Panigale Suspension Problems/Solutions..

Unfortunately there is at present no solutions to the handling problems with the Panigale. I have had mine for 10k miles and have had consultations with various Ohlins specialists, Four different springs set on F and P all to no avail. Until Ducati comes out with a solution for the rear end you can forget about going fast unless its glassy smooth. And its not just me.. Anybody that tries to ride one fast is dissapointed.

Troll alert...

redcatbike said:

Unfortunately there is at present no solutions to the handling problems with the Panigale. I have had mine for 10k miles and have had consultations with various Ohlins specialists, Four different springs set on F and P all to no avail. Until Ducati comes out with a solution for the rear end you can forget about going fast unless its glassy smooth. And its not just me.. Anybody that tries to ride one fast is dissapointed.

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In my day, trolling actually meant something.

redcatbike said:

Unfortunately there is at present no solutions to the handling problems with the Panigale. I have had mine for 10k miles and have had consultations with various Ohlins specialists, Four different springs set on F and P all to no avail. Until Ducati comes out with a solution for the rear end you can forget about going fast unless its glassy smooth. And its not just me.. Anybody that tries to ride one fast is dissapointed.

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Wait till you start a real one up and actually ride it like it is supposed to be rode.

The solution is to and learn how to ride.

Wow, you talked to Ohlins specialists? Then we really are out of options. Mods, shut down the site. Except leave the classifieds open so we can all sell our bikes.

...., I guess I'll just have to park until this is sorted out.

TricoloreSF said:

Wow, you talked to Ohlins specialists? Then we really are out of options. Mods, shut down the site. Except leave the classifieds open so we can all sell our bikes.

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But no one will be able to ride at all as the 1199 is better than pretty much better than any other bike out there

redcatbike said:

Unfortunately there is at present no solutions to the handling problems with the Panigale. I have had mine for 10k miles and have had consultations with various Ohlins specialists, Four different springs set on F and P all to no avail. Until Ducati comes out with a solution for the rear end you can forget about going fast unless its glassy smooth. And its not just me.. Anybody that tries to ride one fast is dissapointed.

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I have only been riding my Panigale on glass since I have had it so I can confirm your observation is 100% correct, it does have excellent handling particularly when ridden fast.

Have ridden my Tricolre to Italy and back with a pillion, to Assen GP and back on my own have done plenty of miles on UK country roads, not what you would classify as smooth ? and have had a couple of track days, so a pretty good variation of surfaces and speeds and I can honestly say the bike has behaved really really well and coped with anything I have thrown at it including my clumsy braking and accelerating when I try to go fast on track !! so not really sure why some people are finding the handling such an issue ?

redcatbike said:

Unfortunately there is at present no solutions to the handling problems with the Panigale. I have had mine for 10k miles and have had consultations with various Ohlins specialists, Four different springs set on F and P all to no avail. Until Ducati comes out with a solution for the rear end you can forget about going fast unless its glassy smooth. And its not just me.. Anybody that tries to ride one fast is dissapointed.

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Ahh! There's your problem. An "S" model with Ohlins and electronic gizmo stuff.

You should upgrade to a base. They have Marzocchis. Problem solved.

(or as they say "Base is Best")

redcatbike said:

Unfortunately there is at present no solutions to the handling problems with the Panigale. I have had mine for 10k miles and have had consultations with various Ohlins specialists, Four different springs set on F and P all to no avail. Until Ducati comes out with a solution for the rear end you can forget about going fast unless its glassy smooth. And its not just me.. Anybody that tries to ride one fast is dissapointed.

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post up a picture of yourself on the bike holding the key in the right and the helmet in the left hand.

and a receipt of the Ohlins job.

I am in agreement with you on the difficulties in getting the bike sorted in the rear. I have softened the rear spring two steps, and an looking into having the compression damping softened internally. I have changed back and forth between the P and F link positions, settling for the moment on the P position. I raced TZ250s for Yamaha many years ago, so I am hoping I am not viewed as a sniveling whiner, but there some issues with the Panigale over bumpy roads while heeled over in a turn. I realize it will never handle like a TZ, but it gets far too upset in a corner when it encounters a series of bumps. My 1198SP had similar, but less severe problems, and Dan Kyle worked his magic and transformed the bike. Of course it took re-valving both the forks and shock, 30mm triple trees, different springing front and rear, and a different shock link, but we did get it sorted. Dan is not so confident on the Panigale. Don't get me wrong, I totally love my Tricolore, I just want it to track better over bumps in the turns. Considering the difference of opinions, it makes me wonder if I have an internal issue with the shock or the electric servos that is causing it to operate incorrectly. I will keep at it.

redcatbike said:

Unfortunately there is at present no solutions to the handling problems with the Panigale. I have had mine for 10k miles and have had consultations with various Ohlins specialists, Four different springs set on F and P all to no avail. Until Ducati comes out with a solution for the rear end you can forget about going fast unless its glassy smooth. And its not just me.. Anybody that tries to ride one fast is dissapointed.

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Really!!!!!

We haven't had one of these in a while, almost missed it.

HarmonyJim said:

I am in agreement with you on the difficulties in getting the bike sorted in the rear. I have softened the rear spring two steps, and an looking into having the compression damping softened internally. I have changed back and forth between the P and F link positions, settling for the moment on the P position. I raced TZ250s for Yamaha many years ago, so I am hoping I am not viewed as a sniveling whiner, but there some issues with the Panigale over bumpy roads while heeled over in a turn. I realize it will never handle like a TZ, but it gets far too upset in a corner when it encounters a series of bumps. My 1198SP had similar, but less severe problems, and Dan Kyle worked his magic and transformed the bike. Of course it took re-valving both the forks and shock, 30mm triple trees, different springing front and rear, and a different shock link, but we did get it sorted. Dan is not so confident on the Panigale. Don't get me wrong, I totally love my Tricolore, I just want it to track better over bumps in the turns. Considering the difference of opinions, it makes me wonder if I have an internal issue with the shock or the electric servos that is causing it to operate incorrectly. I will keep at it.

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This is the reason I went with a base and upgraded to the TTX 36 MK II and FGRT 203. The DES OEM Ohlins have too narrow of a range (rebound and compression) for me. From my understanding It's not the limitation of the OEM Ohlins but it is the software program that is limiting it (keeping the settings narrow). I know a few guys converted the to MWtuning manual clickers and was able to further adjust the rebound and compression up or down. They love it.

I like the stiffer ride on the track and softer ride on the streets and with the DES I couldn't get there. The rear was unstable but the upgrades of the after market Ohlins from and set up by Dan Kyle fixed it I can honestly say that this is now the best handling bike I have ever owned.

ScrapperX said:

This is the reason I went with a base and upgraded to the TTX 36 MK II and FGRT 203. The DES OEM Ohlins have too narrow of a range (rebound and compression) for me. From my understanding It's not the limitation of the OEM Ohlins but it is the software program that is limiting it (keeping the settings narrow). I know a few guys converted the to MWtuning manual clickers and was able to further adjust the rebound and compression up or down. They love it.

I like the stiffer ride on the track and softer ride on the streets and with the DES I couldn't get there. The rear was unstable but the upgrades of the after market Ohlins from and set up by Dan Kyle fixed it I can honestly say that this is now the best handling bike I have ever owned.

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Hurrah for the base 1199... Its actually the best bike... imho

liked the base and love it with the Bitubo rear shock

Phil said:

liked the base and love it with the Bitubo rear shock

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Definitely needs help...But I have $5000 in that budget I saved over the S....

HarmonyJim said:

I am in agreement with you on the difficulties in getting the bike sorted in the rear. I have softened the rear spring two steps, and an looking into having the compression damping softened internally. I have changed back and forth between the P and F link positions, settling for the moment on the P position. I raced TZ250s for Yamaha many years ago, so I am hoping I am not viewed as a sniveling whiner, but there some issues with the Panigale over bumpy roads while heeled over in a turn. I realize it will never handle like a TZ, but it gets far too upset in a corner when it encounters a series of bumps. My 1198SP had similar, but less severe problems, and Dan Kyle worked his magic and transformed the bike. Of course it took re-valving both the forks and shock, 30mm triple trees, different springing front and rear, and a different shock link, but we did get it sorted. Dan is not so confident on the Panigale. Don't get me wrong, I totally love my Tricolore, I just want it to track better over bumps in the turns. Considering the difference of opinions, it makes me wonder if I have an internal issue with the shock or the electric servos that is causing it to operate incorrectly. I will keep at it.

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My earlier comment aside, I would concede that there is some validity in your post - to a point.
Out of the box, it does indeed need to be tuned. But I tend to be dismissive of those like the OP who declare they've talked to "ohlins Techs" and summarily claim there is no cure. I've run across too many people whose previous experience has been on badly under sprung bikes with limited adjustability. And who, because they're either to lazy to learn how to set up a suspension for their riding style, or too scared to attempt it, run off to "suspension experts" to set it right. Said experts (and they're good at what they do) struggle to set up a bike suspension with input from someone who a) hasn't a clue on how suspension works and so can't tell the experts what's wrong in any coherent sense and b), when experts hand it back to them, still think it's wrong because it doesn't feel like that soft, undersprung rocket they're used to riding.

Since you've ridden/raced TZs - I had a friend who talked me into loaning him my TZ250 to run in an AMA 250 race back in the late 90's). Friend was a very good racer. Very fast on a GSXR750. But a couple of laps in practice and he came in swearing the TZ was set up all wrong/way to stiff/bounced around too much/etc. Couldn't reason with him that it was set up correctly and just needed a little tweaking. Was only after he went around the paddock and talked to other 250 tuners/AMA racers/etc. did he concede that it was his perception and lack of knowledge with tuning a TZ suspension that was wrong and not the suspension itself.
The Panigale does indeed require some work to get it set right. But it's do-able. But only if you take the time to learn how suspension works, be willing to twist/click some knobs, and pay careful attention to the results. It may be that for a particular riding style working with a suspension specialist is a good step. But only after you've done your homework.

But I'm not going to put much stock into someones summary declaration that it can't be done.
It's not black magic. It can be done by anyone willing to invest the time and effort to learn how to do it.

ok, cool this is turning into a productive thread now. Here's been my experience with setup:

Having received one of the first shipments of bikes in CA in '12, nobody had setup experience at the time so I went through much trial and error at the onset. Keep in mind however, my overall philosophy with suspension is that it's about compromise and the rider, at some point, also has to adapt to the bike and not expect it to ride itself. Set up your suspension to address one thing and it is bound to negatively affect another issue, so you have to find the happy medium that builds confidence for you...not what other guys' recommend as setup numbers. Too often, guys come up to me on the track looking for setup help but expect the bike to be perfect in every scenario and complain when it isn't. "It's too stiff for the bumps but not stiff enough under heavy braking or acceleration". "The bike feels too narrow, but want it more flickable". "I don't get it, I got my setup numbers from Alstare/Boulder/Dave/Dan!". Suspension experts also have predispositions for a softer setup vs stiffer setup based on their own philosophy.

So what I found on the base, for track riding exclusively, was that it required equal parts of adjustments to suspension and geometry. We first tried various spring rates, sticking with the marzocchi but custom internals from GP suspension, and then replacing the rear with the ohlins mkII. Still experienced a fair amount of pumping and rear sliding. What we found was that dropping the front down about 10mm and raising the rear a few mm's, 4 to be exact, changed everything for the better. We ran out of rebound and compression on a few occasions and revalved the forks on 3 different occasions.

I weigh 180 with all my gear on and switch between a 95 and 105 spring on the rear depending on the track. In theory, I believe the Pani likes/needs a bit more weight on the front but that depends on riding style and speed. My riding style is a bit "loose" compared to others. My racing coach works with me to smooth things out but I come from a dirt background so I tend to throw the bike around and slide the bike more than what is considered smooth. People have said I look "violent" when I throw the bike into a turn and yank it up at the exit...yeah, I know most of you won't want to ever ride with me now that I've said that. So people that aren't as hard on the brakes or as choppy on the throttle as me can have completely different experiences with these same numbers. My point is, play with your setup and find that happy medium that works for YOU. And also keep in mind that you're never going to have the perfect setup for every scenario and you're going to have to learn to ride around the extreme ends of the spectrum regardless of what bike you're on.