I would lower my bike if I can do it cheap. I already put a lowering link on and pushed the fork tubes up in the clamps to the max. There is no preload on the rear spring. But, I still have trouble getting on and off with camping gear on the bike-it is pretty sketchy. I seem to only use about 8" of travel when touring, so I am thinking of putting springs from an SM in the fork. I feel like they should fit, and I am not sure if I need a SM damping rod or not. It would probably be a good idea, but if I never jump the bike will it matter? Any other parts I would need to change the damper rod? For the rear, can I bolt on a used SM shock? It seems like it would be the cheapest solution. If someone has had their shock lowered, how much was it, and who did you use?
Changing the spring isn't enough, the forks' travel has to be adjusted internally via a spacer, same for the rear (althugh more costly). I would strongly advise against loweing links, you could potentially come to the situation where the wheel hits the rear fender and the shock still has travel in it. SM shock would work but AFAIK it isn't that much shorter. Best option would be contacting a suspension shop, cheapest I dunno... Suspension ain't something I would cheap about
I don't know where you live, but in the US Durelle Racing has a lot of experience lowering bikes: http://durelleracing.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=95_153 He does all kind of suspension lowering: From conversion to flat track, to lowering dirt bikes for shorter people. Not sure he does Marzocchi/Sachs but you can always send him email and ask.
He got screwed this year: They changed the displacement rule for his category to allow the KTM Duke 790 to compete. He was already committed to riding the Aprilia SXV which gave up too many cc to be competitive. He is still the MAN, especially for converting MX bike suspensions to flat track. Here's my 450 after he converted my suspensions.
