What should I expect...setup suspension...

1755 Views 13 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Scrufdog, Dec 9, 2006

Scrufdog

Discussion Starter · Nov 26, 2006

So, in the spring, when my get a Duc, 695 or 800, I know I"m gonna need to suspension set up for me. I'm 6"3" and 240 lbs.

I'm not gonna touch anything on the suspension myself...at first anyway...but what should I expect them to do to tweak the stock suspension? And yeah, I realize that I"m gonna have to eventually upgrade something for my weight, not exactly sure what though, I suppose the rear shock/spring.

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Scrufdog

Discussion Starter · #2 · Dec 1, 2006

anybody?

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island_duc

· #3 · Dec 1, 2006

preload my man, preload! I'm probably around 210 or so with my gear and backpack on. The rear spring really sags at that weight. You'll need to screw it down fairly far. I've got mine almost to the end of the threads and it's just now making a difference.

I looked around for an aftermarket shock within weeks of getting my 695. A good one is around $700 or so, plus whatever to install it. I wish I would've taken that money and just spent more on the bike. I'm not sure how far up the line you have to go, though, to get fully adjustable suspension. I believe the 4 valvers come with Ohlins.

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friedduck

· #4 · Dec 1, 2006

Really with any bike if you want the most you should have it set up for your weight. In your case new fork/shock springs and possibly changes in oil height & weight.

From experience, paying the money to have this set up correctly is really worth it, worth far more than what people spend on small blinkers & tail eliminator kits ;D

It's been a while since I've shopped for springs, but let's say you end up spending $300-400 combined for both ends just for oil & springs. Next step up would be to revalve the forks & shock (if they're rebuildable--I'm not familiar with what comes on your bike) and this might cost as much as $400 each for front and back.

That's usually as far as people go with the front, and the next step up for the back would be $600-800 for a better shock (Penske, Ohlins, Elka, etc.)

I've revalved forks myself trying to save money, and let me just say: don't do it!! It's worth it to have someone who knows what they're doing working with you.

HTH, Jeff

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· #5 · Dec 1, 2006

I would suggest learning all about suspension before trying to tinker with sag, compression, rebound, etc.. Having someone else set up your suspension for you is only half the battle. Knowing what it is they are tweaking gives you a better understanding of why and how your suspension works. There is a plethora of information on the web regarding settings. Here's a start...

http://www.gostar-racing.com/club/motorcycle_suspension_set-up.htm

Once you're able to describe suspension symptoms and find your riding preference, you will be able to tune your compression and rebound to suit you without the need of some "guru". I'm not knocking certified gurus, but lets face it...you're not racing (just yet) so you have a lot of time to learn on your own.

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· #6 · Dec 1, 2006

friedduck said:
I've revalved forks myself trying to save money, and let me just say: don't do it!! It's worth it to have someone who knows what they're doing working with you.

HTH, Jeff

Really? Not to be contradicting nor offensive, but I did my own and was quite happy with the results. It took me forever and a day to get all the required tools. But once I had the sag and comp/rebound set to my riding style I was happier than a fat chick at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

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s4girl

· #7 · Dec 2, 2006

eRacer777 said:
Really? Not to be contradicting nor offensive, but I did my own and was quite happy with the results. It took me forever and a day to get all the required tools. But once I had the sag and comp/rebound set to my riding style I was happier than a fat chick at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

+1...just had a friend from a group of guys that i ride with help adjust the sag, comp, & rebound and i'm like a new woman on the bike...it is the best single change made to the bike-the handling has soooo much better and my riding has improved more in the past month than it has in the past year. in my case the suspension adjustments were turned all the way in and the sag was way off, so YMMV.

julie

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mangeldbug

· #8 · Dec 6, 2006

This is one of the best guides I have ever seen for setting suspension:
http://www.sasbk.co.za/suspension_setup_guidelines.htm

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Scrufdog

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 6, 2006

awesome link, thanks. It has been bookmarked. Not as bad as I thought it might be.

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lorenkb

· #10 · Dec 6, 2006

I'm in the same boat as Scrufdog. I've done some searching and found plenty of complete options for the rear (ohlins etc.). However, there seems to be very little in the way of front forks. So far the only adjustable option I've seen are Showas from higher up the Monster chain.

Anyone have any advice on where to find good replacement options for the front forks on a 695 other than Showas from used bikes?

Thanks,
Loren

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Yoda9

· #11 · Dec 8, 2006

Kneedraggers has a set of Ohlins front forks for Ducati Monsters 2001-2003 (at least that is what they are listed as)

http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/Ohlins_road_and_Track_Forks_Ducati_Monster--22-OHL-163.html

Not sure if this helps.....

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lorenkb

· #12 · Dec 9, 2006

Thanks for the link. I found the same thing on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ohli...018QQitemZ280057076957QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Less pricey than at kneedraggers, but still incredibly expensive for a 695. Perhaps I should go back and research those Showas again. From what I understand the forks from a supertouring are fully adjustable Showas and are a direct swap for 2002+ Monsters. I'm assuming this includes the 695, but I'm not entirely sure. I'm still totally confused with all the model changes and compatabilities.

Loren

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lorenkb

· #13 · Dec 9, 2006

Scrufdog, here's what I have found on what's needed to support our extra weight:

New front fork springs sprung to our weight (110 at racetech)
New front fork oil (20?)
New rear shock spring sprung to our weight (110 at racetech)
New valving for rear shock (gold valve kit for 180 at racetech)
New rear shock oil (20?)

As I understand it the front forks are not rebuildable on the 695, so you can't revalve them. I'm not sure if its good practice to automatically replace seals when this much is changed (or required for that matter), if so that adds another ~75 bucks. If you were going to do all this by yourself you would also need a fair amount of costly specialized tools (looks like ~800 bucks minimum

) I have no idea what the labor costs would be to get this done at a shop, but I can't imagine it would be cheap.

For the price of the spring, valve kit, seals, oil, and labor I would ditch the stock rear shock altogether and just go with a Penske 8981. This is a fully adjustable shock that will come with everything correctly setup for your weight for 795. Little extra output for a whole lot better of a setup.

Also, I'd talk to a company like racetech before you took action on anything I've said, all I have to back up my claims are a bit of research here at the DML and looking at suspension websites.

Loren

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Scrufdog

Discussion Starter · #14 · Dec 9, 2006

wow, nice research.

I'll keep all that in mind and check out stuff. Thanks

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