Ducati Monster Forum

Took my 2007 S2R800 to the Dragon last weekend(hwy 129 through the Smokies for those who aren't familiar) and my bike was not as nimble as I would have liked and thought I would adjust the suspension for tighter turns/ more manuverability. I found this article and wondered if someone could interpret whether these adjustments are best or are there other adjustments that would be optimal. I realize that this is somewhat subjective, but any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm 150 pound male as opposed to the 130 pound female mentioned in the article. Also, mine is a single sided swingarm.

"Solving the saggy suspension wasn't much of a problem for our target 130-pound female rider. We took our fork legs to Race Tech (www.racetech.com (http://)), where technicians slid in a set of straight-rate .85 kg-m springs and poured in medium-weight oil, setting the level at 120mm. Cost: $282.46 for parts and labor, or $147.46 for the parts alone. Out back, we dialed in some additional shock-spring preload until we had an inch of sag, and increased rebound damping to cope. (Heavier riders will want to hit up Race Tech for a stiffer spring.) Incidentally, the shock body and fork cartridges are sealed, so can't be revalved or rebuilt.

So set up, our Monster was less prone to dragging hard parts, but felt too high in the front. Ordinarily we would have pulled the fork tubes up through the triple clamps, but doing so would have reduced cornering clearance, in contrast to what we were trying to achieve. That meant raising the rear, but the M620 has a solid shock link rod that doesn't allow for ride-height adjustments. The solution is to install a threaded rod from a Monster 1000-except the parts have to be ordered individually at a cost of $233. Fortunately, Eastern Cycle offers a link rod meant to lower the M620 that can also be used to raise it. Cost: $109.95. We adjusted the ride height so the bike sat 5mm higher in the rear and presto: lighter steering and more precise handling."

I too am about 150 with an S2R 800.  Depending on what you feel with the bike, adjustments can then be made.  If you feel like the ride isn't stiff enough, in the front, you need to replace the springs since nothing is adjustable and in the rear, you can add some preload.  If you wanted more adjustment than that, you need to do a cartridge kit which will really change the dynamics of the bike, in a good way!  Also, raising the rear/dropping the front will make the bike more responsive.  I did this before messing with the suspension and the bike turned much easier.  Might be worth a try before respringing.  Also, on our bikes, you don't need to buy another linkage, the one that comes on the S2R is adjustable.

Thanks for the reply. I guess I'll just have to fool around with it and then ride to see what suits me best. Thanks for the pointers.

Do you have any experience in setting up suspension?

If not, I'd suggest you find a shop to help you. Just mucking about with suspension is bound to make it worse.

^ Or learn the basics and make small changes, then note the difference lather and repeat until you've got it sorted.  There are a bazillion suspension guides out there, but basically lowering the front and/or raising the rear makes the bike turn a bit quicker but can reduce stability and increase a bike's tendency to tuck.

If your bike has a steering damper that can slow turn-in noticeably on tight stuff like the dragon.

As always riding style and technique makes a huge difference. 

With any bike it is wise to set the sag and check it every so often - sag is critical for the bike to handle as the mfg intended.  Once you get a feel for it with correct sag then you can play with sag, ride height and damping adjustments to dial it in. 

Thanks. Really the only "guide" that I have is LT. Snyder's Maintenance and Modification book. As far as experience goes, I would probably make one adjustment at a time just as you have suggested.

+1 on having a pro set up your suspension. As bikepilot says you can do the trial nad error method which will take quite a bit of time. I was never able to get it as good as someone who did it for a living. Also, regarding the forks, you can look for a good deal on a set from an s2r1k which are fully adjustable.

If that is all you want, then just use the adjustable suspension link to raise the rear ride height. The Monster chassis is very responsive to this change. Adding 10mm (measured at the rear axle) will make quite a difference, and would be plenty to begin with.

Getting to the link to adjust it will be a pain, and you might want to have a good shop do it for you. The drive chain will need readjusting afterwards.