Twice now I have scrapped my cross over pipe. Once leaving my drive way when it scrapped on that 40 degree curb (I went down it in a slant with the curb on my right - not straight on) and the other was in a curve where there was a bump in the road while turning right. No, it wasn't a radical turn at any level.
I know the Ness' are 2" lower than the non Ness. If, and I say IF I wanted to get her to the "normal" height of a non Ness, is it just the rear shock that's different in the back? What's different in the front, if anything.
Aside from the scraping, getting her up will eleviate the issues associated with installing a hitch on a Ness. I need to do this over the winter.
I'm 6'3" so the lower stance of the Ness does nothing for me. I searched and got the Ness primarily because of the paint. The other changes are just a bonus to some degree so changing some things is ok with me. Function first is my goal.
So how heave are you. You have to put air in the shock for your weight. My 08 is as or lower then the ness models and I have no bottoming problems. But you have to watch and learn that some bumps and drive ways are dangerous.
You haven't had the bike that long so you just have to learn its a low slung bike.
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2008 vision
35 different model bikes over the years
Mpls,Mn. Please add your city and state after the model of bike you have. Click user pc at top of page and then far left click edit signature. Thanks
Dude, I know you have to put air in for each load. I'm 245lbs.
It's not getting the right air in for the setup I am speaking of. The Ness IS lower by it's build. PERIOD!
I found out on parts diagrams and such that the rear shock and the shock cam ARE different for the Ness'. That is what must be changed out.
1" can make a huge difference. 2" can make even that much more. I am intimately familiar with ground clearances and how little a change can make in the long run (offloading madness, rock climbing, buggy builds etc).
Twice now I have scrapped my cross over pipe. Once leaving my drive way when it scrapped on that 40 degree curb (I went down it in a slant with the curb on my right - not straight on) and the other was in a curve where there was a bump in the road while turning right. No, it wasn't a radical turn at any level.
I know the Ness' are 2" lower than the non Ness. If, and I say IF I wanted to get her to the "normal" height of a non Ness, is it just the rear shock that's different in the back? What's different in the front, if anything.
I haven't looked under the Vision, but I'm pretty sure it's like my XR. Mine has a shock and dog bone that sit vertically next to one another on a common linkage. I'm pretty sure that to lower it, you just change the length of the dog bone. You could go to the Victory site and pull up the rear suspension parts and check out the part number you got versus the one you'd need. Ground clearance is one of the best parts of the Vics. Shame they go screw it up to make some bikes more fashionable.
The shock/spring is shorter on the Ness. The Cam (which connects to the shock and that bone you speak of) is also different. Looking at the parts schematic, those 2 parts (shock and cam) are the only thing that should have to be swapped out. Dog bone is the same on both models.
With the way the Ness family does their bikes, chopping and lowering seems to be the standard. That has their place and I like mine. BUT... for what I'll be doing with it, I could use it higher.
I don't have my '12 service manual yet but I've been looking at a '08-'10 manual. That manual has different rockers for the Ness and Non-Ness and doesn't distinguish a different shock/spring.
....I wonder if there's anyone with a non-Ness Vision that would like to lower and swap parts. I wonder....
Mike - I have a '11 Ness Cross Country and have considered lowering it. I am KNOW that it was the same seat height as the non-Ness XC (26.1"). Since the Vision and the XC both share the same "core" frame, I would suspect that the suspension components are also the same. If that is the case, I would gladly swap with you. We may need some time to sort through the details though.
Many dealer's offer 3rd-party components to lower the cross-frame bikes and some are as inexpensive as $150 so I don't think you need to swap the shock at all. May just need to change the air pressure in the stock shock to adapt it to the lower setting (and visa-versa for raising it...I would assume).
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It's not just a victory.... It's MY VICTORY!
2011 Victory Ness Cross Country #120
Klockwerks Windshield, Garage Door Mod, Custom Ness Highway Pegs
I'm going to stop in and chat with tech guys tomorrow afternoon. I will pick their brains and see what they say. I'll find out about our two bikes too.
Ness versus Regular...suspension
Linear Mode
