Ducati Monster Forum

good morning all,
i'm new to ducs and i just recently bought a 97 m900. i love it, but the suspension is not at all set up for me (6'4" 260 lbs.) i'm curious as to my options for adjustable suspension that would make my ride a little bit more enjoyable for me. my buddies and i go on twisty rides mostly, and a bit of commuting. i've heard gsxr forks, and read alot of ohlins (?) write ups, but really have no idea what i might be after. any help would be appreciated. thanks!

Ohlins and Penske make excellent shocks.

You can swap in a set of adjustable Showas from another Monster, that's the easiest route to go.
Superbike forks require a little more work, and then GSXR forks require a few more parts.

Any of the forks will require respringing, and revalving or at the least heavier oil.

Personally I don't think the adjustable Showa swap is worth it.

That fork is just as undersprung and overdamped as the non adjustables.

Find some one to revalve and spring your stock forks and you won't believe the difference.

and in the rear? any adjustable monster setup will do?
thanks for the help.

One of the first suspension mods I did to my 1994 M900 was to rebuild my stock, non adjustable Showa forks with Race Tech gold valves and fork springs. Much better than stock, but still non adjustable. About a year later I scored a set of Showa adjustable forks off of a 900 SS SP, they bolt up to the stock triple, had that rebuilt with Race Tech innards and the difference is night and day. My suspension is set up nicely with an Ohlins rear shock and the Showa SP fork. Good luck with your mods which ever way you go.
 [thumbsup]

Any '01 and earlier non-S4 shock will fit, but IMO a stock shock won't be able to handle the spring you need without getting work done on it.
Not sure which of the early shocks are rebuildable/tunable.

Any of the monster shocks that have a nitrogen valve on the front by the fuel tank can be rebuilt. I have done quite a few. they are better than most showas out of the box. but the valve stack can be modified. I even added a remote reservoir and compression damping to mine.

In the end just putting the correct rear spring on will make a big difference. after that gains are smaller.

so a good rebuild seems to be the way to go, but with adjustable showas in front and adjustable ohlins in rear? any ideas on prices? haha, i'm asking too much.

What pressure should be used for the nitrogen? I have what looks like a tire valve on the top front of mine, I assume thats what you are talking about.

Yes that is the valve and if you put a gage in that valve you just let out the pressure.
common pressures will be in the 150-200psi range. There is very little volume so if the pin gets depressed the gas is out before you know it.