Adding a lowering Kit to my 2012 Ninja 250R

[Bob KellyIII]

OK this is mainly for SHORT PEOPLE ! you tall folks won't appreciate this at all
I'm sure.... but for us Shorties it makes a huge difference !
To start off, I searched the web for a lowering Kit for the 2012 Kawasaki 250R Ninja... and found several to choose from, the one I decided on was fully adjustable in height so I could get the height I wanted...
(I want a 28" seat height if I can get it)
they had it in Green so I got it at $37.00 or so and it got here in 2 weeks or less... so it was not as long as they said in ship time !
.....
there's No instructions in the kit but with only 4 parts you won't need any.
it's very straight forward and easy to do, the only problem is not allowing the bike to fall over while your doing it ! ( as I have been known to do !)
.....
to get the bike up and the weight off the back tire I put the side stand down and then slid a screw jack under the back of the bike by the oil filter and put a thin board over the metal jack so as not to hurt the filter cover.
I cranked up the jack till the rear tire just cleared the ground...


here's a Picture if what I am trying to get to.... the Dog bones of the rear suspension...


with the weight off the rear tire I simply pulled the 2 long bolts holding the original Dog-bones on the bike. and then inserted the new ones that I had already set to length. and bolted them down with their new longer bolts.


I had originally set the length of the adjustable links at exactly 1" longer than the original dog-bones.... but I found that was too much it dropped the rear by 4.5" and alowed the tire to touch the inner fender when I bounced on it.
so I took them off and re set the links/adjusters to exactly 3/4" longer than the dog-bones, and that looked fairly good to me. so I left it there.
HOWEVER... the side stand is now too long and I will have to deal with that shortly. but next is to test ride the machine and make sure it works as I planned... the low points are the foot pegs so I should be safe there
i'm no Hot rod anymore so I expect it will be fine for me !
the seat height is 27"~28" now ! and is much MUCH easier for me to get on the thing ....
if your SHORT like me ....YOU NEED to do this !!!!! it's far safer to have your knees bent while setting on the bike , you can push the bike back with more force and actually maneuver it like you should be able to !
.....
Bob.......

[Bob KellyIII]

and I inserted the photo's in line as I typed this and I rotated all the pictures to reset the orientation bit, but alas, it did no good ! AURGH !
here's a Pic of the bike now....


Bob...

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by Bob KellyIII

and I inserted the photo's in line as I typed this and I rotated all the pictures to reset the orientation bit, but alas, it did no good ! AURGH !
Bob...

Did you rotate them multiple times to make them go a full circle? I understood Danno to say that.

[Bob KellyIII]

yes I did....
Bob....

[DannoXYZ]

Try cropping a little to actually modify image, then rotate 4x.

[Bob KellyIII]

Ahh ok I didn't do that ....
....
AHHA ! I did it !.... a tiny cropping to actually modify the pic and it saved it properly ....
thank you Danno ....Very much !
now if i can figure out how to insert the pic's in line instead of just attaching them to the post
i'll have it all figured out... i think..... lol....
Bob.......

[Bob KellyIII]

There Mission accomplished ! thanks guys !
Bob....

[Bob KellyIII]

Also I would like to add I had my Kid help me when putting on the new links as the rear tire and swing arm had to be raised up to accommodate the longer length of the adjustable links... it's critical to get the links adjusted to exactly the same length, and although I didn't do it, ( i probably will) adding a large washer on each side of the bolt will help keep dirt out of the o ring on the needle bearing or bushings in these pivot points... greasing them would be a good idea as well... I didn't ... OOPS !
....
Bob....

[Bob KellyIII]

here's a before and after picture .
....(the passenger's seat is down by 2" or 3 " on the Left.)
Bob...