Okay, let’s talk about the Ninja 650 seat height. When I first got my bike, I was thrilled. It’s a fantastic machine, really enjoyed the power and handling right out of the box. But, I gotta be honest, hopping on it, I noticed the seat was a bit up there for me. I’m not exactly short, but not super tall either. On perfectly flat pavement, I could manage, maybe on the balls of my feet sometimes. But dealing with uneven roads, or stopping at lights on a bit of a camber? That’s where I started feeling a little less planted, you know? Not the most confidence-inspiring feeling when you’re trying to hold the bike steady.
So, I figured I needed to sort this out. Didn’t want to feel wobbly or risk a silly drop just because I couldn’t get good footing. I started looking into what options I had. Read some forums, watched a few videos. Basically, it boiled down to two main paths: getting a different seat, like a lower profile aftermarket one, or installing lowering links for the rear suspension.
Figuring Out the Plan
The low seats seemed okay, some looked pretty comfortable too. But they often cost a fair bit. Plus, I kind of like tinkering with my bike myself, getting to know it better. The lowering links seemed like a more direct approach to actually changing the bike’s stance, and honestly, they were cheaper. Seemed like something I could handle installing in my garage.
So, I decided the lowering links were the way to go for me. Found a set online that looked decent, claimed about an inch or maybe a bit more drop, which sounded about right. Placed the order and waited for them to show up.
Getting Stuck In
Once the parts arrived, it was time to get to work. First step, naturally, was getting the rear wheel off the ground. Pulled out my rear paddock stand, got the bike lifted and stable. You definitely want it secure before you start messing with suspension parts. Safety first, always.
Then I had to find the stock suspension linkage. It’s tucked away under the bike, connecting the swingarm to the shock absorber. Took a good look, even snapped a few pictures with my phone so I wouldn’t forget how the original parts were oriented. Highly recommend doing that.
Needed a couple of wrenches for the bolts holding the stock links, I think they were different sizes front and back, but can’t recall exactly. Those bolts were torqued down pretty good from the factory, so it took some proper effort to break them loose. A breaker bar helped a bit.
- Got the bolts out on one side.
- Carefully removed the original metal link piece.
- Slid the new lowering link into place. It looked different, shorter holes or something, which is how it lowers the bike.
- Lined everything up, put the bolt back through.
- Did the same process on the other side.
Getting the holes to line up perfectly while holding the new link and maybe wiggling the swingarm slightly took a bit of patience. It wasn’t super hard, just a bit fiddly. Once they were in, I made sure to tighten the bolts back up properly. Used my torque wrench to get them to the specified setting – you don’t want suspension bolts coming loose, that would be bad news.
An Important Side Effect
Alright, links installed, time for the moment of truth. Lowered the bike off the paddock stand. And yeah, immediately I could feel it was lower. Sitting on it, my feet were much more comfortably on the ground. Success! Well, almost.
Then I went to put the kickstand down. Uh oh. Because the whole rear of the bike was now lower, the original kickstand was too long. The bike stood almost vertically, super unstable. It felt like a stiff breeze could knock it over the other way. This is a really important thing to remember if you lower your bike – the kickstand geometry changes!
So, that meant another job. Had to sort out the kickstand. Some people get theirs cut and re-welded, but I opted to just buy an adjustable kickstand made for lowered bikes. More waiting for parts, sigh. Swapping the kickstand itself wasn’t too bad, usually just one main bolt and maybe a spring to deal with. Got the new adjustable one on and set it so the bike leaned over at a safe angle again.
Was It Worth It?
Finally, everything was sorted. Took the Ninja out for a proper ride. The difference when stopping was huge. Flat-footing it, or very nearly flat-footing it, just felt so much more secure and confidence-inspiring, especially in traffic or on iffy surfaces. Slow speed stuff felt easier too. Honestly, for my everyday riding and weekend cruising, I didn’t notice any negative impact on the handling. Maybe if you’re scraping pegs on a track you’d notice the geometry change more, but for me? Nope. Just felt better, safer.
So, that’s my experience lowering the Ninja 650. It involved getting the tools out, a bit of wrenching, dealing with the unexpected (but common) kickstand issue, but in the end, I’m really glad I did it. Made a good bike fit me perfectly. If you’re finding the seat height a bit much, it’s definitely something to consider.
