FREE Suspension Setup advice from an expert

Thanks!

I have a 2016 1299S
180 No Gear
Just put on Corsa II’s stock size
I think these tires are heavier than the SC2’s but I like them as I feel a little more planted, for some reason they don’t feel as vague. I think the pressure is 36-36, but for street I figured it’s okay. I’ve read through your post and see you recommend 32 front, 28 rear?

I set the sag at 40F 27R last year and it’s stiff for the street, especially in MI where the roads suck and bumpy. Last week I flipped the suspension from flat to progressive. OMG its much better. it’s not as stiff and pretty good so far but only put about 40 miles on it.


I think I’m gonna set the rear to 30 today as recommended, should I go to 35f. I knew this last year but did not go that soft. Stock was 50F 22R and the ride was brutal. Turn in was so quick but very unstable above 80.

With the rear set to progressive I’m oblivious on where to set the Compression and Rebound Front and rear. Need a little help. I’m mostly street riding, but will obviously re-set things if I ever get to the track this year. Lol

Hope I’ve given you enough. BTW, I use a Motool to set sag. Very cool to have one of those.

Good morning AmpForE, the "P"rogressive setting is really for passengers and works differently at the extreme end of the stroke. Going from 27 to 30 mm rear sag may improve things a little but I would like to know what your spring rates and bike sag, front and rear. Also where is your compression set? Do you have stock Ohlins suspension or something else? How many miles on this bike and has the suspension been serviced? The Corsa II has a different profile and diameter than the Supercorsa SP so that will also make a difference.

roadracerx said:

Good morning AmpForE, the "P"rogressive setting is really for passengers and works differently at the extreme end of the stroke. Going from 27 to 30 mm rear sag may improve things a little but I would like to know what your spring rates and bike sag, front and rear. Also where is your compression set? Do you have stock Ohlins suspension or something else? How many miles on this bike and has the suspension been serviced? The Corsa II has a different profile and diameter than the Supercorsa SP so that will also make a difference.

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I have the Ohlins EC front and rear, about 6000 miles and they have never been serviced. Stock oil in forks. Spring rates are stock. Will check the bike sage now.

Ok AmpForE, a fork service is probably in order but not critical. Are you the original owner of the bike? Let me know what those bike sag numbers are and set the tire pressure at 32-34 front and 28-32 rear (cold). Get that rider sag at the rear to 30 mm (you probably need to remove about 1 turn of preload to get there from where you are now).

NOW, this is important!!! The 1199/1299 has the preload adjustment located below the spring and on the same shaft as the ride height. It is very easy to adjust the ride height by accident when changing preload on this particular shock. What I do is loosen the lock nut on the preload and then remove the bottom bolt from the motor to adjust preload or ride height just so I can be sure the adjustment I am making only does what I want. Have you changed gearing on this bike? Gearing and chain tension play an important role in getting the correct geometry on this bike. Have you adjusted the for height? There are LOTS of questions that must be answered

Yes,

When I did this rear last year I was like what the hell? Prior to the 1299 I went to Washington Cycle Works in NJ and let them do it. Every cycle before this was set by them. Didn’t do this one because I moved to MI.

Okay. Cold, and I know what you will say.

Static-Rider

Front 27-34
Rear 12-24

So, I will set the tire pressure, go ride and get the system hot, then set the front and rear sag. For now, I will put the system in dynamic for compression and rebound.

You don't need to set the sag when it is hot but it is important to make sure the bike is level front to rear and side to side so if you are using a rear stand put the front tire on a 2"x4", does this make sense?

Try this setup....

Front Compression: 8
Front Rebound: 10
Rear Compression: 10
Rear Rebound: 14

EBC: 3

The front and rear bike or static sag is fine but both ends are too stiff so I would take 2 turns preload out of the fork and 1.5 turns out of the rear (counter-clockwise), then re-measure. Bike/Static sag should be 30 front and 15 rear and rider sag should be 40 front and 30 rear, all measurements in mm.

roadracerx said:

You don't need to set the sag when it is hot but it is important to make sure the bike is level front to rear and side to side so if you are using a rear stand put the front tire on a 2"x4", does this make sense?

Try this setup....

Front Compression: 8
Front Rebound: 10
Rear Compression: 10
Rear Rebound: 14

EBC: 3

The front and rear bike or static sag is fine but both ends are too stiff so I would take 2 turns preload out of the fork and 1.5 turns out of the rear (counter-clockwise), then re-measure. Bike/Static sag should be 30 front and 15 rear and rider sag should be 40 front and 30 rear, all measurements in mm.

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Thanks!

I needed air in my tires so a ride was in store anyway. I have not changed the ride height or gearing.

I’ll get these numbers dialed in and see how it rides. So wish the preload was as easy to set as the comp/rebound.

The rear progressive was explained to me as, flat is 2:1. Progressive is 1st 3rd 1.5:1 2nd 3rd 2:1, last 3rd 2.5:1.

I don't recommend the progressive setting and unless you have measured rear ride height on a stock bike with stock tires in the "F"lat setting and then measured the ride height at the rear in the "P"rogressive setting and then compensated for the change in ride height it will be hard for me to completely solve your problems. I suggest putting the bike back to the Flat setting and applying the changes I have mentioned. Please also take note and update what your fixed suspension settings are in this space so others can see where you were and where we are going so that they can also benefit. Not one person that I have worked with preferred the progressive setting over a properly set up bike with the linkage set to a flatter curve. In fact the 2 changes most needed on the previous generation of Ducati Superbike were changing the rear linkage from progressive to flat and getting more trail by installing triple clamps with 6-8 mm less offset. Ducati made these two changes for you when they designed the 1199/1299 and in the process saves you about $2500 in the process due to changes needed to be made to the rear shock, spring, ride height rod length not to mention the actual clamps and linkage parts.

Thanks again,

I just dialed in your settings

comp and rebound as above

Front C/R 8-10
Rear C/R 10-14
EBC 3

Sag is now

Front 33-40
Rear 15-30
Progressive

I don’t have time to change it back to Flat today but sag definitely increases moving to progressive and perhaps the increase in tire pressure.

It took exactly two turns out of the front to get to 40. The rear did not take any to move from 27 to 30. Tire pressure was low in both tires, bend your rim low, so perhaps the correct pressure moved me from 27 earlier today to 30. Not sure about this. I do know that in Flat it was 27, and now 30, no turns, just going to progressive and warm shock oil.

So, before I made any of today’s changes the difference between last year and today was the flat to progressive. It turned in slow and was definitely soft. After that todays changes it’s much sharper, turns in quicker, and not so soft but not harsh. It pretty good for a street setup. The roads hear are VERY harsh so if I want to soften it up before I get to the better roads can always switch to dynamic. And this is exactly why I bought an S.

Cool, I am glad it is working better If you want to experiment with a little less harshness you can remove 4 clicks of compression from both ends meaning set the front at 12 and rear at 14 clicks. Rebound is more of a science and compression more of a feel thing so the bike should be balanced at this point but before you change anything else, check again tomorrow morning what the rider sag is front and rear and see if you are still at 40 and 30 respectively. Also re-check those air pressure settings. I really find anything less than 32 at the front to be too little and anything more than 32 rear to be too much, ideally 32 front and 28-30 rear. If the rear sag is off then adjust it back to 30 mm.

roadracerx said:

Cool, I am glad it is working better If you want to experiment with a little less harshness you can remove 4 clicks of compression from both ends meaning set the front at 12 and rear at 14 clicks. Rebound is more of a science and compression more of a feel thing so the bike should be balanced at this point but before you change anything else, check again tomorrow morning what the rider sag is front and rear and see if you are still at 40 and 30 respectively. Also re-check those air pressure settings. I really find anything less than 32 at the front to be too little and anything more than 32 rear to be too much, ideally 32 front and 28-30 rear. If the rear sag is off then adjust it back to 30 mm.

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Awesome!

I will check the pressure first, then check the sag cold and hot. I will also set up one of the other modes with the reduced compression so I can switch back and forth on the fly to see how it feels. All is good so far!

roadracerx said:

NOW, this is important!!! The 1199/1299 has the preload adjustment located below the spring and on the same shaft as the ride height. It is very easy to adjust the ride height by accident when changing preload on this particular shock. What I do is loosen the lock nut on the preload and then remove the bottom bolt from the motor to adjust preload or ride height just so I can be sure the adjustment I am making only does what I want. Have you changed gearing on this bike? Gearing and chain tension play an important role in getting the correct geometry on this bike. Have you adjusted the for height? There are LOTS of questions that must be answered

Click to expand...

This! Is there a preferred ride height on the rear (shock length?) after you have the bike and rider sag (40 front and 30 rear) set up for your weight 76 – 78 kg (167 -171 lbs) without gears? I remember when I decreased the preload on the rear (4 years ago) the ride height were also lowered. Now I have my suspension serviced, reinstalled and will set it up again… Bike is 1199 S (2024). Tyres is Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II 120/70 and 200/55 with Ducati recommended pressure at 2,2 bar front and 2,1 bar rear. Fork height is same as before service (= not changed), Gearing is still stock but I have new 15/41 sprockets (but not yet decided if I replace those now or continue with stock). Learning by doing and asking

@micao, there is an ideal ride height, mostly to achieve the correct swingarm angle. This is measured with the Ducati Corse ride height tool. If I gave you a number based on that you would need the same tool. I can look at my shock and get back to you on the length. IF you change gearing this changes EVERYTHING so here is what I recommend. Make sure your chain tension is correct and adjust the shock length and for ride height per the specs I'll post later THEN measure a spot on the tail section, I like to use a piece of tape with "X" to make an exact spot, to another fixed spot and take note of that distance. Next, install your new gearing and re-adjust chain tension again. Finally you must adjust shock length again to get the distance you had before between your two points.

Rider sag is measured with ALL your riding gear so please take that into account.

Make sure that front tire is at least 32 PSI cold. 28-30 rear.

@endodoc that's the one! In THIS pic have you compensated for the 2 mm ride height difference between the Rosso and Supercorsa tire?

During the final setup, yes. This pic is the day I got the tool and just laid it on the bike for the pic. This particular bike is also running short Desmo Shock and mount so it was a bit of a tinkering session

Great write up on this by the way. Excellent info. Tire diameter/circumference I’m sure is something that is often overlooked.

Thank you in advance for offering your advice

May i ask something please as it's REALLY confusing me!
220-230lbs in gear
Street riding only on bumpy UK roads

I ride a V4 base, sachs rear is ok for the road but for 13mm free sag i have the preload nearly all off - do not know what weight or spring is on the V4 Sachs Shock
I've just bought an Ohlins TTX from a V4R, 10.5 spring in it 21141-36/105 L5118.

Can i fit the Ohlins straight in or do i need to respring it?

Here lies the problem, Ducati Omaha's recommendations are that for the same weight of spring the Base model can take a heavier rider than the S or R, on looking further 2 parts of the linkage from the base have different part no's from the S & R............BUT, owners of the S say the bike is soft & R owners say their bikes are firm?!

So........ i'm well boggled!

endodoc said:

View attachment 30556

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This is not a tool for the casual rider.

Heres my question, base 1299 on Rosso Corsas. Planning on an upgrade to the shock and forks but in the interim they are ok for my level. Set the sag at 30 rear 35 front, shock R 4 clicks out C 6 clicks out , forks R 8 clicks out C 10 clicks. Weight about 206 lb's No real complaints except a tendency to run wide on exit on the gas that a bit more than I like and tip in is a bit vague. To correct this I raised the forks 5mm and it has made a difference in slow speed turns, can test it fully due to the lockdown. Previously when I was running 200/60 V3's it felt great and a lot of the understeer went away so I tried adjusting the ride height 3mm (2 turns?) didnt seem to make a difference so I went back to std. Am I heading in the right direction with the fork height?