I have a owned since new a 2013 Multistrada GT it's well traveled and approaching the 99,999km limit. I've frequently bribed it into continued good behaviour with annual gifts on top of it's service schedule, most gifts have served to reduce weight, improve performance and occassionally make it look pretty. I feel this has paid off and I've had no major issues but it's getting to the age now where wear and tear is starting show up and I am considering how to extend it's lifespan and manage future costs. Most recently this year it started throwing some DSS errors which would come and go, until eventually the suspension went into rock hard failsafe mode with no error. As such I decided to extend my bribe a little further this year. Rather than replace some cables (again) or service the shock I decided to see if I could retrofit the Ohlins from the previous models. My working theory is that Ducati changed very little between 10-12 and 13-14, basically just fitting Skyhook and the electronics to support it. I assume that I will have a persistent DSS error but that physically the suspension will fit just fine.
While I would handle the swapping of the parts on the bike, I did need outside help to modify the Ohlin and service them appropriately. For the forks I found a kit supplied by WRS https://www.wrs.it/en/upgrade-kit/3...ins-fork-ducati-multistrada-1200-s-10-14.html For the shock Ohlins themselves supply the parts and in addition to any consumables for servicing, it required a new body tube (21010-07) as the electronic has a different length body and the adjuster kit (24501-25) Ebay supplied the used Ohlins units, I got lucky and picked up a practically new set of forks which had been boxed up after being replaced for the clunking issue. A low cost shock was a little harder but I found one where the seller couldn't get it off the swingarm, so new multitool and some cutting blades later and I'd had some practise removing a shock. With the parts to hand I was able to do a test fit of the forks and confirm that everything lined up and the mudguard mounts were the same.I took a punt on the shock fitting as I was still using the bike. Next was to find someone to do the Ohlins servicing and conversions, I called up a couple of places. My first was a disappointed conversation where they seemed to struggle to understand what I was asking and kept telling me I'd have problems. The second was to MH Suspension and Mark was very helpful, he took it on, sourced the Ohlins parts required and happily fitted the WRS components.
I started with the rear shock, unsurprisingly after this long the bolt was stuck solid and after I destroyed my 8mm long reach bit I had to cut through the bolt. One tip, cut the right side of the shock mount first, then when half way through the left give it some good whacks with a strong screwdriver at such an angle to loosen the thread. It unscrewed nice and easy but there isn't much to get purchase on. I'm left with an assortment of useless chunks of metal and a trip to the dealer to get a new bolt. Remove the rear fairings so you can access various electrical connectors. On the upper right of the undertray the cylinder that drives the adjusters connects to this grey plug. The cable that comes out of the base of the shock runs up to this connecter sitting a little tray. This needs to come out and carefully be wiggled through the gaps. Lastly I disconnected the hose line from the adjuster, less fluid came out than I was expecting at this point but have something to catch it. All shock components can now be removed. You can also remove the rear accelerometer sensor which sits on top of the swingarm. The cable routes along the swingarm and up into a small block of connectors near the battery.
Fitting the new shock is straightforward. There is nothing needed beyond a new lower mounting bolt. Although I did have some difficulty getting it back over the plastic spacers on the upper bearing bushes. I've taken them out for now but can find no evidence I should need to. Here it is all buttoned up, now I will say the adjusters are a little hard to get at but it all fits with no contact. The little black thing is my PDOiler mini.
Onto the forks. There are two connectors you need to disconnect. The first which connects to the top of the left fork. You'll need to take the beak and left side front fairing off to get to it, it's tucked just under the tank on the left. I am holding the lower half the part you remove would have come from above. You can wiggle it forward and the up and out without removing the tank. At this point I remove the front wheel, front mudguard and the small protective plate under the lower triple clamp. Under that plate there is a second connector which is for the accelerometer sensor on the front mudguard. Disconnect this and remove the box from inside the mudguard. Loosen or remove the bolts in the triple clamps. My forks were still held tightly at this point and it's necessary to carefully widen the split in both the clamps watch out as they will drop fast so be ready to catch. You'll need to do this to slide the new forks in, I put a little ACF50 on the faces just to smooth the way. At this point you can install the new forks, both are 48mm, so they slide right in. I followed the workshop manual for the height in the clamps. Which is 272mm from the top of the bottom clamp. The mudguard will screw back onto the Ohlin's mounting points, the cable routing remains identical and the ABS sensor fits exactly back into the slot. Before you start to put things together I lathered all the electrical connectors that I'd disconnected with a good coating of non-conductive grease to protect from any water ingress. There is no change to the axle mounting either so pop the wheel back on and everything should line up.
Not unexpectedly when powering the bike back up I have a DSS error, on the plus side this should be of no consequence to the bike now. I did get hold of a 2013 ABS only models BBS but they are married to the dash or ECU so when I tried connecting it I got false gear indicator and a empty mileage. I plan to wait until my odometer reaches max and then have the dealer try to reset that and marry the other BBS to the dash.
In follow up, I had a suspension tuner do some tuning. It was a little difficult to get to the rear adjusting screw but a remedial adjusting hole added to the rear undertray where the brake lines pass through makes both accessible.
