thanks for the info - do you know the correct torque is for the yoke bolts? I was more concerned with the forks punching me in the face when braking hard if they werent tight enough ! Do you think the fork tubes would crush ? did you alter your rear ride height as well and did you check the static sag as mine seems less that recommended.
all the other suspension adjustment is set at the factory settings and although it can be a bit harsh you do get a lot of feed back through the bike.
I weigh 11 1/2 stone so I don know how this would relate to your weight vs set up.

Sorry mate Im at work.

I'm about 15 stone and loaded sag is set to 35mm front and 30mm rear as per section8 advice, this seems in keeping with other sites etc. I had to back off the front preload and increase the rear.

I find the feed back pretty good, but not as ghood as a 998 say when really pushing hard

To khu996
- Ive just rechecked my ride height this morning and found measuring the distance a bit of a pain. i found the best way way to do it was to get a piece of welding wire and cut it to 267mm long exactly. This length of wire needs to fit between the aluminium bushes that fit into the eyebolts either end of the ride height adjuster assembly. the bushes are 18mm in diameter so half of one bush (9mm) plus half the other bush(9mm) plus the 267mm gives you the centre to centre ride height of 285mm which is the correct ride height.
because my assembly was a bit seized up I had to put the bike on the abba stand, chock up the back wheel with some wooden wedges (to hold the weight of the wheel) and then removed the top bolt from the ride height assembly.I then took the whole thing to bits but left the bottom bolt attached to the swing arm as its a pain to get out. Clean and grease it all and run the locking nuts (made of crap soft alloy)right to the bottom of thier threads.
reassemble the ride height adjusted and screw it together until its as short as possible. refit the top bolt - you may have to move the wheel chocks up or down to realign the bolt. Once you have it all screwed together then take the chocks out and adjust the ride height by turning the middle of the bar with a spanner. adjust until the welding wire just fits between the aluminium buses and then nip up the lock nuts (try to get the eye bolt ends in line.)
give it a try and see how you get on.

Ive now backed off the preload on the forks as well and it feels like a different bike - the suspension actually soaks up some bumps! I think Ducati set them up way to harsh. I very pleased with the tinkering Ive done and would recommend anyone gives it a go !

Well done mate. It certainly makes a difference. Now all we need is for AndyB to tell us we shouldn't raise the forks thru the triple clamp. Again..

Without any futher explanation.....

Raising the rear and lowering the front changes the geometry of the bike. Perhaps I could have just raised the rear, but by doing both I can't think of anything that would be detrimental to the handling of the bike. Perhaps we should ask Andrea Forni what he thinks?

The only thing I need to sort now is the rear dampened as I think the standard Showa shock needs slightly more rebound dampening

[Edited on 27-3-2005 by sbwells]

Pop to your local mountain bike shop, ask for a 266mm length spoke ( its a standard size) and use that instead of welding rod, the spoke has a rounded head which sits on top or bottom alloy spacer and slide other threaded end up to spacer. Needs to be 1mm shorter to alow for bend on spoke head. (2mm thick spoke).

Cost should be about 30p.

SECTION 8 SUPERBIKE HERE
 

Hi Guys,

New to the board here...my name is Bill, and I'm the co-owner of Section8superbike. I must say, I'm flattered that you guys are discussing our chassis / suspension set ups for your bikes. We've got a lot of time in development with these settings...from Daytona to Road America to Grattan...and have found they work really well. sbwells - glad to hear that you've had good results with our geometry settings! I just wanted to check in and say hi, and thanks for checking out our site. :burn:

talk to you fellas soon,

Bill Keros
section8superbike
Exclusive Ducati Dealer
Detroit, MI USA

Good to hear from you Bill.

I heard about the Section8 site on the Speedzilla board. It certainly seems like you guys have a sound dealership over there in the States. We are a bit hamstrung over here in New Zealand with the number of dealerships and their experience. The setup for the 749/999 works really well on the road, but I need to get back on the track and really try it out. I now find most things with four cylinders struggle to keep up on my favorite twisty road

Guys...as some of you (andyB, Khu) may be aware, I have been attempting to produce my own Ride height tools for the 748/9** series and have had some positive feedback from members whom have bought them so far.

I have since considered making them for the 749/999 series, and after trying one on a 749 the other day for size...what do you know, the dimensions for where the tool locates are exactly the same!

So, have a look at the frame of your bike, where there are two tubular holes in the frame by the footrest. If the bottom hole (the larger of the two) is round, then the RHT for the 748/9** fits straight in, no midifications required!

If you have the elongated bottom hole (slight oval look to it (s and R models I think)), then this tool still fits, but I will be making some slightly different shaped bobbins for the tool, that will fit this slightly different shape better.

I'll post some piccies of it for those that have missed the thread in the 748/9** section relating to this...but basically...its a goer.

I have been selling them for £35 + 5 P&P to members...compares well with the silly £100+ price tag I have seen them for elsewhere.

Drop me a U2U if you may be interested...no obligation at all, just to get an idea of numbers.

Harv you know I want one....