Ducati suspension mods

[3ducs1guz]

I used some of my time off while recovering from the 848's low-side that resulted in a broken collar bone to learn more about modern suspensions. My knowledge is mostly old-school, as I did most of my riding back in the 80's.

I've come to the conclusion that I think Ducati makes some compromises on their suspensions than can make the bikes challenging for some folks. The sporting nature and power of the bikes encourages a rider to push their limits as a rider - but the suspensions are set up for "any man" - and virtually no guidance is offered to the new buyer on set-up. An experienced rider might do better with the suspension's limitations - but a novice rider might find the bikes a hand full.

To test this, I've done some tuning to all of my Duc's - the most radical to my 696 Monster, which has the most pedestrian and cheapest components. The Monster is the lightest and easiest to handle of my present bikes - so it was worth trying to see how good I might be able to make it. Unfortunately, there are virtually no off-the self upgrades offered for this bike. So I'm having Kent Soignier do some custom work for me.

Here's the project: I'm having the tripple clamps modified to accept the Showa forks from the 848. (top is drilled out, the bottom is shimmed) I'm having the Racetech gold-valves installed in the Showas. I'm having a Penske shock built for the rear with adjustable low and high speed damping.

The goal is to tune high-speed damping for a plush ride for the highway and good traction, and to tune low speed damping tor reduce brake dive and wallowing. And to have the bike sprung for proper sag for my weight. (kinda chubby)

The Showa forks are a little longer than the Monster's - so I'm raising the rear to keep the geometry the same, which will result in about a half inch taller bike.

It will be interesting to see how it turns out. After it's done if anyone wants to give it a try, I'd be happy to let you try it out.

While no one would admit that the 848's suspension had any weaknesses - Kent found that the damping really couldn't be adjusted properly for me - so I installed Ohlins components similar to the ones on my 1198sp. In the process we discovered that the 848's linkage was quite progressive - different than the 1198sp's. So I've a revised linkage in the works for it. The progressive linkage makes the stock spring work OK for a wide range of rider weights - but for me, it makes for a harsher ride than necessary - and perhaps some limits on traction.

I don't know if any suspension issues like this contributed to FlyGirl's recent accident (on a 796 Monster) but I wonder about it.

I'd welcome any and all thoughts, comments, insights etc.

[Mongo]

There is nothing, even spirited street riding, that will overtax the vast majority of the stock suspension. Going to full race suspension will hurt on the street given street bikes need more travel and a cushier ride to deal with the rougher conditions on the street. While I agree they don't give you a lot of help on understanding the settings they do come with, there's no real need for the vast majority of people to go as drastically as swapping triples and forks. I put Ohlins cartridges in my Hyper forks and had them sprung for my weight but still set up for the street and not the track. They're much better of course but even the stock was plenty for street riding (I just wanted internal bling for the most part).

[3ducs1guz]

I totally agree - setting up the suspension of a street bike for the street use (sag, damping, spring rates) is smarter and safer. And if it came to the point of needing different geometry - you've probably got the wrong bike. I don't know how much things like the reduced friction on better components effect street riding.

The 696 Monster's forks are pretty interesting - there are springs in both forks, but damping in only one side. No adjustments of any kind. Maybe because the odd sizing, and because of damping on only one side - absolutely no one offers modest upgrades for this bikes forks. (actually - no one offers anything for this bikes forks at all!) Since I had the Showa's from my 848 laying around - drilling and shimming the tripple clamps to accept them seemed like a cheap way to go. (maybe the only way to go) Putting the Racetech gold valves have larger orifices than Ohlins, and are cheaper - and should be tunable for more street plushness for less money.

Ohlins offers an inexpensive shock for the 696 Monster - but it has no damping adjustments.

I couldn't agree more that there's no need to put a race suspension on the street. And I agree that most modern bikes have way more ability than the average rider. (certainly more than me) I think all but the top models have limited tuning capability to adjust to specific needs. Even my 848 couldn't be set up quite right for me. It's perhaps unfortunate that only racing components offer full adjustability. I'm not sure there's any other way to get the adjustability for my weight (240 lbs) and riding ability. (fast, but very conservative on blind mountain twisties) And as I tend to have to cover several hundred miles of choppy freeway getting to the places I like to ride - plushness sure saves my sore backside. If I was never going to ride the Monster more than 50 miles from home - I doubt I would have dove in to the deep end. But I'm likely to load up the tail and tank bag and take it to Boston, Key West or Dallas.

Riding for me is as much a hobby for me as anything - a chance to learn, explore and meet people. Who knows - I may find when I'm done with my current plans - some other way turns out to be much better. I'll go that route next time. And I like bling as much as anyone.

[Mongo]

Totally understand, I think a lot of people miss out by just buying and riding instead of having some fun either working on or modifying their bikes. Hell, I stripped the Hyper down within months after I bought it just to powdercoat some stuff :D

[Huey130]

Totally understand, I think a lot of people miss out by just buying and riding instead of having some fun either working on or modifying their bikes. Hell, I stripped the Hyper down within months after I bought it just to powdercoat some stuff :D

forgot about that!

[Mongo]

Not me, it's soooooooo purty now :D