Ducati Monster Forum

Hi guys,

I went out for my first long ride on my monster last Sunday to an area named Jonggol. A hilly area with twisty roads, it's the nearest twisty roads with low traffic to Jakarta, my favorite weekend ride destination. Jonggol is about 60 km south east of Jakarta and the road there is about 35km long. I love riding there cause usually there aren't many traffic there at Jongol, but getting there is different.  I have to ride through some heavy traffic jam, took me an hour and a half to reach Jonggol ...but it's worth it  ;D

From Jonggol, I rode on further south to a town named Cianjur, about 110 km away from Jakarta. The best thing about riding alone is that I can decide which ever route I want to take and had lunch there. After lunch I went back to Jakarta through a different route, through an area called Puncak.

Anyway, the ride was really fun, I had a really great time there. After the ride, there are several things that I noticed. First, I'm still getting used to the power delivery of the bike. I don't know, but I often find myself in the wrong gear. I've been riding it for almost 4 months now, but always in traffic jam and never rode it on open roads, so I keep forgetting that the bike has more than 3 gears  ;D

Secondly, the DP Comfort touring seat is really comfortable. The stock handlebar is not as uncomfortable as thought it would be. I have no numb right hand, no pain on my palms or wrists, sitting position is fine and, to my surprise, after 7 hours ride (on the way home I got caught in the worst traffic jam I've ever been) I have no problem with my lower back. No stiffness no back pain etc. I was expecting a quite sore lower back ... even a lower back pain... a day after the ride, espescialy since I have a history of lower back pain, but no back pain at all this and that's great.

Thirdly, the suspension needs to work on. I'm gonna need your advise on this one. There are several sections of the road in Jonggol that is not asphalt surfaced, but made of concrete. The concrete surface is not smooth, it's rough. When I reach this kind of road surface, the bike vibrates like hell. It feels like riding on a wash board. I can feel the rough surface of the road transferred through the handlebar to arms and finally my head! I had to slow down when I reach the concrete road, but even at slow speed of 50 kph, I can still feel the vibration really bad. I had the same problem on rough asphalt surface too. It was really terrible! [bang]

Before I leave in the morning, I make sure that the tire pressure are to the spec. The manual says 32 front and 36 rear, so that's what the pressures are. Maybe that's the cause? or the suspension needs to be set? I'm under the impression that the front suspensions need some adjustment. It's really stiff.

Other than this stiff suspension problem, it was a great ride. It was a kind of trial ride for me. I plan to ride around the island of Java, and need to build my ride endurance first. Next week I plan another ride, a longer ride, about 500 km ride, and hopefully with your guys' help I will have already solve this hard suspension problem.

cool that you got out for a long ride.

on the rough road, I've found that sometimes I clench my jaw when riding. Over rough roads and bumps this feels really rough on my brain. make sure your jaw muscles are relaxed.

also, remember your legs are shocks. get off the seat a bit, ad let your legs absorb a bit of the bouncing. Let all those hinges work for you.

My suspension is soft in its old age, and I'll get jarred pretty heavy on a road with lots of texture. There are sections of the main freeway that I avoid because of this. Part of the issue (at least as I justify it) is that the bike only weighs 400 pounds. I know bad suspension doesn't help, but I think the light weight of a motorcycle comes into play, as well.

In the mean time, consider those sections as necessary payment in order to get to the good roads. Small price to pay.