Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > Sport Touring: ST4 / ST3 / ST2 > rear suspension link

[John W]

hi guys (any ST girls ?).

I had a bit of a mishap at the weekend and wondered if any of you lot have ever encountered this.
While two up with hard luggage we hit a bump in the road. We were doing the limit so not really going for it, and It was not a pothole, just a sodding big bump - big enough to make the wife land half way up my back !

Anyway, I became aware after this that the stand was touching down on fairly gentle lean angles, and felt like the suspension was bottoming out.

The alloy drop link is now banana shaped, and is only stopped from bending any more because it now rubs on the rear of the crankcases !!

All of the other bikes with us hit the same bump at the same speed, and all came out undamaged.

I'm hoping this will be covered under warranty as clearly this should not happen. We were not speeding, and were not overloaded (two panniers with enough clothes for a 4 day trip, no top box or rack). I have taken pictures but can't post them at present as I'm preparing for a business trip.

So, anyone else had this happen ?
what's the chances of the warranty covering this (bike is 14 months old) ?
how much does a drop link cost ?

Bike goes to the dealers next week for them to take a look.

Cheers all,
John.

[Rushjob]

Kin ell.....
I take it by your description of the link & the effect of the damage that it is the tie rod with the ride height adjuster that has bent???
That must have been some bump!
Glad your both ok...
You'd hope that it would be sorted out for you without having to put your hand in your pocket.

[John W]

It was a big bump beleive me. I was first in line and none of us saw it coming. Well, obviously the others got a bit of a warning from seeing my missus and I airborne, but not enought ot really do anything about it. The guy on the pan european had quite a landing I can tell you

Personally I reckon the shocker bottomed out totally and the only thing left to give was the tie rod.

Previously I had about 5mm clearance under the rear wheel went on centre stand. Now its on the order of 50mm...

I'll be p!ssed off if I have to pay for it, especially as none of the other bikes sustained damage and they were all two up too. For some reason though I suspect they'll try something to avoid paying.

What also troubles me is that this has worn some paint off the rear of the crankcase, and I really want to do something to stop this from corroding and gradually leading to the whole lot flaking off.

[YMFB]

John, my ST has bottomed out when simiarly loaded and few times even without the panniers, I now adjust the pre-load to the max when we go out loaded, but apart from a dented down pipe as far as I can see no other damage. Hope the dealer can sort it out under warranty and would be grateful to see your photos. What model ST is it ?

[Mistera]

I would go back to where ever you were on the road (if convenient) and take a photograph of it and, together with some written statements from the other riders you were with, write a letter to whichever council is responsible for that particular stretch of road and demand the money back that it costs you to put the bike right again.

You may be pleasantly surprised.

[John W]

YMFB, I do most of my riding on the ST4S two up, so the preload is permanently wound up to suit. I have never had the suspension bottom out before.

I guess I ought to check the downpipe too. Didn't think about that...

Mistera, We were travelling back up through France at the time, about 50 odd miles from Calais. Consequently going back to take piccies is not really an option. I have claimed off the council in the uk before when bending a wheel on the car from a pothole, so know what you mean about claiming. If I get the brush-off from the dealers I will ask the others to write a letter of support and go directly to Ducati UK.
I had to slow down considerably as the stand touched down on most bends, and the ride was most uncomfortable over any little bump. The other riders were astounded when I showed them what was up.

Btw, its an 03 ST4S ABS.

Cheers for the thoughts guys. I will post the pics next week when I return from my business trip.

[rockhopper]

All upping preload does is to increase the ride height. If the suspension is still bottoming two up then you need a stiffer spring.

[HW]

Adding some compression damping might help a little, although a stiffer spring is really what you need.

[John W]

Hi guys,

I fully understand what increasing preload does, along with compression/rebound damping. Beleive me, these were all set perfect for normal riding. Well, good enough to have full confidence in the bike and to leave VR riders behind no problem
The news is, Ducat UK wanted me to take the bike to the dealers fully loaded, just as we were on the trip. They claim we had exceeded the max gross vehicle weight. I told the dealer this is not acceptible as this requires us to ride the bike to the dealers like this, potentially doing further damage.
They agreed this was not such a good idea.

Apparently Ducat worldwide have only had 2 other instances of these bending on any of their range.

For those interested the ride height adjuster (its correct name) is only 20 quid plus vat. The good news is, the dealer has offered to cover the cost of this by reducing the cost of my 12k service by the same amount, thus avoiding the palava of trying to go through a Ducati warranty claim.
I consider this to be excellent customer service from the dealer (less so from Ducati though).

The dealer ?
P & H at Crawley.

I will post the pics shortly.

Cheers,
John.