I have managed to acquire a copy of the official Ducati workshop manual for a MY2000 748RS and I want to check the ride height of my project 748R against the values in it. The measurement from the underside of the bottom yoke to the bottom of the fork outer is pretty straight forward but the rear ride height measurement is a little less obvious. My Italian is about as crap as the english translation in the manual. Can someone please confirm my interpretation that the distance between the centre of the rear wheel spindle and the mark on the ride height tool is measured with the back wheel off the ground using something like an Abba stand ? I now know my set up is on the safe side but with 5 track days under my belt since the end of March, I'm getting braver and I want to try a suggestion in the manual to increase the front and rear measurement by 4mm. Doesn't sound a lot but it says that it gives quicker steering and a higher centre of gravity and as I am at Brands again in a fortnight, it's an opportunity to try it out before Silverstone at the end of July. Thanks, Andy
Bump ! Does anyone know how it's done ? Looking at bike this afternoon clearly the location of the ride height tool will prevent the fitting of an Abba stand so if the back wheek is supposed to be off the ground, that's another challenge in itself. Or is the measurement taken as if you were doing the second stage of measuring static sag ? I hate this, the older I get the more I realise how little I know and it frustrates the hell out of me . Andy
Here's one link that might be of interest with photo's. I got this from one superbike website. You can see the posters comments below and the link is in the text and after it. "In regards to the famous geometry setup for the 748/916/996/998 and 749/999 from Section8, what is your opinion on their setup suggestions? I hear conflicting advise from other experts on rear ride height, how many lines to drop the front forks, etc. and wanted to hear what some of you thought." Here is the link to the archived page for anyone that doesn't have a copy of their setups. section8superbike :748/916/996/998 Suspension: This ties into and has more information. Suspension Springs and Sag- Ducati Up North Motorcycle Suspension Set-up
There is some interesting stuff in a previous post titled 748 rear ride height. Given the different information already posted, I have come to the conclusion that there are minor but significant differences in frame geometry. Andyb's 998RS Info is different to my 2000 748RS info. I'm going to make a minor adjustment and see how it goes at Brands. If the change doesn't work I can revert to what I know does. Andy.
It could possibly be down to the tubing used in each frame, it's possible they might have different flex values. The 748RS used a different frame (lighter tubing) than any of the other 748 models.
I'm making my own ride height tool based on info from here and will have a play during the week. Andy
Thanks for posting the plans. A friend of mine is a fabricator so I might ask him to have look and see if he could make one. There is a member on here who has made some very nice Ducati specialist tools and engine cradles, I reckon he could organise a few of these. I would be interested how it all works out, could you post your findings?
