Extended shocks and leading links for the Trials bike

In an attempt to get more ground clearance, I fashioned up a set of temporary rear shock extensions, and a pair of permanent front leading links. I was hoping to gain around 2-inches both front and rear, which should help me get up and over a few more robust obstacles on the #3 lane.

The rear shock extensions were fairly simple, made out of a 2" block of aluminum. Drilled and tapped on both ends to thread onto the shock rod, and to accept a stud that would thread into the upper eyelet. these are temporary, because I actually have my eye on a pair of Betor trials shocks. These spacers mimic the length of the Betors.

Simple rear shocks extensions just to check height:

Up front, these old Hondas use a leading link that pivots in the rear, and acts on a vertically mounted coilover shock/spring combo. All of the gubbins are housed inside the front fork sheetmetal. Which means I had to be sneaky when creating new leading links, as I didn't want to have to cut away any sheet metal to gain access or provide more room for longer shocks.

Pair of leading links in unfinished form:

The results was a pair of aluminum (same material as the stock leading links) links with a gentle curve in them to clear the sheet metal housing. This relocates the front axle roughly 2-inches down. I'm going to put around with this setup a bit to see how it feels. If all seem right with the world, I will order up the rear shocks, and spend some time making the front links pretty. I figure an hour with the die grinder to slim them and knock over all the sharp edges will go a long way toward making them disappear. Right now they just look like chunks of aluminum.

C'