Suspension and raising the rear

Hello all, just came from a track day yesterday mainly working on getting comfortable and body position. Saw a few race prepped 1199's and picked the guys brains about setup. They've been working with a local suspension shop and they have been raising the rear about 5-10mm on average. Said it transforms the bike and makes it a scalpel, that the stock setup didn't give the swingarm enough angle. Seems to be workin for them, so I ask if anyone has tried this and what results they've had. I want to try it and have been looking at the ride height adjusters or would using my TTX rear shock to raise it do the same thing? I know it's a few questions just figured I'd pick everyone's brains on the matter.

On the ttx you can adjust the ride height separate from the spring preload so you don't need to spend on a separate adjuster.

Kevin1199 said:

Hello all, just came from a track day yesterday mainly working on getting comfortable and body position. Saw a few race prepped 1199's and picked the guys brains about setup. They've been working with a local suspension shop and they have been raising the rear about 5-10mm on average. Said it transforms the bike and makes it a scalpel, that the stock setup didn't give the swingarm enough angle. Seems to be workin for them, so I ask if anyone has tried this and what results they've had. I want to try it and have been looking at the ride height adjusters or would using my TTX rear shock to raise it do the same thing? I know it's a few questions just figured I'd pick everyone's brains on the matter.

Click to expand...

Hey Kevin, did you figure out how to lift up the rear?

Thanks

sifubs said:

On the ttx you can adjust the ride height separate from the spring preload so you don't need to spend on a separate adjuster.

Click to expand...

Hey Sifubs, can you please elaborate a bit? I want to lift up the rear to compensate the Dunlop Q3.

Thanks

Scorpio66 said:

Hey Sifubs, can you please elaborate a bit? I want to lift up the rear to compensate the Dunlop Q3.

Thanks

Click to expand...

As sifubs stated, the total length of the shock absorber itself can be increased...

A cheap and more practical solution might be a second hand adjuster rod from an old MV F4, they seem to fit and have way better bearings

Kevin1199 said:

Hello all, just came from a track day yesterday mainly working on getting comfortable and body position. Saw a few race prepped 1199's and picked the guys brains about setup. They've been working with a local suspension shop and they have been raising the rear about 5-10mm on average. Said it transforms the bike and makes it a scalpel, that the stock setup didn't give the swingarm enough angle. Seems to be workin for them, so I ask if anyone has tried this and what results they've had. I want to try it and have been looking at the ride height adjusters or would using my TTX rear shock to raise it do the same thing? I know it's a few questions just figured I'd pick everyone's brains on the matter.

Click to expand...

As noted already, easy to adjust the ride height by changing shock length. They have a 1mm thread pitch, so since the linkage has a 2:1 ratio one turn on the front clevis will have a 2mm effect on ride height. Takes about 5-10 minutes tops; I've done it with every set of different tires I've run. Very easy, but admittedly not so much as with an adjustable link rod.

Interesting to hear that someone's thinking the bike needs more swingarm angle, since all the changes that Ducati made as a result of STK/SBK testing to the R, SL and now 1299's has been to go the other way for rear grip, and to get the front end sharper from the new steering head insert.

Steve B said:

As noted already, easy to adjust the ride height by changing shock length. They have a 1mm thread pitch, so since the linkage has a 2:1 ratio one turn on the front clevis will have a 2mm effect on ride height. Takes about 5-10 minutes tops; I've done it with every set of different tires I've run. Very easy, but admittedly not so much as with an adjustable link rod.



Interesting to hear that someone's thinking the bike needs more swingarm angle, since all the changes that Ducati made as a result of STK/SBK testing to the R, SL and now 1299's has been to go the other way for rear grip, and to get the front end sharper from the new steering head insert.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Are you sure it's 1 mm thread pitch? Do I need screw or unscrew to raise the tail?

Thank you

Scorpio66 said:

Thanks for the info. Are you sure it's 1 mm thread pitch? Do I need screw or unscrew to raise the tail?

Thank you

Click to expand...

Was on mine... But that's easy to validate anyway. Measure your shock length, give it a turn and re-measure; then you know that component. You can do likewise for the ride height change by picking a spot on the tail vertically above the axle. With the rear wheel off the ground (I use jackstands under the pegs), measure the distance from your spot on the tail down to the axle with a tape measure, make the one turn change and verify. I did it and the math worked fine; I still validate ride height changes but haven't been surprised yet.

To raise the rear you want to unscrew it to make the shock longer. Ohlins specs the max/min eye to eye length on the Panigale's TTX at 316mm/304mm, so you don't want to go longer or shorter than that (eye to eye centers). You should have enough to play with, but to do anything really radical you'd need a link as well.

All you have to do is support the bike with the rear wheel off the ground as noted above, pick a spot and measure your vertical distance. Then pop off the front shock mount cover, loosen the locknut on the shock eye, then remove the front shock mounting bolt. You don't need to take the shock off completely unless you want to. Do your adjusting, screw the front bolt back in partway, validate your ride height change, then tighten everything back down when it's where you want it. Easiest bike by far to make ride height changes on I've ever had.