Ducati Monster Forum

I rebuilt my forks earlier this year and went with a 7 weight.
I really don't like how it handles now and the tire is wearing really bad, really bad cupping.
I wondered if anyone had some insight as to what Ducati uses for OEM weights so I have some kind
of base line to work off of. Also any opinions on oil weight. I've just got stock showa forks on the bike.

I used the information in this page (scroll to viscosity table) to make a blend of two Silkolene products to match the stock "weight" oil.

http://www.pvdwiki.com/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid (http://www.pvdwiki.com/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid)

Pretty sure its 5wt for all modern ducatis (and for that matter virtually all modern bikes).  The complicated bit is that different brands of 5wt are actually a bit different in viscosity.  If the oem brand isn't readily available I generally pick a widely available brand and stick with the same thing so I don't have to re-adjust the suspension every time I change oil. 

That was an interesting read. I used Maxima 7wt and it's alot lighter and faster than what was in there originally.
I may just have to play with this a bit. Since the forks are the cheap OEM showas I can't tune out the fast rebound unless I use a heavier oil. They only have preload adjustment. I may spend the money ($999) and get cartridge replacements
and springs all set up for the bike and my weight from Traxxion Dynamics. But that's out there in the future somewhere.

Alright after alot of reading I found that for the damper rod style of fork you should be running a viscosty
of about 34 centiStokes at 40C. I'm running a viscosity of 21. I think that if I move to a viscosity of
32 with a 10wt oil I should be back in the ball park of where I was and see if the tire wear improves.

Even the basic showas and 'zokes on ducatis will be cartridge type, not damper rod type forks unless I'm badly mistaken. It is entirely possible that they spec the thicker oil though -- check the manual for your specific bike on that, no reason to guess on that one.

You're badly mistaken, wouldn't you assume that since I had rebuilt the fork in the
first place I would know what's inside the fork?

Dunno, my non adjustable Showas are cartridge, like every other non adjustable Showas I've seen on a Monster.