanks for the good word!

[Sledge]

Hey man, Navy Vet here too.  Thanks for your service!

Btw your Brukus locks are easier to fasten than the hd stock bail head fasteners, which can move out of alignment.  You can always use a bolt/washer/fastener combo you put together yourself but I'm a firm believer in supporting US made products if you have the choice, plus you give a discount for us on the forum.

Sledge

[Midnight Rider]

Sledge, you will like the J&S.  I've had mine since '06 and used it to jack up/support my '06 SEUC, '06 SEVROD, Yamaha Stratoliner, and now the '11 SERGU.  Even with all those different bikes, I have never felt like the bike was in jeopardy at all.  Everything is nice and stable and I have never tied the bike down to the jack, even when doing drastic things like pulling the wheels off and on.  I have the oil change pan for it as well, and it works great.  The only issue I've ever had was when I first got it and the bottle jack took a crap...called J&S and they had another one to my door in two days, no questions asked.  Short of a table lift, it's about the best thing going (I have not tried the pit bull).  I can roll my bike all over the basement while up on the jack without fear.

[Sledge]

Hey Rider was it lifted when the bottlejack failed?  Hopefully it didn't crap out all of a sudden and drop the bike.  Wonder what would you do if it failed and the bike fell to the stops, still elevated.

My J&S is 'sposed to be here by tomorrow.  Sears took the yellow pro back with no problems.

Sledge

[Midnight Rider]

Nope...it just stopped pumping up at all.  Leaky seal...they didn't even ask me to send it back, just throw it away.  They got a bad batch back then from my understanding.  This one has been going strong since'06.  I don't know what you'd do if it got on the stops and then failed, but I think that is extremely unlikely.  When I store the bike on it, I let it down to the first set of stop holes to take some of the pressure off the bottle.  If it got stuck there, you'd probably have to wait until you got a new bottle.

The thing is built like a brick chit house...back then, they had excellent customer service, and I would hope that has continued through the years.

When I'm detailing the bike's bottom parts, I jack it all the way up which lets me sit on my garage roll around stool and still get to everything without having to bend over.  I'm old and have a tricky back.  At table lift and scissor jack is the ultimate for servicing the bike, but if you don't have room for that, this is the next best thing, IMO. Even if a person has a lift, this is still a good thing to have around just for washing/cleaning the bike, IMO.  Like mjb said, it's not the cheapest out there, but in this case you get what you pay for.

[Brukus]

Sledge, you will like the J&S.  I've had mine since '06 and used it to jack up/support my '06 SEUC, '06 SEVROD, Yamaha Stratoliner, and now the '11 SERGU.  Even with all those different bikes, I have never felt like the bike was in jeopardy at all.  Everything is nice and stable and I have never tied the bike down to the jack, even when doing drastic things like pulling the wheels off and on.  I have the oil change pan for it as well, and it works great.  The only issue I've ever had was when I first got it and the bottle jack took a crap...called J&S and they had another one to my door in two days, no questions asked.  Short of a table lift, it's about the best thing going (I have not tried the pit bull).  I can roll my bike all over the basement while up on the jack without fear.

Hey man, Navy Vet here too.  Thanks for your service!

Btw your Brukus locks are easier to fasten than the hd stock bail head fasteners, which can move out of alignment.  You can always use a bolt/washer/fastener combo you put together yourself but I'm a firm believer in supporting US made products if you have the choice, plus you give a discount for us on the forum.

Sledge

Hey man. Just now saw this. Thank you for your service! Us Navy guys gotta stick together. And thanks for the testimony on the SaddlebagSecure. Just saw a post on another forum about another theft of bags. Broad daylight. Bags locked and bike covered. Can't be too secure.

[Sledge]

Report on the slam kit:

Bike rides fine, handles well in turns, lower center of gravity, easier to hold up, no floorboard grinding even in tight turns.  (I went pretty low too.)  Bumps felt fine, seemed like the shock compressed a bit more.

On my "03 (lowered front and rear) I got used to it feeling like it hit the bottom travel point and it could be jarring.  Current bike with the stock ultra shock it felt fine and I had to hit a big short sharp dip for me to even feel the difference from unlowered.  Bumpy railroad tracks felt fine.

I like the feel of lower center of gravity, it feels more controllable in turns and stops.  I'm amazed that I felt so much of a difference from one inch of lowering.

All in all I am happy with this lowering kit.  I would like to hear from more who try this as far as how it worked out on their bikes. 

Rider, oh man you were right I LOVE the J&S jack!  This thing is rock solid and I easily rotated my bike for a faster exit.  Moves around like it's floating.  A little push/pull on the engine guard is all it takes.  ZERO sway or flex.  Oh yeah if your garage floor is not perfectly level it will start to roll on it's own.  Screw down the rubber tipped stop feet since just leaning on it could send it across the garage.  Best jack I ever had.  Makes the cheapo "red" jacks seem like toys.

Sledge