MadM
Pack Dog
Hello!
As we all know KLE has quite a low ground clearance, so i started searching around for info on how to get it a bit higher. After checking some forums I found out that the best way to raise KLE it to swap the dog-bone(two arms that link rear swing arm and shock together) for shorter than original. So i went on ebay and simmilar sites to find a set for my KLE. After some research I found out that thease things are quite expensive, 70+€ per pair. I didnt want to spend that much money for two smal metal parts, so I went to the garage with a caliper. I took the measurements of the original arms and started drawing a new set of arms on the computer. The original arms have holes 136mm(5.35 inch) apart, so I decided to cut them 10mm(0.39inch) shorter, making them 126(4.96 inch)mm. I draw them in CAD and than contacted a company that has a laser cutter and asked if they would be so kind and cut a pair for me. I have sent them the CAD file and they cut the arms for me out of 5mm thich stainless steel for just 20€ with shipping back to me. That is more than 3 times cheaper than any shop on inthernet.
Here are the pictures of the ones I draw and the original ones:
If you look good at both of them I made a design error. Compare both bolt holes, on the original one has more material going from bolt hole to the center of the bar, as in my design it goes from bolt hole to bar width a lot faster. I will keep an eye on this and if it starts to show signs of beeing too week I will draw up a new set.
Here you can see what i mean:
Green=original, red=my design. P.S.: Make a hole 15,5 or 16mm wide, i had to grind some of the material away
How to change the arms:
Well if you look at the assembly below the swing arm you will see two bolts holding the arms in place. Remove the bolts, swap the arms and bolt back on. But take care of bushings and barings inside. It’s also good to have someone with you to hold the wheel and swing arm up when you reassembeling it.
Here is a picture of description in workshop manual:
So what do you gain with doing this?
Well first of all you get aditional 5cm on ground clerance and seat height. The rear end gets high and gives you the feeling of leaning forward a bit, but not much. I saw Adventure MX to drop the forks down 1cm in the trees but I did not do that becouse I think that is not good for the forks.
(Picture taken form: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=24627.0)
Secondly the bike became more agile and responsive to handelbars and foot pegs input, and it also has a shorter turning circle. Off-road it floats over big bumps much smoother and I haven’t got the bash plat to knock on the top of ruts where I normaly would have. Although I will have to do some more testing in the spring as it is to cold to ride here at the moment.
Here is also the picture of the new arms mounted:
Overall this little change of parts made a big differance on how the bike handels and feels on all surfaces. So far I am happy with this set up. In the next week or so I will try to put a side picture of the bike before and after the raising.
Hopes this helps some of you!
See ya, Ghosty!
As we all know KLE has quite a low ground clearance, so i started searching around for info on how to get it a bit higher. After checking some forums I found out that the best way to raise KLE it to swap the dog-bone(two arms that link rear swing arm and shock together) for shorter than original. So i went on ebay and simmilar sites to find a set for my KLE. After some research I found out that thease things are quite expensive, 70+€ per pair. I didnt want to spend that much money for two smal metal parts, so I went to the garage with a caliper. I took the measurements of the original arms and started drawing a new set of arms on the computer. The original arms have holes 136mm(5.35 inch) apart, so I decided to cut them 10mm(0.39inch) shorter, making them 126(4.96 inch)mm. I draw them in CAD and than contacted a company that has a laser cutter and asked if they would be so kind and cut a pair for me. I have sent them the CAD file and they cut the arms for me out of 5mm thich stainless steel for just 20€ with shipping back to me. That is more than 3 times cheaper than any shop on inthernet.
Here are the pictures of the ones I draw and the original ones:
If you look good at both of them I made a design error. Compare both bolt holes, on the original one has more material going from bolt hole to the center of the bar, as in my design it goes from bolt hole to bar width a lot faster. I will keep an eye on this and if it starts to show signs of beeing too week I will draw up a new set.
Here you can see what i mean:
Green=original, red=my design. P.S.: Make a hole 15,5 or 16mm wide, i had to grind some of the material away
How to change the arms:
Well if you look at the assembly below the swing arm you will see two bolts holding the arms in place. Remove the bolts, swap the arms and bolt back on. But take care of bushings and barings inside. It’s also good to have someone with you to hold the wheel and swing arm up when you reassembeling it.
Here is a picture of description in workshop manual:
So what do you gain with doing this?
Well first of all you get aditional 5cm on ground clerance and seat height. The rear end gets high and gives you the feeling of leaning forward a bit, but not much. I saw Adventure MX to drop the forks down 1cm in the trees but I did not do that becouse I think that is not good for the forks.
(Picture taken form: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=24627.0)
Secondly the bike became more agile and responsive to handelbars and foot pegs input, and it also has a shorter turning circle. Off-road it floats over big bumps much smoother and I haven’t got the bash plat to knock on the top of ruts where I normaly would have. Although I will have to do some more testing in the spring as it is to cold to ride here at the moment.
Here is also the picture of the new arms mounted:
Overall this little change of parts made a big differance on how the bike handels and feels on all surfaces. So far I am happy with this set up. In the next week or so I will try to put a side picture of the bike before and after the raising.
Hopes this helps some of you!
See ya, Ghosty!
