Hello all, My 2016 Multi S DVT with the brilliant Skyhook suspension has had a failure, i'm hoping it's just a sensor but i found a German you tube video with the exact same sequence of warnings and symptoms and his turned out to be the rear shock..... So with that in mind (i'm waiting for my bike to be collected and scanned/diagnosed) i've looked for a replacement, the original has been superseded, ok, the price is NOT ok!!! OMG. Not sure i want to go 2nd hand original but if i have no other option then i will... Question is, is there an aftermarket option for the 2015-2017 1200 S Skyhook rear shock? I looked up Ohlins, 2010 to 14 only, AI says maybe Wilbers or Racetech but i've looked and can't see anything for Skyhook, just the std and PP Any advice or links would be very much appreciated. I'm In Australia so UK service centres aren't really an option but if there's anything that shows if there's a common fault that can be repaired that would be very handy to know Thanks again. Paul.
My rear skyhook shock have up the ghost a while back. I was able to find one on ebay at a fraction of the new cost, which as you say is astronomical. It's a fairly easy swap out once you've dealt with the bolt that fixes to the swingarm. Good luck.
I'm also going through the same issue, my rear shock is off with a Dutch suspension specialist, I'll provide more information once I've gotten some updates from them.
Well it seems there are very few options in the aftermarket, I could put in std suspension but apparently i can't turn the DSS off so it will have the DSS icon on the dash, flashing? dunno.... There are no eliminators that i can find and I can't find one single supplier that can offer a matching rear shock and fork cartridges. Nitron expect me to pay for the R&D to figure what fits, cheeky buggers! So it seems i'm left with 3 options Buy a 2nd hand unit Buy a new unit Or get mine serviced but to be fair i'm not 100% sure it's a mechanical issue with the shock or an electronic issue like a limit sensor but it seems the preload collar only holds maybe 30ml of fluid and when that disappears through 10 Y/O seals the shock stops doing it's thing. What to do.... The aftermarket don't seem to do much at all, and i don't get why, they sell loads of Multis, the only thing i can put it down to is the suspension is so variable on them, street, enduro, SSS and dual sided, they make a huge variety and that might be the issue, whatever, $5200 AUD for a rear shock.... that's rude!
If the DSS light is on then there’s a fault in either one of the 3 sensors that feed info back to the control unit or in the control unit itself. The 3 sensors are 1. Front wheel axle LHS 2. Front headstock, lower triple clamp. 3. Rear swing arm rotary sensor RHS inside the frame. The big silver tube under your seat contains in the RH half of it a pcb board which is the rear suspension control unit and in the LH half a servo motor, piston and oil which is controlled by the control unit to manage the rear preload dependent upon the weight on the bike and what the other sensors are telling it. Ssdly, as you’ve discovered the rear unit, which includes the actual shock is non serviceable. This a mechanically perfectly good shock has to be junked because the electronics have failed, or you love with no rear preload adjustment and a flashing DSS light but still have a functioning bike. Now, the good news. It may not be the rear shock. When the dealer plugs the bike into diagnostics it will inform there are faults on all 3 sensors mentioned above and the rear shock and the fuel level sensor and the exhaust valve servo motor. Reason being they all have a shared earth, this a fault on one trips a fault on all. The dealer should test each component to find out exactly which one is at fault. It may be, and typically is, one of the 2 front sensors (accelerometers) which have failed, these are €150 parts (I don’t know what that is in Aus$). One other thing to look at is, bizarrely the rear suspension unit for a MultiStrada Enduro is 1/2 the price of the non enduro version. Whether it would fit or not I don’t know, I suspect it’s slightly longer or has a different spring and travel length. But why it’s half the price when they’re both made by Sachs is a mystery.
Thanks for that Paul, Yep, I see the Enduro shock is quite common but unfortunately i'm 5'3" so a longer shock is out of the question... LOL, not sure it would fit anyway, the Enduro has a dual sided swingarm doesn't it? My bike has the exhaust servo turned off with a Termi upmap, so that's not an issue but i do lose my fuel gauge and all the info, and get a massive number of errors, over 100.... I'm pretty sure it's the shock though, reason i say that is because when i disconnect it from the harness i get my fuel info back, lose the ! in the triangle but still get the DSS flashing light which makes sense because the rear shock is unplugged on one side. If it were a front sensor disconnecting the shock would still show the other faults so i'm confident (not completely, electronics are typically not common sense...) that it's the shock that's the culprit. I will however have my tech clear all the codes and diagnose it himself before repair or a replacement is ordered.
That does sound very much like it is the rear preload & control unit unfortunately. I’ve had to deal with it on a few bikes. As soon as the errant component is disconnected the errors for all other components disappear (or at least stop being active errors) and the only remaining error is the disconnected item which shows an open circuit obviously. I’ve had to change 2 in the past 18 months. One was on an enduro (and yes, your right it has a different swing arm - silly me) and the 2nd is with me at present. For the Enduro we went down the new path at €1200 approx plus fitting. The one with me at present is a 1200S and he doesn’t want to pay out the €2600 for a new part so we have a 2nd hand unit on its way at a more reasonable €300. Whether it’s electrics are ok or not remains to be determined. Its a crying shame the electronics side of the silver tube can’t be opened, the PCB extracted, repaired and replaced. I’ve still got the one from the Enduro and keep meaning to see if there is some way it can be opened - I must get round to it one day.
Actually the other one was 2 years ago, I’ve just found the thread https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/dss-sensor-location-multiple-sensor-errors.99901/
That leads to my next question.... How do you understand whether the failure is mechanical or electronic? My cunning plan is to replace the unit with a new one and then if my existing unit has a mechanical failure get it refurbished and then sell it on to recoup some of my cash, being in Australia i don't have corrosion issues and with less than 20k on the bike it physically looks brand new.... But i'm NOT going to risk onselling a unit that may still be faulty, that would not be cool. Is there a way to test it off the bike or is it more pull it apart and look for a mechanical cause to fix, if that all looks ok it must be electronic? Cheers and thanks for the help Paul, it's appreciated.
