Any Experience of Front End Wobble - Page 3 - Ducati.ms

Willie B · Feb 6th, 2012, 10:23 am

Were you riding in wind gusts or heavy truck traffic? Approaching and overtaking a truck at speed does cause the bike to dance around a bit, but riding on smooth pavement void of truck traffic is very smooth on my bike. If you want to experience something horrific, try a Hyper at a buck and a quarter for an extended clip.

Motorider · Feb 6th, 2012, 11:08 am

Uhhhh....I dont attempt full speed runs with Semis in the viewable area

I find that funny you said that! Please don't tell me you do that?

In the Middle of the Desert in Utah with nothing alive in view for 2 consecutive full throttle runs no wind.... nothing but perfect conditions.

Did a repeat locally with the same results.

I expect I should be able to top the bike out with no hesitation or second thought that bike is not capable for the money spent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willie B

Were you riding in wind gusts or heavy truck traffic? Approaching and overtaking a truck at speed does cause the bike to dance around a bit, but riding on smooth pavement void of truck traffic is very smooth on my bike. If you want to experience something horrific, try a Hyper at a buck and a quarter for an extended clip.

Turbo · Feb 6th, 2012, 1:38 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motorider

Uhhhh....I dont attempt full speed runs with Semis in the viewable area

I find that funny you said that! Please don't tell me you do that?

In the Middle of the Desert in Utah with nothing alive in view for 2 consecutive full throttle runs no wind.... nothing but perfect conditions.

Did a repeat locally with the same results.

I expect I should be able to top the bike out with no hesitation or second thought that bike is not capable for the money spent.

Have you tried adjusting the DES settings or are you running with the stock setup? Exercise your left thumb and tweak the suspension to your liking. The stock suspension settings are a great starting point but they are not perfect for everyone.

I've ridden my 2010 MTS 1200s to 157 mph indicated on the dash (147 max speed on the GPS), without the slightest sign of any shake or instability. I could have kept it going faster and longer if the deserted road I was on was a bit longer!

Willie B · Feb 6th, 2012, 2:06 pm

Turbo and I must have exceptional bikes? Is there an add in the Black Book for Exceptional?

Kitesurfer · Feb 6th, 2012, 6:35 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willie B

Turbo and I must have exceptional bikes? Is there an add in the Black Book for Exceptional?

Mine could be a hardtail for all I care - it ain't goin' nowhere until the heads are replaced

minusone · Feb 6th, 2012, 6:46 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sock Monkey

I've found the stock front tire to wear oddly, so if the bike you rode had a few thousand miles on it, it could have been the front tire not wearing evenly.-SM

Yes I have found this after I bought a demo bike. The tire had worn into a triangular profile and was tipping too quickly into corners. New tire and proper handling was restored.

Willie B · Feb 6th, 2012, 6:53 pm

Kitesurfer, how did you smoke the heads on your bike? Was it caused because the front end wobbles on your bike too?

Kitesurfer · Feb 6th, 2012, 6:58 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willie B

Kitesurfer, how did you smoke the heads on your bike? Was it caused because the front end wobbles on your bike too?

LOL yeah, got a violent tank slapper while overtaking a truck at 200kmh so I "rode it out" by gunning the throttle wide open. She redlined and blew the heads. At least the tank slapper subsided

In all seriousness, no, it was just plain bad luck. The current word in town is "porous heads". Sounds like a manufacturing fault in the castings. I hope they come clean about it if it is in fact a "bad batch" of heads, otherwise who knows - they all might do it once they hit around 24000km

brianc · Feb 6th, 2012, 8:29 pm

my .02, I'd chalk it up to tire wear and air pressure. Another +1 for finicky air pressures - I keep mine on about 39-41psi and the bike feels amazing. Anything below 36-35psi and it feels a bit unsteady. This goes both for the OEM scorpion trails and the pilot road 3's I'm running now.

Was the demo bike a non-S (no Ohlins) model? Maybe the base suspension was manually adjusted badly. The DES has been great for me in all modes with the default settings.. When that's no longer the case and I feel brave, I'll venture into the adjustment mode.

Willie B · Feb 6th, 2012, 9:58 pm

BrianC, that makes perfect sense.
I'm curious about your heads/motor kitesurfer. What happened, Loss of power, valves not seating? I have ridden the crap out of my bike and have been pleasantly surprised at how it's held up. It doesn't use a drop of oil and seems to beg for more. I'm not intending to hijack the thread, just very curious as we all should be.