garyboy wrote:thanks for replying, drumbrakes ...
did it work out ok?
any bottoming out issues?
handling ok?
... and how much did the seat lower?
and how much did you lower the forks?
Gary.
ps ... could this drilling be done with the shock insitu?
Bottoming out:
We lowered the bike about 3"/7.5cm at the rear.
As I understand it, based on the Honda quoted rear travel, the wheel "should not" hit the fender at full travel. I could be wrong. It's not something we worried about much.
The rider of the CRF250L is my wife, who is very light. Honda spring this bike to copewith all riders, including some of the beefier riders of North America. (I'm not saying it's ideal for all riders, just that it copes)
She weighs less than 50kg, so bottoming out on the stock spring, even with another 10kg of luggage would be virtually impossible. She also has a very non-agressive riding style, so no "big hit" reserve required.
Long term, we're looking at fitting a different shock with a softer spring and the right length so she can get full use of the available travel.
We lowered the fork about 1" / 2.5cm. That's as much as you can go due to the tapering of the fork stanchions.
This does tip the bike back a bit. Handling is probably a bit more "relaxed" but it still rides well.
You do need to adjust the headlamp angle! Even if you don't plan to ride at night, do adjust it, you never know when you may find yourself doing a 100 mile dash late at night along windy roads trying to find an open hotel. The ability to summon Batman is less useful than simply lighting the road in front of you. (he never turned up anyway, How far is it from Gotham to Nevada?)
Overall seat height? Probably 2" / 5cm lower than standard.
I would not recommend trying to drill it in situ.
(in fact, I don't recommend this method of lowering the bike at all. Make your own choice, based on your own judgement and knowledge of your own abilities)
You need to drill a hole in each side, n the right position, and they need to be as straight and perfectly aligned as possible.
You should remove the shock (not that hard really) clamp it down measure very carefully and drill pilot holes for both sides in one go with a pillar drill. you should then relieve the edges slightly with a de-burring tool.
If you do it on the bike with a hand held drill, it's going to be much harder to measure and punch the right centre spot. get that wrong, and you may find the lower part of the shock fouls on the link piece.
You'll also find the holes probably won't be straight. If you get that wrong, the lower shock bolt won't go back in, or you'll be twisting the lower shock mount, which is bad.
Frankly, if the idea of removing to upper shock mount bolt worries you enough to consider drilling the shock on the bike, this method is probably not something you should try. It won't save any time in the long run.
hmy: 
