"How low can you go" Grom build

Wasn't sure if this was appropriate for the Garage section or if it was just for cars, can be moved if needed.

After I did my ruckus build 2 years ago (which I regret not doing a build thread on)
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I decided to up the power last year and bought an r6.


In that time I realized that the power is nice, but the small displacement engines give me a different experience. That's why this winter I found a steal of a deal on a Grom, and figured I would finally do a build thread.

Here is how she sat when I got her:
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Bike already had Yoshimura everything. Exhaust, License plate mount, and the full decal kit

Plans:
- 6" Lower front suspension on Ruckus forks
- Custom air ride rear suspension
- Widened front and rear wheels
- Lowered Handle Bars
- K&N Cold Air intake (to make room for the air ride compressor)
- 7" stretch on the swingarm
- Remove Yoshi decals and more than likely wrap the plastics
- New low profile Hot Lap exhaust
- Integrated taillights
- Ruckeyes Headlights

How steal of a deal?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LilDrunkenSmurf

How steal of a deal?

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Was a little over 2k.
The guys nephew dropped it, hence all the decals covering up some scuffs, so I was able to get down a little more.
Every other one I saw was in the 3k+ area. Also I knew the value I was getting having the Yoshi RS-9 exhaust already on the bike.

Is that a yosher???? You know it'll be runnin 9's all day. Barely fast enough to keep ahead of the SNATCH chasin after ya. Keep the pics comin, guy!

Wow, awesome.

I'm gonna keep an eye out for one of these, always thought they'd be a blast.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Toilet_X

Is that a yosher???? You know it'll be runnin 9's all day. Barely fast enough to keep ahead of the SNATCH chasin after ya. Keep the pics comin, guy!

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Yeah a Yosher, but will more than likely be swapping Hotlap BOSO-ICHIBANBOSHI

That Ruckus is nicely done but im all for the Grom. I want one so bad

Update 1: Lets start getting low

first big change is the front forks. I researched a few options, the easiest by far was to just buy a lowering kit that replaced the springs in the fork.... but only 2 inches. If I am gonna go low, I am gonna go as low as I can. A little more effort/funds for a 6 inch drop seemed more appropriate. Essentially I am running Honda Ruckus Low Down forks using some specialized adapters.

Below you can see the difference in height.
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So its time to disassemble. I am not a fan of the grom headlight, so that was removed to get to the triple tree.
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And next... the front forks
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Pretty simple installation as I am pretty familiar with using ruckus forks already with a disc setup. I had to flip the tire around so the disc is on the opposite side, had to reverse the direction of the disc, and will eventually have to reverse the tires as they are directional (Although it will all change again once I get some new wheels in).
I quickly realized that I didn't consider that I could no longer use the OEM axel spacers with the smaller Ruckus forks. My normal parts supplier doesn't sell them, and others only sell the spacers within a kit, so I have taken some measurements and will find someone to mill them locally. I also need to switch out the stock brake caliper to a ruckus designed one, but I will wait on the spacers for that install.

After all is said and done, here is how she sits:
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So low that I can no longer run a front fender, and I have to relocate the horn to another part of the bike. Also, the kickstand is useless now, so its permanently on the rear stand until I can get a skid plate made to protect the underside of the engine. With this ride height, and knowing that I will be running air ride on the rear suspension, I need an exhaust that hugs the engine as much as possible to give as much clearance as possible while fully compressed. The Yoshi header is relatively close to the engine...but I don't think it is going to do the trick.

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I think next up will be the ruckeyes headlight setup, and then the stretch kit.

Damn man, looking great so far. :clap:

Update 2: Lets Get NAKED!

This is update may be a little boring, but it sets up for some more interesting stuff. After spending a good 30 minutes taking the seat off (A notorious issue on the bike), I was finally able to get all the fairings off. Once she was naked, you can really how tiny of a bike it actually is.

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Next order of business was removing the stock air filter box and replaced with a cone air intake. The usual reason people make this mod is to get a tiny bit more power of the bike, but I needed to do it to make room to mount my air ride compressor. Looking online, the air intake kit was gonna run me $175, which seems crazy. After posting in some facebook groups, I tracked a used kit for much cheaper. Here is a look at the stock air filter box, and the installed air intake mod from the other side of the bike. You can also see how much room it creates for the air compressor.

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Last minor thing, was now that the frame is exposed, I was able to relocate the horn to the frame as the lowered front end forced me to remove it.

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That's how she is currently sitting. I will take the decals off the fairings and clean up all the residue left from the glue, but the fairings won't be going back on until the very end, or at least until I get bored and want to see how she will look before wrapping them. Also, having the bike naked will make it a lot easier to install the stretch, as well as air ride and associated wiring.

Looks great, I want one!

While I think Groms are pretty lame looking (but I think Ruckus' are pretty sweet), I do appreciate a good build thread and this isn't disappointing. Looking forward to seeing more!

Update 3: Lets stretch this thing out

So the first thing I noticed when attaching my extension kit, is that I would have to remove my bike stand spools. Meaning without them, and the already lost kickstand functionality, the bike is now going to stay on jack stands until further notice.
I removed the tire and went to go bolt on the extension kit. You can see the difference in length with the tire off quite clearly.
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the kit wasn't as bolt on as I was led to believe, lets just say it didn't fit like a glove. I am not sure if it was the anodizing or not, but the bolt on extension did not fit in the swingarm. So after spending 2 hours with the dremel making sure not to grind off too much material. I finally was able to attach the kit.

Here is the comparison pre and post stretch:
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(Yes, I am aware my wood pile is not an acceptable jack stand....I just can't seem to locate my second one at the moment. I have one on order from Amazon)

ExtraSlow approves of your wood pile.

Update 4: Foreign Deliveries

So I got the new exhaust in and it is a thing of beauty. You can tell that this was made by someone's hands in Japan. I watched the mini moto lab mini doc on Hot Lap, and have a bigger appreciated the amount of professionalism that they put into them.
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Here is how it looks on the bike (Will still need to adjust some angles once the air ride is dialed in)
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My main reason for the exhaust purchase was to give me a bit more clearance given the low stance. Here you can see the difference between the Yoshi vs Hot Lap
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Also from foreign soil were the wheels. These were kind of a crap shoot, as after the purchase....the seller went radio silent for over a month. I was almost ready to dispute it on paypal. I mean, I did buy them from a shop based out of Israel who source them straight from Thailand, but yesterday...They arrived out of nowhere. I didn't want to look into potential vinyl until seeing the exact color of the rims, but once I had them I was able to find something that closely matches.

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My plan was to get the frame drop plate finished before installing the air ride suspension, but the more I think about it, I need to see how the bike sits on the most compression to get a better idea how to engineer the plate. It will essentially be my new kickstand, as well as protect the engine if I accidently ride it too low. All my research points to some solution that requires the stock kickstand to be cut off, but I really don't want to chop the frame unless its a last resort. Hopefully seeing it at its lowest point should spark some ideas.

Thai-israili rims are so hot.

Its been four days! The people are waiting for updates!

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Originally Posted by schurchill39

Its been four days! The people are waiting for updates!

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I don't have an official update yet other than I took a stab at vinyl wrapping, needless to say..... It's not as easy as it looks, and I get impatient easily.
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That's vinyl? Wow, looks like a paint job.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sk8r3124

Hopefully seeing it at its lowest point should spark some ideas.

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Nice.