section 8 superbike setup
 

they say

Showa equipped bikes:
Rear ride height rod eye to eye length 285mm. (fig 1)

Forks should be set at 4 lines showing or 20mm of fork above the triple clamp (fig 2)

how do you set the forks to be 4 lines showing, is it simply undo the allen keys on the triple clamps and set. Is there anyting to be aware of?


Mark

Yes! Make sure the front of the bike is supported! A paddock stand under the bottom yoke, or hang it from the roof by the top yoke will do the trick.

Undo the bolts on both legs and gently lower the bike or chuck stuff under the fron tyre. This is also a good time to check the total amount of travel on the forks to let you calculate appropriate static sag.

[Edited on 10-10-2005 by ali]

And also loosen your bar clamps.

Loosen your bar clamps first, move the bars down by the same amount you want to raise the forks through, retighten the bars, then if you have forgotten to support the bike or it slips the bars just might stop your front wheel hitting the fork lower crown :)

I always put it on an Abba stand which fixes to the swingarm mounts and tie top yoke to the rafters of my garage. Make sure you torque everything back down correctly

ah yes well remembered Ian, Showa fork needs front fairing off and air tubes just to get at lower crown bolts which are to the side of the crown, Ohlins is a bit easier :(

took the advice and roped the top triple clamp to the garage rafter, everything was going well till the top criple clamp came off! yep the front end dropped. The centre clamp ovbiosly wasn't the tightest, we managed to get it all back and i set it at 4 lines showing, i have just measured it and it is 16mm not 20mm so it should have been 5 lines showing in my language.
As best i can make out the back is set at 285mm as standard
anyway I will try it like it is and see how I go

any advice?

Ya know, I noticed that on my bike as well (non-Ohlins) I have three lines showing now and was going to move to four when I get brave enough but I also noticed that four lines will NOT equal 20mm. I think the web site says four lines OR 20mm. I take that to mean if you get to four lines and don't have 20mm you still stop there.

This may be a dumb assed question, but assuming that you have the front end supported, wouldn't taking the front wheel out make the job of wriggling each fork leg through the yokes a bit easier?

I'm going to drop my T8 forks by 10-12 mm when I get around to it (seems to be the consensus on quicker turn in) so is dropping the front wheel out more bother than it's worth?

have been out on the bike today, the handling is completely different, you would not think it was the same bike. That is with 4 lines showing i.e. 16mm poking thro'
I had already set the sag to 35/30 front and back
am very pleased with it now.
my only regret is that i did not use a chain block to suport the front end and that i did not check the tightness uf the centre clam on the triple clamp
you live and learn

thanks for the help

Mark

it makes a lot of difference, the front end turns a lot easier and feels better. rear ride height is equally as important, I made a tool for this, theres a thread somewhere on site with a picture dseered took, it weren't the most complicated of things and cost nothing to make.

never sen a loose centre clmap bolt, wil check mine. I usually only do one leg at a time anyway, oops should have said that in my previous post , doh

Yes, i have those setting my Duc too, and really like how that bike behaves now. It's really worth it :sing:

I would have thought it would make things a lot easier Jools to taking the front wheel out, for a start you reduce the weight of the whole assembly by more than half.

Hmm,mebbe,but in my experience,as soon as you release the clamps those forks slide through very easily!:o
Make sure the clamps are torqued up correctly.Its very easy to oval the fork leg.

see what saying but do you slide the forks up through the yokes or lower the bike down the forks , if you see what i mean.:puzzled:

Easier to lower the bike down,I would have thought.Saves removing the front wheel and mudguard.

BTW,has anyone using this setup noticed how close the front wheel is to the front cylinder head on hard braking!?:o

I seem to remember using that after the BBQ! :barfy:

If you leave the wheel and fork assembly all together, you should be able to just loosen everything up and let it slide through together. Then both tubes would stay even, hu?? As far as torqueing everything back down, do you guys use a specific value or just a "feel" thing?? I would think you want them tight but guess you don't over do it.

Wonder how much difference I would feel going from 3 lines already to 4??

You can download the torque values for most of the bike from Ducati.com, someone has posted the link on here previously

Mine came with 4 rings showing from new, does it make any differance if the bike is a 749 without the adjustable steering head.

Nah mate.(I think we have been here before!)
Just need to sort out the sag and ride height.;):D

its easy enough to move one leg at a time, i think its ending up sounding a bit complicated worrying about whether it moves up or down reality is it'll slide easily. If you put it on an Abba stand take weight off front with a hoist to garage roof and move handlebar down then reclamp it before loosening anything it'll be fine.

the torque settings i use are here the handlebar is wrong, its a single bolt not double so no 1:2:1 tightening sequence needed. don't overtighten anything, the fork tubes can ovalize and the bar clamp can break, use a torque wrench which is in 1nm increments

whether you can feel 5mm is down to the rider, your sag could be 5mm too soft and you'd then have the same headangle anyway, oops sorry confusing things again.

Speaking of how forks come set from the factory...I was at my local dealer the other day and they had 8 SBK's of different variety (one 749r and two 999s included) and every last one of them was different with anywhere from no lines showing to one had 4 1/2 showing. The spring preload varied just as much. And it wasn't like all the 749's were the same and the 999's were the same...they were all off. Guess they just throw them together and send them out. Also noticed for the first time the difference in the top of the Ohlins forks. Do they adjust preload with the little nut on the top? Oh yea, and how come 999s gets Ohlins and radial brakes but 749s doesn't. That's not fair!! Guess it's about cost and targeting a different market.

If you put Ohlins on the 749S it would cost more than a base 999 - doesn't fit the pricing structure.

I reckon the Showas are almost as good anyway...

twinfan
give it a set up its not as bad as you would expect, i did not fancy doing mine "but you only live once" i had my trials and tribulations but am glad i gave it a go and as the boys say I could always put it back

Mark

Geez, sounds like you had a nightmare Mark?

Just about to embark on setting my 749s up as per section 8 guidelines, however i have just fitted a 41 tooth rear sprocket with the standard chain. This has brought the rear wheel forward by about 5-10mm and the bike now feels like it turns a little quicker than before!

Can any of you guys out there advise?
will dropping the forks through to 4 lines make the bike too unstable? would it be better to fit a new chain to maintain the 500mm pivot to axle length?
does anyone know where to buy a rear pre-load adjuster?

cheers all,
steve :burn:

moving tear wheel forward reduces available wheel travel and alters leverage ratio by a tiny amount as well. I'd doubt its so significant as to make the bike too unstable although it might feel quicker handling, the 749/999 is a much more stable geometry than a 748/9xx anyway..

Try K tech for a preload adpator, they are showa importer and service centre, personally i wouldnt bother, it adds weight and means you need a spring compressor to remove or change rear spring. i've got one on my multi as its handy if i have a pillion on but not on the 999.