Front feedback

[Lee#144]

After setting proper sag and tires I'm having some problems with the front of my bike. Not on my BMW but bikes are bikes! This is on my 848, stock suspension, swapped the trash pirelli SC tires for some power pures and adjusted my rear ride height to compensate the taller rear tire. The problem is the front does not want to turn in or it turns initially but doesn't want to fully flick in. I thought it was a problem with the change in rear height so I adjusted it..added some height to the point the rear was waaaaay to sensitive then adjusted back down. The rear feels fine but the front feels like it's fighting turn in. I'm thinking regardless of sag, I have too much pre-load dialed in? This is a street bike so no racing for it yet, this fall it's getting the Kyle front and rear works!!get me going in the right direction I'm not a suspension guru lol

[Dan Kyle]

What you are describing is a geometry problem, not a suspension problem.

All 848's, 1098's, and 1198's have this same problem.

Like the S1000RR the Ducati's need a different offset triple clamp.

We go from 36 mm stock clamp to a 30 MM clamp.
This adds 6 MM of trail.
Trail is one of the main factors that allows you to "Finish the Turn"

More Trail gained by changing the triple clamps will make the bike turn in faster, do transitions faster, make the bike more stable at speed, and allow you to Finish the turn or hold your line.

The part about holding your line, what is important here is to know that means without have to work hard to do it.
The bike should be neutral, not pushing to the outside or falling to the inside.

[Lee#144]

Dan, I'm noticing this problem upon initial turn-in. The bike is difficult to turn in, more like I'm forcing it to turn in.

[sbs]

All the Ducatis I have had are difficult to turn in, it's the nature of the V-Twin engine; two huge pistons revving longitudinal to the Bike means that you have to overcome their inertia, kind of like having really heavy wheels on a Bike... Ducatis are notorious for being difficult to turn in.

[Dan Kyle]

Originally Posted by Lee#144

Dan, I'm noticing this problem upon initial turn-in. The bike is difficult to turn in, more like I'm forcing it to turn in.

The solution is 30 MM offset clamps.

[racrx451]

848's are a huge struggle to get setup with stock parts... I was one of the first to race an 848 and battled this for a couple years... as the speed increased, the ohlins internals/shock were not enough...cranked the rear to the moon only to loose traction and high side to that same moon. so, 30mm triples were next along with the proper fork height (in the triples) and sag but still not right so then I finally gave in and got the link and shortened shock... it was a lot better but still couldn't hit the right sag numbers so we changed the fork springs to 95s and WOW.. sag numbers hit at the front and rear and walla.. magic. if you are going to race an 848 and go fast...triples, link, shock, forks all need attention and Dan knows his stuff and will be the guy I go to for the new RR suspension..

[DanQ]

Originally Posted by Dan Kyle

The solution is 30 MM offset clamps.

How much of a departure is that from the stock offset on that machine?

[Dan Kyle]

Originally Posted by DanQ

How much of a departure is that from the stock offset on that machine?

The stock clamps are 36 mm.

[chipset]

They are right. Riding my 848 and any other bike back-to-back, you notice it right away.

A couple years ago I was on the Dragon and traded bikes with a friend and even he commented on it. It generally makes the motorcycle seem more stable through the corners, but it means more effort to get it to turn in.

I did a track day on my 848 then took the S1000RR out for the last couple sessions. The S is so much easier to ride fast...

[DanQ]

Originally Posted by Dan Kyle

The stock clamps are 36 mm.

Thanks Dan. It always amazes me how the aftermarket experts manage to find (most of the time) subtle changes to greatly improve what the manufacturer put into production.