Torque arm

geoffo · Post by **geoffo** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:08 pm

Hi
I have a year 2000 R1100s with sport pack (180 rear wheel ect)
Will a longer torque arm reduce the seat height and if so how much and will I have to adjust the front end?

Cheers,
geoffo

f90x · Post by **f90x** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:15 pm

geoffo wrote:Hi
I have a year 2000 R1100s with sport pack (180 rear wheel ect)
Will a longer torque arm reduce the seat height and if so how much and will I have to adjust the front end?

Cheers,
geoffo

yes it will.
not by much
you cannot adjust the front end without an awful lot of major work to the telelever arm. moving the fork tubes up in the triple tree has no effect as the shock is connected to the telelever from the frame. i think i'm correct with all that. not sure if one can get a shorter shock made for both ends.

metropolis2k · Post by **metropolis2k** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:44 pm

My first S had a longer torque arm and came with standard (non-sport) shocks, and the seat height was very low. I don't know what yours is now and I never measured it, but it was considerably lower than my GS or Boxer Cup I have now.

It didn't negatively affect the handling, I was perfectly fine on trackdays with it and I didn't notice it was that much harder to turn in as I got fairly used to it. The Boxer Cup I have now turns in much more quickly but that has a very short arm and the Ohlins set on their maximum length, plus has been setup properly to allow it to turn in quicker.

If you are concerned about the handling, aftermarket shocks allowing you to dial in the preload would sort out the geometry, but that's a pretty drastic (and expensive) solution!

Alternatively have you considered switching them for standard height shocks (you'd want to do both front and rear so you don't upset the geometry)

geoffo · Post by **geoffo** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:03 pm

Hi
Thanks for the info....
On the Sport package is the front suspension higher too?
I thought it was just the rear!

geoffo

tanneman · Post by **tanneman** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:15 pm

Yes, I believe. All 11S torque arms are 365mm centre to centre. If you have the yellow spring Showa shock then it can be swapped for the normal Showa shock. Or get the adjustable torque arm.

geoffo · Post by **geoffo** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:38 pm

Hi,
Thanks,
Ideally I would like to lower the bike by roughly about 1" (26mm)
What would be the easiest option?
1. Swap sport (Yellow) rear shock for a standard one or...
2. Fit a longer torque arm.

I appreciate you advice!

Cheers,
geoffo.

metropolis2k · Post by **metropolis2k** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 8:54 am

To be honest I'm not sure what the effect each one has (other than how they do affect the bike slightly differently).

I've got a spare standard shock lying around if you want it. It's not in very good condition and has done 45k miles but it would work to test it out and see what difference it makes if it helps. The only spare torque arm I have is a short one I'm afraid!

Merecat · Post by **Merecat** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:48 am

There was a link posted on here some time ago to a block which basically offsets the top rear shock mounting point and will lower the rear by 25mm
and keep all the drive shaft geometry.
Think it was sold by M&P for about £70.
Ill have a search

Merecat · Post by **Merecat** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:06 am

Heres the thread
The bit I was talking about seems to be no longer available, pity I would have got round to getting one........eventually

viewtopic.php?t=16551&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

geoffo · Post by **geoffo** » Wed Jun 18, 2014 12:37 pm

Hi All,

Thanks for all the bits of info!
Thanks metropolis2k for the offer of the standard rear shock,very kind.
Thinking again ...lowering the bike is going to be more trouble than it's worth!
Only reason I thought about it was that I've been used to 'flat footing' on my Triumph Bonneville but I can still get the balls of both feet down on the Beemer as I have on countless other bikes so no big deal just a case of getting used to a much bigger bike than the Bonnie!

I'm going to leave it as it is for the mo and see how I get on.
The R1100s is a really different beast compared to all the other bikes I have had so I'm going to put a few miles in and take it from there.

geoffo.

Merecat · Post by **Merecat** » Wed Jun 18, 2014 1:37 pm

Here it is

http://www.mfw-wolf.de/en/Lowering-Kits/Lowering-Kit43

metropolis2k · Post by **metropolis2k** » Wed Jun 18, 2014 7:24 pm

geoffo wrote:Hi All,
I'm going to leave it as it is for the mo and see how I get on.
The R1100s is a really different beast compared to all the other bikes I have had so I'm going to put a few miles in and take it from there.

geoffo.

Good plan I'd say. I'm used to tall bikes as my other one is a GS and I preferred to have the seat on the high position even though I'm not massively tall.

I'm on tip toes on my S, which as I said is about as tall as it can be made (short torque arm, tall seat and Ohlins adjusted to their highest) and I thought I would drop it in height when I got the chance but I'm completely used to it now.

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 11:25 am

With regard to torque arm lengths, the standard one is approx 385mm between centres. The easy mod to speed up the steering was to fit a GS arm, which is the 365mm one.
My vanilla 1100S needed plenty of effort to turn in slow cornering. I swapped the original 385mm arm for a GS one and the steering was much more neutral. I have subsequently fitted a Verholen adjustable arm.
Obviously the adjustable arm can be lengthened and it does make a marked change to the seat height.

Longer arm; lower flatter seat; slower steering. All other thing being equal.

I'd confirm the length of arm you have at the moment. You might have a short one, and an easy mod would be to replace it with a standard 385, possibly second hand from Motorworks et al.

Mark

geoffo · Post by **geoffo** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 9:41 am

I've just measured my torque arm and it is 385mm, making it standard.
I guess if I do decide to lower the bike a shorter shock or a lowering kit from MFW in Germany would be the way to go OR just get used to 'tippy toes'!
I think with being new to the Beemer after riding my Bonneville with both feet flat on terra firma I still feel a bit uncomfortable when coming to a halt.
I'm hoping I will get used to it which in fact I have done on previously owned bikes with highish seats for me (Triumph T509 Speed Triple,1050 Speed Triple,Buell XB1200 Lightning and Yamaha XT600E)

Did a longish ride on the R1100s yesterday and loved it!

Geoffo.

metropolis2k · Post by **metropolis2k** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 5:36 pm

That makes sense. I was reading on Pelican Parts forum that the earlier sports models of the S had a longer (standard) torque arm and longer shocks. While the later models had the shorter torque arm and slightly shorter shocks giving the same ride height.

Sounds like if you do want to lower it standard or aftermarket shocks would be the way to go.

www.boxertrix.com

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