Decided I have finally had enough of the awful set up on my bike, I have 750SS which I have fitted 999 Showa forks to, problem is they are way too hard, and I have no idea what I am looking for, the bike tips into corners nice, but when leaning over the front wheel skips and bounces around a fair bit. Which one do I slacken off to get it a bit more rideable for the moment, I only weigh around 8 stone and I just put so little weight on the bars that one day I am going to come off.
At your weight, I'd start by backing the pre load right off (the 22mm nut at the top of each leg), and try to at least set the correct sag, before you start messing with rebound and compression settings. But make a note of how many turns or clicks you move anything so you can quickly go back to th beginning and start again, if it goes pete tong.
The kerb weight of a 750ss is about 20Kg less than a 999 ..... as you're also about 15kg less than Ducati's test riders (which is what they base their road setups on!), I'd be surprised if, even with the preload wound right out, you can dial out the front end harshness without changing springs.
I will try slackening the top out a little bit, I just want to get a base to see whether I have to fork out any more cash at the moment (see what I did there :wink
Its a pity Nog is absent at the mo as he does a Wilburs spring set which is softer than std. The 999's springs are way to hard as std anyway.
Just for info. I have a 749 with the Showa forks (Prob same as 999 Showa) manual says adjustment is 10 - 25 mm adjustment (from top of big nut to top of preload nut) I weigh in at 79kg and have my preload wound right out to get decent sag numbers.
Can someone also tell me what does what. Big 22mm one is? Little screw driver in the middle of that is? Ones underneath is? I will wait till it is dry, just started raining now, don't fancy mucking about with suspension in the wet.
Pits - Somewhere on here there is a PDF copy of the user manual which shows the suspension adjustment and location. If you cant find it I will scan a copy of mine and send it to you for reference.
Well, I slackened the top big ones off the other day, made the bike even worse. Problem I have is that cranked over, hit a bump and she is all over the place, swear she was going to chuck me off the other day with the undulations. Any suspension type people I can go to in the S W Wales, Bristol area so I can get it setup?
Bristol would be Louigi Moto ,Rich there has raced (might still do) and sorts out race teams so he knows his sussies. If your adjusting the front and it's getting worse then its because what your doing is also putting the front at odds with the rear compounding your probs. Are your tyre pressures right as this will also add to the effect of out of kilter suspension. I'd say put back to std ,your manual will tell you the settings. Then go see L Moto
I agree with the trye pressure being important, I've been playing with my set up recently and got something nearer to what I like. Changed the front tyre pressure by a couple of PSI and it had quite a negative effect, probably was suspension just on the edge and the pressure change showed it up more. BTW I'm not an expert, I'm just trying things.
The problem is, I have no idea what I am doing, I adjusted it and put it back as I didn't like it, the bike rides ok, just I am not 100% happy, thing is I don't even know what I am looking for in how a bike rides, as bad as it sounds I have little interest in actual bikes, no probs with doing work on them, but I just want to go fast as crude as it is to say. Tyre pressures I set to what I have found works, but again I really don't know anything about bikes, I am the Cole Trickle of bikes. So best I give it to someone who knows what they are doing.
Tyre pressures are low on Ducati's compared to other bikes for some reason. SS are 33psi front. 36psi rear. You say you have changed forks, does this include the yokes? if so the offset might be different which will alter trail. Offset is the distance between the fork leg centreline and the steering stem centre. Anything over 2mm difference will probably be noticable. By increasing the offset you will increase trail which will make the bike steer quicker even though you are increasing the wheelbase slightly.
