Ducati Monster Forum

I know there is a budget Ohlins that is "OK". What about this one? I've seen a very fancy Wilbers shock with high and low speed adjustment too. The oem Sachs shock falls through the initial spring rate too quick and then gets bloody harsh real fast as it reaches the fat guy/pillion rate. I'm 200 without gear and its harsh. I backed off the preload and damping a little and caused other issues of course because the spring is just wrong. I can get a used oem Sachs for a little over a hundred bucks and see if my suspension bloke can skim down a Showa valve for it. Dave at Kroozetune Melbourne rebuilds and modifies the unrebuildable, but he hates these shocks. If only it was a Showa.The basic Ohlins which people spring for is around 800-900 bucks here. When Dave's shop reopens at the cessation of stage 4 lockdown, I'll ask whether a spring change will do a half ok job. I have a spring bank to raid in the hope that the correct spring will bring the shock close to the performance of a basic emulsion type Ohlins for a couple of hours of my time.



https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/YSS-AMMORTIZZATORE-POSTERIORE-GAS-DUCATI-1100-MONSTER-EVO-2013-69820/272781141795?_trkparms=aid=1110009&algo=SPLICE.COMPLISTINGS&ao=1&asc=20200220094952&meid=c4f4ede683b64405a40e65267219fd8d&pid=100008&rk=2&rkt=12&sd=264653875228&itm=272781141795&pmt=1&noa=0&pg=2047675&algv=default&_trksid=p2047675.c100008.m2219&redirect=mobile

Well, my local shop has ceased working on street bikes and now only builds their own parts. They were good too. [bang]

I'm talking to local people looking for a solution and was also recommended Dan Kyle's shop by Moronic. That is an option.

I still have a lead on a low mileage oem shock that could be tuned and resprung. The issue with the oem shock is harshness in high speed compression damping (sharp edged bumps). The lower speed compression damping and rebound feel quite good. The shock is well controlled over most bumps and dips, just harsh at times.

Any thoughts?

Such a nice bike - GET IT SORTED  [thumbsup] a mid price shock that can be serviced and later sold locally'ish.

The bike is well tuned, the forks and ergos are done, just the shock and mid pipe to do.
It's exciting to ride. 8)

I have rediscovered a suspension guy from my racing days who is still working and very accomplished. I thought he had retired. He is a fan of the direct link suspension on the Evo and most importantly understands and has data re Ducati suspensions.

A spring, service and revalve will come in at half price of the basic Ohlins (including the cost of providing a low mileage spare shock).

With the Pacific Peso plummeting in value, taxes and shipping costs, I'm happy with this deal.

Spoke to my suspension bloke today. He said that the oem dual rate spring is too soft then nearly doubles its rate with all the ensuing consequences. The shock initially falls through the stroke unweighting the front (yay), then hits a wall going all hardtail and losing rear traction. What more could you want?  ;D An Ohlins linear spring and revalve are in process.

Should get it back next week. Now to select a method of suspending the bike safely. The rearset bosses under the cases look like they should take the Ducati style under engine stand or a scissor lift. Anyone tried this?

Ducati progressive springs at work again!

Howie, how would you suspend the bike? I'm a little leary of the vacuurial case design ;D

Um...are you asking me how I would support it while removing the shock?

Yeah, I have both a scissor lift and Ducati under engine stand. The scissor lift will lift from the rearset boss on each side of the case that supports the rearset. The stand uses the similar boss with its pin. I don't think I could be stuffed removing the rear sets.  ;D

I can tell you what I did with my fire generation Monster.  Raise the bike with the rear stand.  Long steel rod through the swing arm pivot stand,  Lower onto automotive jack stands.  I have no idea if that would work on your EVO.  An option that works on many bikes is raise the bike on a rear stand, bike under a ladder.  Strap bike to ladder.

Just serviced suspension on the MTS:
Under engine stand til rear wheel in the air, then a plank under wheel til sweet spot of
no pressure of shock bolts is achieved. Bit fiddly but do work.

Thanks to you both [thumbsup]

When I swapped out the rear shock on my 796, I used my rear axle stand, then put a piece of plywood under the motor, and then jacked it with a floor jack to unload the rear shock.  I drilled a hole for the oil plug to set into.  It was a little wobbly, and I likely set something on either side of the front forks to steady it, but it was a fairly quick job after that.

Cheers.
That's reassuring as I'm going to use a scissor lift on the rearset bosses once the bike is raised with the rear stand to do just that. The later cases are thinner so Im glad it worked out.

The lift is like this.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/500KG-MOTORCYCLE-LIFT-SCISSOR-JACK/112430870198?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-139619-5960-0&mkcid=2&itemid=112430870198&targetid=1136991246180&device=t&mktype=pla&googleloc=9071297&campaignid=10101785027&mkgroupid=102311923900&rlsatarget=aud-692203741102:pla-1136991246180&abcId=9300367&merchantid=7364522&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIicK2jZP87wIVaIJLBR3yLAyjEAQYEyABEgLQX_D_BwE&pageci=e0dcfb66-9f9c-43b3-9eae-80f2737831cd&redirect=mobile

Spoke to my suspension guy today and the shock is ready.
A 700lb spring (Eibach) for my 200 lbs was fitted and the damper revalved and fully serviced. He said the oem compression damping was apparently as bad as the spring, so I'm glad its been worked.

Fitted the shock, put some shock tools under the seat and went on a 150 mile ride. Initially, quite a lot of bumps disappeared on known roads and the tyre feel was good. The effect on the front end feel was excellent on turn in too. The effect of the rear suspension on the front is greatly underestimated. The rear felt a lot more stable at lean angle and I could feel the surface of the tyre on the road through my butt, hands and feet (you know the feeling).

My buddy on his adventure bike showed me some roads in South Gippsland I hadn't seen since a ride with Dusty Rhodes quite a few years ago. Some were very bumpy and this gave opportunity to test settings. After trying some extreme settings to get a feel for things I ended up a click or two from the tech's damping settings (he clearly knows what he's doing) ;D. I did reduce the spring preload 2-3mm which got the sag numbers I wanted. The adjustments I made were all in the range the tech predicted.

For $465 it was bang for buck and less than half the price a basic Ohlins you might revalve. If your butt is a sensitive chassis dyno you may want to buy a shock with separate compression and rebound damping and even high and low speed compression damping adjustments. After being so tuned into every bump and noting the initial improvements which I grew into over the ride, I longed for a $1500 shock with all those adjustments because I was so focussed on the rear suspension. This illustrates the limitation of the basic shock design and the human ability to grow and adapt into each performance improvement.

I noted after the ride that I had been riding faster through corners with more accurate steering. The improved rear shock really allowed me to utilise the previous good work done on the forks. Following my mate, he overshot a turn off he spotted at the last second but I apexed it under brakes with good feel and security. Again the traction and control while cornering and during aggressive steering inputs was excellent.
A great job by a master technician whose bikes win races and championships. A shout out to Peter at Promecha.

 (https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51151282985_b90092b97f_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kW4Gma)IMG_1803 (https://flic.kr/p/2kW4Gma) by Tony Kokonis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150482584@N03/), on Flickr  

Red Eibach spring. Note the machined spring retainer. Out of 20 clicks I have it in the 14-15 range. It's a budget compromise.

   (https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51150422258_002590254d_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kVZhu3)IMG_1801 (https://flic.kr/p/2kVZhu3) by Tony Kokonis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150482584@N03/), on Flickr 

 (https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51150421073_4c80f4b79f_h.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2kVZh8B)IMG_1804 (https://flic.kr/p/2kVZh8B) by Tony Kokonis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150482584@N03/), on Flickr

The scissor lift I used to support the bike once it was on the rear stand. Here it's supporting a Guzzi V50.

One thing I didn't do was ask here was what weight spring I should use for my 90kg/200lbs.
The spring fitted is an Eibach 0600.225.0700.0. The tech said it was a 12.5kg spring.
Any thoughts from our suspension guru's?

Not a suspension guru, but as an experienced heavy weight rider  8) I say that you're too skinny for a 12.5  [drink] Of course the 1100 is geometrically different from my S2R, but still. Do you get good numbers with it?

The numbers are good for static and rider sag, but the progressive geometry is quite aggressive making me think I could get away with a softer spring.

What was the shock you had worked on... a stock Sachs?

Yes, I picked up a very low mileage stock Sachs shock for cheap. It was also cosmetically in great shape compared to the one on my bike. Resprung, revalved, & serviced.

After consulting the Eibach importer I am going to use a 650lb spring for street use. This is consistent with my use of 1kg fork springs for the track and 0.9-0.95 (0.92) fork springs for the street.