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With full riding gear I got the rear to 14mm static with 30mm rider. The front is 25-26mm static with 38-40mm rider. Still need to replace the fork springs since that is way up on preload to get those front numbers. I'm surprised there wasn't a bigger difference. On the scale this morning I was 215lbs and 240lbs with full kit.

I'm still concerned about the length of the shock spring I got. I mean, it works, its in there, but I wonder if there's a difference with the V4R shock that explains why that spring is 15mm longer.
 
I have an adapter for my front Pitbull stand so I can support the bike on the triple clamp, but nothing Ohlins fork specific yet. I have a fork oil tool.

I have the service manual which outlines the procedure. Are there any pitfalls to be aware of?
 
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No, its a V4S, so electronically adjustable.

In going over the over haul procedure, I'm thinking I don't need to replace any of the seals. So the only tool I really need is something to unscrew the caps. Is this correct?
 
@bp_SFV4 you will need the thin open-ended wrench for which I provided a link above and you also need a small flat-tipped tool to disconnect the electronic wires from each fork top. I use a Delrin non-marring tool to turn the preload adjusters, you will need to back off all the preload before attempting to remove the fork cap.


There is also an Ohlins tool specifically made to remove the cap itself.

 
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While you may be at the edge of adjustment, for the street is this not in the range?

What is the point of owning a 30k+ machine and not spending a few hundred dollars to make it work perfectly in ALL environments?

btw, all forks should be completely serviced every 2-3 years or every 5K miles. Shocks generally double the service interval of the fork.
 
While you may be at the edge of adjustment, for the street is this not in the range?

From everything I've read/watched on the topic you ideally want to be in the middle of the range. Maxing out preload to compensate for a spring which isn't strong enough is not in keeping with best practices. Does it work, sure. Its just not the ideal or proper way.
 
From everything I've read/watched on the topic you ideally want to be in the middle of the range. Maxing out preload to compensate for a spring which isn't strong enough is not in keeping with best practices. Does it work, sure. Its just not the ideal or proper way.

Nor does it leave room for when you gain 15 pounds.

It bothers me that we can’t order a bike with the right spring. Not only that, it bothers me when you buy the thing the dealer doesn’t do this for you at the time of purchase.

Mr. Customer, your cycle comes with a fully adjustable suspension, our service department will get it set up for your weight. Oh, we recommend you get a stiffer spring, would you like us to perform that service before you pick it up.

Like you said, who’s buying a 20k+ sport bike and not saying yes to the $500.

People don’t realize how important a properly set up suspension is on a sport bike.
 
@AmpForE agreed 100% on this. I have mentioned this to many dealers over the years and if I owned a dealership I would certainly provide this service as part of the deal when buying a new motorcycle.
 
I'd hate to know what a Ducati dealer would charge to replace fork and shock springs.

I couldn't even get my dealer to set static and rider sag on delivery.
 
@bp_SFV4 there are some dealers who are looking out for their customers but they are few and far between. I'll let you know if I decide to open one :)
 
@roadracerx I got the proper 21040-36/105 today and will get that installed.

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Is there a way in DES dynamic to compensate for the increased spring rate? Would that be simply changing the Shock setting in the Dynamic mode? It feels like it needs more rebound control since when I hit a bump it feels like its going to eject me.
 
@bp_SFV4 spring preload has nothing to do with rebound or compression damping. That said, installing too much preload, like 16 mm, will make the shock feel harsh like having too much compression.

My opinion is that rebound is more of a fact and compression is subjective....its a feel thing. I would set the your bike with these settings...

Start with 11 mm of installed preload the check bike and rider sag which should be 10-15 mm for bike and 30 mm for rider. Also keep in mind to set your tire pressure and if you need to adjust preload, REMOVE the shock to do it so you don't affect length and vice-versa.

Front compression: 8
Front rebound: 10
Rear compression: 10
Rear rebound: 14

DTC: 2
DWC: 2
EBC: 3
ABS: 1

Let me know how that goes
 
@roadracerx : thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and experience! I have read the previous posts and I'm learning a lot. I have recently subscribed to Dave Moss website, so during the past months I've changed my approach to track days: it's fun! One of the things I never thought is the importance of the swing arm angle (which I should, since my master thesis in mechanical engineering was on stability of motorcycles, but it was more than 20 years ago :)).

Now the problem is that my 1199 (2012) was tuned by the previous owner, and the shock is at its shortest length. I cannot find anywhere the length of the the shock in stock configuration. Do you know (or anybody else) what should be the shock length? I have stock gearing, only the tire is different: once I know that length, I can compensate the tire radius change with the fork height.
 
@EffeRed swingarm angle IS very important and what tires you run don't really affect that angle. What does is the swingarm length, gearing and position of that eccentric in the rear hub. Giving you a shock length won't really help as I use a tool from Ducati to measure this angle and adjust the shock length accordingly after I get the chain tension and on some bikes the swingarm pivot set. I will post a picture of this as I just did a 2014 Panigale 1199R.

On that bike I installed the new Pirelli SBK tires in front size 125/70 and rear 200/65. Due to the radius of each of these tires the geometry settings are different from the older Pirelli 12070, 200/60 tires but I set the swingarm angle to the exact same number.
 
@EffeRed swingarm angle IS very important and what tires you run don't really affect that angle. What does is the swingarm length, gearing and position of that eccentric in the rear hub. Giving you a shock length won't really help as I use a tool from Ducati to measure this angle and adjust the shock length accordingly after I get the chain tension and on some bikes the swingarm pivot set. I will post a picture of this as I just did a 2014 Panigale 1199R.

On that bike I installed the new Pirelli SBK tires in front size 125/70 and rear 200/65. Due to the radius of each of these tires the geometry settings are different from the older Pirelli 12070, 200/60 tires but I set the swingarm angle to the exact same number.

I based my conclusion on the following assumptions:

1. The bike comes out of the factory with the correct swing arm angle;
2. If the chain is quite new and the gearing is unchanged, the position of the eccentric is more or less as it was when it was assembled in the factory.

According to this, if I could set the shock length as it was initially, I should get pretty close to the optimal angle.
Now that I'm writing I am realizing that I would probably need to replace the chain very soon to avoid moving the eccentric too much.
So, if this is correct, I guess I need to buy the same tool that you have :) .
Reading the previous posts I've seen that there's a Ducati tool and also a cheaper version, non original, which has a lot of play. If I want to be able to set up my bike with your info, I need to buy the original one, right?
 
@EffeRed the Corse ride height tool costs over a grand and NO the swingarm angle and position is not set from the factory for track use. I had to lengthen the shock by 6.5 turns on this 2014 1199R I set up this past week.

I DO agree with the idea that engineers and manufacturers do make good handling motorcycles from the get go - Aprilia does this better than anybody. Problem is folks think they know better and start changing gearing, tires, forks, shocks, etc and don't have good tools to understand how these changes affect the motorcycle. A BIG part of what I do for my customers is "un-.... the bike", lol.

Let's start with this.....what gearing are you currently running? I recently installed 15/42 with a swingarm length of 545 mm (106 chain links), -2 degrees swingarm pivot - this works pretty well on the 1199/1299.
 
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