Well guys, got the new bike....had to go to the shops for a permitted journey so took it out. So, my first impressions...it is fast and tiny, 80-ish bhp is fun when combined with low weight. However....smoothness of gear change seems to be very dependent on getting the revs right, no doubt things will improve as I get used to the bike. It engages all gears OK but found a few false neutrals on downchanging, is there a technique to avoiding this? I've found that you have to really positively blip on changing down to match the revs, or the shift is really clunky. Is it worth playing with the gear lever adjustment? Bike has apparently got a slipper clutch which very occasionally feels a bit "crunchy" when you pull it in. I was told that this is normal for a slipper clutch? But otherwise no slipping or drag. Handling is (as expected) on rails, but suspension seems a bit on the hard side. I weigh 200 lbs with gear. Easy to adjust? Where should I start? But at the end of the day, I love the stability. Would it be worth sticking a Nitron on it,? Rear brake doesn't seem too great, though. Fronts are good. Bike seems to thrive on revs - takes off like a scalded cat. No redline marked on tacho - probably 'cos it's a desmo - but where does 'prudent' end and 'expensive' begin? Or will it just stop revving? Is there a limiter on it? Sorry for all the daft questions but the bike didn't come with an owner's handbook. As ever, your sage comments gratefully received. Cheers S23 Thanks for your help in anticipation.
If the injection ones are anything like the carb versions then you kind of need to grab them by the scruff of the neck and make them do what you want - then they are brilliant. Good positive gear changes are required too. Mine accelerates fastest if changing up at 7,000 rpm. Red line is at 9,000 but it is pointless going there as peak power is at 7,000 and peak torque somewhat lower than that so you are just revving the engine for no good reason - I assume the ie version will be similar. I hardly use the rear brake as there is so much engine braking (no slipper clutch). MB.
Was out on mine today, fab machines as you say like on rails when cornering Lumpy at low revs is to be expected, you’ll learn to feather the clutch to help with this, but it’s no biggy. I know nothing of slipper clutches as I’ve never had one. You don’t really need a red line, just listen and feel the bike, you’ll know when to change and don’t be afraid of revving it it’s happy to sing along. And if you think the back brake is bad you should try the one on the all singing and dancing Multistrada! Good to hear you’re enjoying it.
I didn't rate the suspension on my 600 when i got it, it felt way too hard so I swapped the Marzocchi forks to Showa with progressive springs and the complete rear spring/damper was built to my specs by Hagon.
rear brake was awful on my 750 IE replaced with armstrong wavy disc and pads made a great improvement found the power comes in just under 7 and a half thousand revs almost like a power band on a 2 stroke false neutrals well its a ducati not a honda but when you want neutral buggered if you can find it also found my clutch was grabby etc found there was an adjuster grub screw on the lever where it pushes against the mastercylinder piston found it was backed out and was not operating the clutch properly bit of a tinker with it found it to be a lot more usable gear change check the rose joint ends on the gear linkage these wear doesnt feel much but 1 mm here and 1mm there makes a lot of difference to gear change about £6 from bearing supplier suspension always hard as standard from most say probably benefit from a service on the forks at least some have gone for slightly lighter oil in forks you should have adjustable forks on the 900 rear suspension well how much do you want to spend a new shock wouldn't be a waste of time if your shock is tired well thats my 2 pence worth lol lots of advice on here from people will get you in the right direction main thing is whether its working or not it still looks great sat in your garage
I seem to remember setting my front suspension to the softest damping setting for compression as it tended to ride in to undulations on the road, rather than ride over them - Helped quite a bit. Also jacked up the rear suspension as it tended to squat under hard acceleration causing front end wobble.
I agree about the "on rails" feel to the handling, but the hard ride does mean that there's a risk of running off the rails if a substantial bump is encountered, which in England is a strong likelihood. I've never got around to changing my fork oil but have always assumed it could make sense to go for a light grade like 5W (I've a feeling that 7.5 is standard). There's plenty of info on fork oil changing if you hunt around, but it is frustrating if you don't have any manuals; I'm not sure where these days they can be obtained, or at least obtained for free. The Ducati website used to offer a good selection of owner's handbooks, but these days they only seem to go back a few years (I am pretty sure I acquired my PDF copy from the official website, quite a few years ago, FoC). Re suspension settings, here are some basic details from the handbook: There are various opinions about the way the Showa forks work, and the quality of the internals (not the same AFAIK as similar looking forks on 916 etc.). For instance: https://www.ducati.ms/threads/showa-fork-rebound-damping.333977/ I think I concluded that there may be some truth in the idea that softening the rebound damping also softens the compression. Also, I reduced my rear spring preload at one stage and I did that with the shock removed from the frame, which is something that has to be done if you want to check the rear cylinder exhaust valve clearance.
Wow thank you all do much; Recidivist those pages are like gold dust.....thanks once again. Yes, I too followed the link to the owner's handbooks, but as you say, they go back only a few years. Please could I possibly scrounge a copy of your PDF ? I'm more than willing to pay for it. If you're amenable, drop me a pm. Cheers all - now for a bit of suspension twiddling, fiddling and fettling....this is a really great site. S23
I found mine rode better with The Mrs as pillion so I slackened the spring a couple of turns. This definitely made it feel better when riding alone as the spring seemed to smooth out the bumps a little better and I think it took a little weight off the front which also helped.
Tried and failed to post owners manual pdf, too large(?) however, item is listed as available from Ducati, 20 euro. I'm assuming it'll be the original 4 language version. pn: 91370531B Stein Dinse
A yellow ssie so similar to the OPs bike and no not an xgf but Sally the current and I hope long term future Trouble. It is the bike I had when we met. No, not when you and I met, when I met Sally silly.
Hi Speedy. I also found the 900SS suspension a bit hard. My front forks had no adjustment possible and as I don't do track days I had softer springs fitted front and rear. Also softer dampers. Another change that improved rideability in town was to fit a front sprocket with two teeth fewer than standard. (I'll count them if you are interested). It means I can do 30mph in 3rd without snatching. Top speed is probably only 115 but I can live with that. I've had my '97 bike for 17 years and still think it's a stonking engine and frame. As you might see in the pic I have modified it in other ways over the years to improve comfort.
Fitted new bars, moved pegs up and forward a little. New seat with some padding. And of course removed fairing. I cut off the rear of the frame below the standard pillion seat and welded in a simple loop to join the open ends of the frame tubes together. To fit the bars I drilled the top yoke which would probably give purists a heart attack. But I can ride 200 miles plus comfortably.
