Is it safe to lower the suspension on a sports bike?

I am 5'7" with a 28" inseam. I want to buy the Honda Interceptor which has a seat height of 31.7 in. How low can I safely lower the suspension assuming that I will carry a passenger sometimes? I know BMW offers the low seat/low suspension option on its F800 STs. Why can't Honda just do the same?

All sport bikes come balanced for a single rider with adjustability for comfort, ride and performance. Unfortunately not all come with height adjustability. The reason is simple. They are not designed for it. The company won't offer it because of liability issues. If the home company has no kit to adjust it then for that particular bike it is not safe to do so. That being said, you can get just about anything you need if you look hard enough. Myself, I wouldn't do something the company wouldn't for safety reasons. The final decision would be up to you. If you are planning on a passenger then you should consider their safety first. If you do find a way to lower it then tell them before they ride with you about the adjustment.

yea it should be fine, HAPPY EASTER

If you do it right, yes
doing it right means shocks that are designed for lowering. They will be more stiff than the original. It also depends on the roads where you love. If you live in chicago with all the potholes this year, I wouldn't recomend it, but if your roads are normally good, you won't have to worry about that

Ok here we go......Honda doesn't offer this option because the bike is set up for all types of riders if they did this it would interfere with taller or heavier riders. Back to your question.....you can lower the rear suspension to get the seat height down......but it's not gonna handle the same. Hope this helps.

first off when you change the balance on tour bike it leaves to danger to you and everyone you ride a a passenger. a bike come balanced from the factory and shouldn't be changed to much. I have a 1200 pound Harley and i put lowering kits on the back so i could put both my feet flat on the ground at a stop. well to my suprise i get a better & smoother ride at a 70 mph, but if your bike don't have air shocks to compensate the passenger's weight you might have trouble.

Some dealers in the UK offer lowering kits for certain bikes. Provided you lower both front and back the geometry of the bike will stay the same, you just loose some ground clearance.Have you thought about having some of the padding taken out of the seat? it may work out cheaper.

Because it's an unfair world for short people. You just have to suck it up and get a lowering kit.

I did that to my Magna and to my ZX6R.

On the Magna they replaced front and rear shocks. I liked how low it was but watch OUT for those potholes. Oof. Bumpy roads were miserable.

On the 6 they threw it a dogbone and who knows what else. I also got Convertibars. This is a much more civilized ride, but I only lowered it to about 28" whereas the Magna was down to 26"

So keep road conditions in mind. And for the most part, it will be just fine for the average rider.