Check out the Bitubo and Andreani kits as well
These offer the same kind or performance upgrades you may be looking for fo alot less.

The 25mm kit is great but the main difference is the Ohlins for the Paul Smart tha originally came out has the Rebound/Compression adjustments on each fork
On the Andreani and Ohlins the Rebound is on one fork and the compression is on the other. Preload is the same on all forks

 

That helps, thanks for clarifying JC.

The brand-whore in me wants to match the Ohlins rear that the previous owner installed so it looks like I've got some saving to do!

 

If your hitting the track, commuting mega miles, and not trying to keep the bike looking as it did from the factory... the Paul Smart Ohlins may not be your best choice.

If you want to keep the stock wheels and brakes, the Ohlins cartridges will likely perform as good, or better (if you choose 30mm valving) than the Paul Smart reproductions.

Otherwise,consider Ohlins from an M1100S. They bolt up with 999 wheels and rotors and most radial callipers (monobloc or the lower performance variants) which will make,for a better overall package. They are also valved for the street, but will still do an excellent job at the track on our bikes and can be upgraded.

Paul Smart Ohlins:
- fully adjustable each leg
- sport valving
- made by Ohlins
- gold fork leg finish
- chrome lowers
- axial brakes

Ohlins kit
- fully adjustable split between legs (this isn't as big of an issue as it sounds)
- sport or track valving. 30mm valving available (big upgrade). Sprung for your weight
- half of your fork will still be Marzocchi
- no gold leg finish (although you can have them anodized
- chrome lowers
- axial brakes

Monster M1100S Ohlins
- fully adjustable
- sport valving
- made by Ohlins
- gold fork leg finish
- TiNi (gold) lower leg treatment
- radial brakes
- require radial callipers and 135mm rotor spacing (stock wheels need 1.5mm rotor spacer per side, or 999 front wheel)

 

Or S4RS forks will serve same purpose as M1100S just use a different front mudguard/fender. Only difference I believe is the tube on the M1100S is slightly longer than the S4RS (which is the length of the stock SC) so your M1100S will need to stick out further through the top triple clamp (looks fine to me), and then the mounting points for the mudguard are different between them. BOTH M1100S and S4RS are hard to come by. Another option might be Ohlins forks from a SBK, which can be hard for i've seen $1200-$1500 (supply and demand. more of them around, prices are lower), which might be better forks, but you'll need to go with the SpeedyMoto triple clamps.

Ohlins RT forks will have the billet lower fork leg, where as the M1100S and S4RS and the ones for the Paul Smart are castings to look like they were CnC'd, but they aren't. It doesn't matter really IMHO.

 

Hey Patrick. I've got the Ohlins kit, and had a question about what was really in it. The website I bought from (SportbikeTrackGear) had the same header as the MOTO items, calling it a 25mm kit.

Here's what Ohlins had to say:
Comments: I have your FGJ-204M cartridge kit installed in my 2007 Ducati Sport Classic. There is confusion out on the web about whether this is kit uses a 25mm piston or a 30mm piston. Can you please clarify? I\'d like to know what\'s in my bike! Thank you, Jeff



Hello Jeff. Thank you for your email.

The Öhlins fork kit ‘FGK 204m’ is a custom-installed 30mm fork cartridge kit.

Thank you, Jerry



Jerry Wohlgemuth- Customer Support Manager

Ohlins USA, Inc.

703 S. Grove Street, Unit C

Hendersonville, NC 28792

(828)692-4525 ext. 313

http://www.ohlinsusa.com/us/


So, there you have it from Ohlins. NOT trying to cause confusion, but they were pretty clear the kit is a 30mm valve.

We can chat about this next time we get together.

 

The Andreani is cheaper and easier to install
also the Bitubo version is pretty good too

 

And even though I'm not in the market, let me say it's GREAT to finally have options! Not too long ago it was pretty much used parts or nothing.

 

The super cheapo got no love method is oil weight and volume change and spring rate change

 

That's what I'm going to do!

 

Change your wheels if you want better handling, before anything else. I switched my stock GT wheels for marchesinis, made a huge difference. I put 29,000 miles on that bike, most of those with the marchesini wheels and stock suspension, and had no complaints. If you're using the bike as an all-arounder, you'll also appreciate the ability to go w/o tubes. Oz wheels work great if you're willing to spend the $$ and want a bolt-on replacement option.


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Thanks!

Thanks a bunch for all of the helpful info and suggestions!!

RiderJeff hooked me up with a too-good-to-refuse deal on his 3-spoke Brembo tubeless wheels so I've checked off the (initial) wheel upgrade already. JC will eventually get an order for Alpinas after the forks are upgraded

The lighter wheels did make a HUGE difference and did improve how the front behaved and handled. Thanks to Jeff, Fujinator and others that suggested I do wheels first.

I haven't really considered the Adreani or Bitubo options until this thread... I think half the fun of upgrading for me is researching and learning about what's out there and who has had success with what.

It is a wishlist afterall (emphasis on wish) so I'm still gravitating towards an Ohlins option. Although, if a smokin' deal on S4RS or M1100 forks or someone upgrading from their initial upgrade presents itself or drops in my lap like Jeff's wheels I'll continue to stay my course.

 

I appreciate everyone's input on this thread and other threads. There's a core group of riders (greggers, kayser, JCPak, etc) who spend a lot of time inputting their thoughts and it's really great input even if the same old questions keep coming up. I got my GT1K a year ago and have learned alot from this forum and appreciate the helpful and patient writing by all (and lack of negative criticism which I'm sure some have withheld!).

I've prioritized my pending mods in order of performance:

1) get rid of "dreaded" stock tires; I still havent' done this. Tsk tsk tsk..but on the immediate plan.
2) lighter wheels -preponderance of positive input on the benefits; seems the BSTs are lightest and the way to go to maximize benefit at the comparable cost value
3) Termis/ get rid of restrictive ECU mapping -check this off as I have it now

List can go on and on but that's my top three as I can hope with limited financial means.

I'm less convinced on the bang for buck on the suspension upgrades. Unless your tracking your SC, riding like Agro => http://www.ducati.ms/forums/77-sport-classic/242049-riding-sc-way-meant-ridden.html or plain weigh a lot, I am regarding the Ohlins as expensive bling. I'm short and weigh 150lbs and my GT1K does street cornering just fine, but I never push it as I do my track bike to begin with and the street is not nowhere the controlled conditions of the track. But the general sentiment seems to be that if you're heavier than 200lbs (?) the greater payoff you'll find. Yeah, the quandary of weighing the highly desired Ohlins marque....

 

I've prioritized my pending mods in order of performance:

1) get rid of "dreaded" stock tires; I still havent' done this. Tsk tsk tsk..but on the immediate plan.
2) lighter wheels -preponderance of positive input on the benefits; seems the BSTs are lightest and the way to go to maximize benefit at the comparable cost value
3) Termis/ get rid of restrictive ECU mapping -check this off as I have it now

Since we're both in greater Pugetropolis, let me know if you want to meet sometime as our GT has Alpina wheels (w/Pirelli Scorpion Syncs), Ohlins forks (YSS rear shocks), Termis w/DP ECU and PCV and a full dyno-tune. Although others have clearly taken their GTs farther in terms of mods, we now consider our GT pretty much "done".

 

Front suspension is a huge benefit for the light as well as the brawny on the Sport Classic.

I used to commute 60 miles once a week on a road that had about 6 miles of brutal heaves in the pavement near the middle of that commute. For that 10 minutes I would get pounded entirely out of shape, and need to plan every bump in the corners, as some of them would literally cause the front tire to hop. The first commute after I installed my Ohlins I drove right through that section, daydreaming without even noticing it. I was confused when I realized I had past it and wondered if the road had been repaired. I returned a few days later and noticed the square edged bumps were still there yet felt less than half as big as they did before.

Suspension needs to tackle high speed bumps (square edged, requiring the fork to quickly reduce compression, less dependant on rider and bike weight) as well as low speed bumps (depressions or mounds requiring higher compression to reduce packing, dependant on rider and bike weight). It's fairly easy for a fork to do one of those well but more complex to do both well. Raising the viscosity of the fork oil on the Marzocchis will prevent some bottoming from low speed compression, however the high speed stack will not change much (as it's controlled by a shim stack) and cause the fork to become even more specific to the bumps it works well on. It will further slow the rebound which changes the way the fork function over depressions. If it works for you, then do it, yet the viscosity of the oil is usually not the way to tune suspension on a modern cartridge fork which is controlled by shims (valves).

Changing the wheels does have a definite and great reflect on the suspension, as the unsprung mass will be lower and therefore cycle faster after an impact, but the forks are still terrible. I did change my wheels first, and it was a huge improvement in small to average sized bumps, as well as turn in speed and overall handling. I agree I would still do the wheels first, but don't take the forks off that list.

 

Oh no, I've only just begun the pleasure of modding my GT! ha ha! I need some lottery $ help! But one thing at a time as this GT is long term purchase and every day (commute) bike. But yeah, let's meet up, I know you really like those Ohlins forks!

 

I have andreani kit with under 200 miles on it. Im willing to part with it for 400$ shipped. If anyone interested. PM me!


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