1993 900SS 40k miles I have some play at the lower shock mounting - I will be investigating soon but can anyone tell me what is likely to be worn here causing the play? Are there replacement collars available as service items? Many thanks Andrew
It could be the bolt, it could be the bush in the lower shock mount, only way to know for sure is to pull the shock out and have a look but you obviously have to support the rear of the bike to stop it collapsing. Most people with road bikes never bother getting the rear shock rebuilt or serviced unless they are seriously into it, so the chances are your shock 24 years old now with 40,000 miles on it. I'd recommend you spend the relatively small amount of money it takes to get it serviced. If you're a sporty rider on your SS I'd also recommend replacing it with one of the later injected SS shocks instead, they are a bit longer and that is good for your bike's handling. If you want to spend more still then look out for an Ohlins shock from the 1000SS.
Thanks Duck that answers my question, a bush in the lower shock mount. The bike hardly gets used at all so a simple bush replacement is perfect for me, cheers
Look at the bolt too and test its slack in any new bush you fit, new bolt from Ducati is about 3 or 4 quid...
I daresay....but there were at least three types of rear shocks fitted to all of the carbed SSs........some can be repaired, others can't. Sachs Boge can't IIRC....that's the one with the blue adjuster knob on top of the reservoir. Showa can White Power - I dunno.
Please yourself - And any bolt of the correct dimension and spec will do....the most you would pay from a local supplier who sells individually is 20p.
So which shock manufacturer would that be, then? The carbed SS Showa shock has a different eye bearing to the carbed SS Sachs Boge shock.
I cannot remember which rear shock is on my ie al been a while since I have seen the bike I wasn't aware that there was a different bearing between the shocks just thought that I would mention about the bearing as it was that which was worn on mine not the top hat bushes or the bolt this is a picky of the shock on mine
IMO that is a Showa but I can't tell if it is for a carbed or IE bike.....it looks like the shorter carbed version. It is rare for the top hat bushes to wear and the normal cause is bearing wear........just for info, there are O-rings under the top hat bushes that deteriorate which lets crap into the bearings. gaz92 found the bearings for the Showas - (there is a thread on this forum somewhere) - but although bearings are shown for the Sach Boge shocks in the Ducati Parts manual, you would be really lucky to find them.
Thanks guys for all the info, I feel better prepared for when I take a look next week. Will post an update just to close out this thread.
Had the same issue with mine - turned out to be a combination of poor oem bolt fit (on the diameter) and sideways play between the bearing and the s/arm lugs. Decent quality bolt (in my case from Inox), together with appropriate thickness shims sorted it. Important thing is not to tighten the bottom bolt as a means of taking out any excess play - the lugs don't take kindly to being bent. I'd be surprised if the bearing has actually worn - the movement in normal use is minimal.
Ah thats interesting as I suspect a little movement from the swinging arm. Can you tell me about the replacement bolt, I don't know Inox?
A decent cheap high tensile bolt will do the job, but many of us fitted stainless A2 or A4 without any problems - me included and as I had my suspension set-up quite hard, if it was going to break, I guess it would have done in the four years it was fitted on my bike. Note that the OEM bolt doesn't have a 'full length' shank or a full thread........the shank stops before it reaches right through to the second lug. Also, it pays to check the vertical alignment of the shock when looking from the rear of the bike because the gap between the lugs can be a bit wider than the width of the lower shock eye - if it's an ally swingarm, you don't want to be squeezing those lugs together because one could break.........just shim the gap one side of the other (or both) when the shock is upright. That way you can tighten the bolt to the correct torque (about 35N) thus leaving the balljoint bearing to do it's job, which it what it is for.
Inox Fasteners - www.inoxfasteners.co.uk - guy in Southampton that does very nice stainless bolts and stuff. Not the cheapest (that'd be eBay), but good quality and accurate. Note Arquebus' comment about shank length - ideal would be for the plain shank to extend to, say, halfway through the second s/arm lug, then load is not taken wholly on the threaded area. There is a formula for bolt length vs thread length somewhere......
