Suspension gurus ....

RedRick Esq.

Telling Engineer to F**K off since 2023
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The suspension on my SF is the eletrikery Ohlins stuff

Straight from the factory i would say it was just about OK but a bit harsh and jiggly rather than compliant etc

Now i would have sworn that the sag and pre-load were way too much but the blokes at Mick Gardner racing disagreed and wound in loads more pre load at the rear to get the sag correct. The front was pretty much bang on.

Then with a play around in the suspension settings adjustments menu they tweaked a bit more on the damping compression and re bound

Half an hour later and £50 the bike is transformed !

Probably the best £50 i will spend on the bike but it goes to show that sometimes what you feel is the way forward is the exact opposite and suspension set up is an art rather than a science ( i know this isnt strictly true but to me it is)
 
Now i would have sworn that the sag and pre-load were way too much but the blokes at Mick Gardner racing disagreed and wound in loads more pre load at the rear to get the sag correct. The front was pretty much bang on.

Then with a play around in the suspension settings adjustments menu they tweaked a bit more on the damping compression and re bound


(I know we've had this conversation on WhatsApp (!), but for the benefit of others reading ..... )

For a spring to work well, it must be compressed in the first place. When it's compressed it comes into its sort of working parameters and can ..... spring! If its not wound down enough and hasn't got enough pre-load on it, it can often feel rock hard - simply because its not actually bouncing about - it has no tension in it.

We the rider can often miss-interpret that feeling. We think that if it's rock hard, it must be too firm and so surely it needs softening off? So we think the thing to do is to unwind the preload. But it may well be roack hard, because its too unwound already and so the spring simply isn't doing anything!

So if it feels rock hard, it just may need more pre-load!

:thumb2
 
So, with my 800 the suspension feels too soft at the correct preload, I thinking is probably due to the quality of the rear unit so am looking at alternatives. From your comment, which makes sense, if too soft you still up the preload? I've tried a few settings but it still wallows
 
So, with my 800 the suspension feels too soft at the correct preload, I thinking is probably due to the quality of the rear unit so am looking at alternatives. From your comment, which makes sense, if too soft you still up the preload? I've tried a few settings but it still wallows

All i know is that unless the static sag and then dynamic sag are not correct then the bike will never feel right

Then we get into rider weight and correct spring

I do believe that most if not all bikes manufacturers spring the bike to a rider who weighs 85-95 KG with kit so if you are a bit fatter then the spring is not correct and vice versa

Other than that i cant help
 
All i know is that unless the static sag and then dynamic sag are not correct then the bike will never feel right

Then we get into rider weight and correct spring

I do believe that most if not all bikes manufacturers spring the bike to a rider who weighs 85-95 KG with kit so if you are a bit fatter then the spring is not correct and vice versa

Other than that i cant help

I think a lot of bikes are set for an average rider at 70kg
 
So, with my 800 the suspension feels too soft at the correct preload, I thinking is probably due to the quality of the rear unit so am looking at alternatives. From your comment, which makes sense, if too soft you still up the preload? I've tried a few settings but it still wallows

Is this electronic or manual ?
When you say ‘it’s at the correct pre-load’, is that an electronic setting?
Can you adjust the rebound?

If rebound is to slow it will certainly wallow
 
I also take my Bikes to Mr Gardner , my pikes peak was over 35mm away from the correct static sag parameters which is BS !!
Anyway £50 later and it transformed the bike , proper plush ride now :D
 
I also take my Bikes to Mr Gardner , my pikes peak was over 35mm away from the correct static sag parameters which is BS !!
Anyway £50 later and it transformed the bike , proper plush ride now :D

Yes

This is the 3rd Ducati i have had sorted by them. The Hypermotard was set so hard it must have been for Mugello. My Pikes Peak was so soft at the back and so hard at the front it was almost un rideable from the dealers. this one whilst ok was still way out of good settings

It seems to me that Ducati just get the Ohlins out of the box and put them on and call that it - no set up just as they come from Ohlins which can be different for every unit or diferent bods put different settings
I reckon that just a couple of minutes on the end of the production line at least setting them all the same would be a step in the right direction
 
9 times out of 10 you'll get a better handling bike with less pre load and a stiffer spring....especially if you needed wind a load preload to get the sag correct.
 
That seems to be completely opposite to what Redrick said initially.

no

I may have been understood, i thought mine was way too hard on the spring and needed pre load taking off but was wrong. As Giles points out the spring needs some compression to work correctly and set according to the riders weight ( i believe this is the dynamic sag )

I suspect that my spring is about right for my weight it just needed the correct amount of compression so it then works correctly for my weight but as with everything without having a fully customized one off spring there has to be some compromise. However if a bod is 25 stone a new spring would certainly improve things as it would for if a pillion was a permanent thing
 
Is this electronic or manual ?
When you say ‘it’s at the correct pre-load’, is that an electronic setting?
Can you adjust the rebound?

If rebound is to slow it will certainly wallow

It's manual adjustment of the preload and electronic for the damping (sports, normal and comfort). No further adjustment for rebound. Norm it wallows, sports it's harsh on every bump, not good.
 
Have you tried one up plus luggage?!
 
Report back !! :D

Finally. Wound it up and it was too hard, every ripple was a shock. Backed it off halfway roughly and better, stiffer though doesnt fully make up for what seems to be poor damping.
 


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