Suspension setup - wow, I have a new bike!! - Ducati.ms

cwilkie · Jul 27th, 2009, 1:35 am

Well, after reading several topics here on suspension setup, decided to give my local ducati garage a call, and have their mechanic setup the bike correctly for me.

As the hyper(std) is my first bike, did not want to get ahead of myself, and change everything before I got used to it.

I am 220lbs, no gear. Mostly riding some of the nicest mountain passes in the world, here in switzerland

The issues I had, were mainly the rear wheel skipping about occasionally when hitting a corner hard (and the surface was not perfectly smooth). Also, seemed to bottom out the forks once or twice.

So, he increased the preload both sides. Said that when in a corner, the rear was fully compressed, and I had no more play left, hence the wheel jumping. I also think he slowed down the rebound a little. He had me sit on the bike, checked the sag was good....checked that the compression, rebound looked even, then too it for a quick test ride (he is the same weight as me).

He said all was perfect, apart from the forks. He still managed to bottom out a couple of times under hard braking. The advice was that I could do with more progressive springs, so a set has been ordered pending my own test ride yesterday.

So, onto ride post-tune - wow

Went with some friends, and rode the Susten, Grimsel, Furka and Oberalp passes, (oberalp twice!!). If you have not heard of these passes, google them, and prepare to drool!!!. Spent over 8hrs on the bike - and amazingly only got a little sore and cramped in the last hr!!

I did not feel the rear skip out once, felt I could hit corners a LOT harder, and the bike felt like it was on rails. I realise now it felt a little "vague" before. The whole thing feels absolutely planted. Almost like a new bike!

The only thing I did not replicate was bottoming out the front forks. But then I am still not riding too hard. So, do you think I should still spend the money and have the fork springs replaced? I trust my mechanic, and sure when riding harder it will help, but wondering if anyone else my weight has done this and found an improvement?

Thanks all for the suspension threads, and advice to get it setup!

Activator · Jul 27th, 2009, 7:48 am

Sounds like they did pretty much exactly what my shop did, but MY shop suggested that the front was TOO hard! (I'm 6'4", 205 lb) They felt that if the front is too hard, it doesn't let the bike get forward enough during turns. Obviously, bottoming out the front is not good either...

cwilkie · Jul 27th, 2009, 12:44 pm

Interesting!! Well, I must say, again after a ride today, unable to bottom out the front (was trying hard!!) So I guess the setup definately helped. I don't even remember feeling the front unstable in any turns due to full compression.

Think I will save the cash just now, and put off the new springs. The bike already feels much better, and could do with some new riding pants instead

v12gte · Jul 27th, 2009, 1:17 pm

Just had the same thing done. I bought mine used, so I had no idea how the suspension was set up. I got a printout after it was all done, and it included settings for about a dozen variables. This is the one piece of maintenance that I did not trust myself with.

Brainfry · Jul 27th, 2009, 1:44 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwilkie

Interesting!! Well, I must say, again after a ride today, unable to bottom out the front (was trying hard!!) So I guess the setup definately helped. I don't even remember feeling the front unstable in any turns due to full compression.

Think I will save the cash just now, and put off the new springs. The bike already feels much better, and could do with some new riding pants instead

I would think someone of your size (220lbs) could benefit from a stiffer rear spring... I'm the same size and just had Ohlins in North Carolina set my "S" up... swapped rear springs, then dialed it in- rear AND the Marzocchi front.

It's night and day from where it was... helps to have the factory race team on hand to do your suspension!

B

PS: Stiction was more an issue in the forks, than the spring was... even so, they're working on an insert kit for it.

cwilkie · Jul 27th, 2009, 4:03 pm

Yes, I thought the same, but he seemed to think the rear spring would be ok. Must say, that after the setup, I don't know how much more it could improve. Of course, that is just his opinion.....

As for the forks, I will still consider getting them done down the line, but the bike feels fine for how I currently ride it.

Factory race team...nice

I guess if I had someone like that, then I would go with their advice too!! For now I will save the cash, and ride. Can always get the springs swapped out later.

I guess the spring in the sachs is the same rate as the S ohlins?

freezer16801 · Jul 27th, 2009, 5:33 pm

I imagine what he meant by the front being too stiff was the dampening. I had to add all of the preload and take most of the compression out. I don't even come close to bottoming the forks and I weigh 200-210 depending on how much beer I drink and how much I hit the gym.

I also added a lot of preload and about half of the compression to the rear shock to try to match it to the front as best as I could. I think that the forks would be much better with 5 wt. oil in them.

kdgreengo · Jul 28th, 2009, 5:46 pm

Okay. here are the details: 1100s with all the light stuff - single exhaust, carbon fiber everwhere, steering damper, racing clutch, performance seat, etc. Bike should be lighter than stock.

I'm 6', 215lbs and not really an aggressive rider - around town and commuting. What adjustments can I make to the suspension and tire pressure to add more stability at higher speeds? Assuming stock settings now what to do .... I get conflicting advice on-line and with my local shop.

... drop rear end or drop forks ... decrease compression and pre-load ... increase pre-load, etc. My shop guy said to increase rear pre-load 2 turns.

Any simple advice??

barney

freezer16801 · Jul 28th, 2009, 9:38 pm

unfortunately barney there is no simple advise. Commuting and slow around town riding will expose a bike that is set up for fast speeds. The same could be said for setting a bike up for fast/track riding and then commuting with it. It is a bit of a compromise. I say the simplest thing to do is ignore what your shop guy told you and set the sag accordingly with you on the bike at a good compromise between street and track sag numbers numbers. There is no rule of thumb with how much preload you add according to how much you weigh since everyone is a bit different.

Then once that is done, set the rebound to control the amount that the bike rises front to rear ensuring that they are at the same rate. Then set the compression to suit your preferences.

PedroHM · Jul 28th, 2009, 10:25 pm

one good thing i've learn with track riding is that you will never really ever get to the best setup as everytime you get a better setup you will be riding faster, that means braking harder so need more spring / damping etc etc. track setup is not a 1 time wonder it will take many many attempts to build lap times and readjust.

same goes for street, its a very progressive thing.