Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > Supersports: SS / SuperSport / Supersport 950 > Riding position

[Chief R.B.]

Sitting upright is fine at normal speeds but it does restrict your body movement mid corner and also makes it harder to get feedback on what the bike is doing as most of the weight is going through the bottom of your spine which could be why it feels uncomfortable when you up the pace (IMHO!).

If you lean forward over the tank it takes some of the weight off your bum and makes it easier to shift your body around on the bike with your weight now evenly distributed between your arms and legs and you can pick up what the bike is doing more easily and adjust your position/line if necessary.

Try dropping your inside shoulder when you turn into a corner, it'll help relax your upper body and give you a better eye-line through the turn. It might feel strange because your countersteering and putting pressure through the same side but with practice i think it improves your ability to turn the bike.

Regards
Ant

[skidlids]

My early SS race bikes have :-
Bars pushed forward and set low
Rearsets set back a bit and also set higher
Shock is slightly longer
The race seat is built up to about the same height as standard although I wouldn't mind trying going a bit higher.

All this transfers more weight to the front and makes the bike feel like I want it to

[Red-Duc]

thanks for the feedback I feel alot happier now, from the sound of it I think I should start with altering the bars.

As for tyres which would you recomend, I was going to try the Pirelli diablo or possibly diablo corsa

[skidlids]

Given a choice in tyres I'd go for the Diablo Corsa 3s

[ziggi]

but first choose whether to have a 170 or 180 section rear tyre. 170 is the standard but some choose a 180. Search the board to see what people say and I think the general concensus was 170 was better for turn in.

The reason I mention that is the 170 section tyre limits your tyre choice. Most of the top sporty rubber does not come in 170. I have Pirelli Diablo (normal road) and they seem to be very good. If you have a squared off 180 section tyre then swopping to any new 170 section tyre will be an big improvement for turn in.

[Red-Duc]

Skidlids
Not sure if it was my bike you saw, have been there a couple of times but not stopped for long, be good to have a meet up some time though

[eel]

I have just brought a Ducati 620 Sport (03 model). I think that this is very similar to the SS but may be put right on that! I find the riding position very agressive and after an hour of riding my lower back aches. I am in my mid thirties so i dont need any comments about being too old for this sort of bike!

My question is about bar adjustment. I have seen that the bars can be adjusted by loosening the clamp bolts and rotating but this thread mentions height adjustment, how do you do that?

Thanks in advance!

[Jools]

If you're very, very, very brave (or want people to think that you are ) you'll need corsas. If your honest, you'll probably never ride fast enough on the road, or the track come to that, to give the standard diablos any serious trouble.

I'm not the quickest rider out there but I do ride enthusiastically on the road and usually manage to lurk around in mid-pack of the fast group on trackdays. Standard Diablos have taken all the pasting I can give them and sneered "Pah, is that all you've got" back at me, with only the gentlest of predictable slides.

Remember that people racing SS bikes in DesmoDue also use standard Diablos.

(Ooops, did I just break the voluntary DD posting amnesty )

[skidlids]

Red Duc, just noticed your location is also Oxford, is yours the bike I have seen over Fox's lately, if so we will have to meet up for a chat.