Getting one's arse off the ground on a 695.

[suzyj]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful suggestions.

I just spent an enjoyable hour or so measuring everything to death.

The linkage I have is about 275mm long (+/- 5mm, as it's a little awkward to measure).
Without my arse on it, the seat is 770mm off the ground.

While I was stuffing around, I measured sag - my (cough) weight with kit provides 45mm sag at the back, and 55mm at the front.  Alas, my forks aren't adjustable, or else I'd wind in some preload to bring the sag at the front down to 40-45mm.  I see some spacers being made for my forks in my future...

I've just bought a linkage from a 748, which is (I'm assured) the right length.  If it isn't, it wasn't terribly expensive.

I can bring the triples up 10mm before running out of fork leg, as well.  My plan is to lift the triples up the 10mm that I can, and dial an extra 6-7mm into the linkage to bring the back up 20mm.  If I then add 10mm of spacers under the fork caps, that'll improve my sag on the front and the suspension geometry will be unchanged, with my bum 20mm further from the ground.

Then I can look at cushy seats.

[IdZer0]

Then I can look at cushy seats.

A stock S2R isn't just cushy, it also opens up the angle of your hip. It's 2cm higher. Personally I don't feel the difference when stopped at a red light, but rather during riding. It improves ergonomics and handling (because the COG of your body is raised)

[monstermick58]

Suzyj, 20mm will make quite a difference, if you dont have the spacers for the front (and me not knowing the ID of your forks) an old trick was to use twenty cent coins to help preload the front, might cost you a whole dollar to do this.





                               Mmick

[suzyj]

an old trick was to use twenty cent coins to help preload the front, might cost you a whole dollar to do this.

What a great idea.  That way I can try different amounts of preload without going the whole 10mm at once.  Thanks for that

[monstermick58]

Suzyj, 20mm will make quite a difference, if you dont have the spacers for the front (and me not knowing the ID of your forks) an old trick was to use twenty cent coins to help preload the front, might cost you a whole dollar to do this.





                               Mmick

OK, OK....A dollar twenty then (thought I'd fix this before you lot get stuck into me) 







                                 Mmick

[suzyj]

It appears no amount of spare change will work.

I pulled the top off one of my fork legs tonight, to have a look.  There's a shaft up the middle of the spring that is threaded into the bottom of the cap, with a lock-nut, that holds the spring in compression against the underside of the cap.

If I were to put a spacer in, it would have to be tubular, and go in before the spring, so that I can still get a spanner on to the lock nut.  For reference the spring OD is 39mm.

Or else I could just put stiffer springs in, though I have no idea how stiff the stock springs are.

Actually I just had an idea of how to measure the stock spring stiffness.  I could simply measure the sag caused by a known weight on the bars - that'd give me a direct mm/n measurement...

 

[goldFiSh]

I seem to recall people talking about electrical conduit being suitable for spacing (with suitable washers top and bottom).
Just cut to to length. Easy and cheap..

[suzyj]

With the application of suitable amounts of cash to the problem, it's possible to replace all the guts of my forks with an adjustable version:

http://www.matrisusa.com/Products/776-f05-s-for-ducati-monster-695.aspx

God I wish I hadn't found that.

[goldFiSh]

Ask Betty about this - he's done it on his bike - nice, but an expensive option..

My M800 suffers the same issues of the shitty forks - I'm about to put 999 forks on it, which is not for the feint hearted..

- buy the forks
- bore the top triple, shim, the lower
- drill the axle so you can get to the adjusters at the bottom
- space the rotors
- replace the handlebars with clip ons, cause the sbk forks are longer
- new front fender, as they use different mounts on the 999
- re spring, seal and oil, set up

What have I missed?

Seriously, the easy path is get some M1000 / S2R1000 or even better S4R / S4Rs forks from the US....

[monstermick58]

Ask Betty about this - he's done it on his bike - nice, but an expensive option..

My M800 suffers the same issues of the shitty forks - I'm about to put 999 forks on it, which is not for the feint hearted..

- buy the forks
- bore the top triple, shim, the lower
- drill the axle so you can get to the adjusters at the bottom
- space the rotors
- replace the handlebars with clip ons, cause the sbk forks are longer
- new front fender, as they use different mounts on the 999
- re spring, seal and oil, set up

What have I missed?

Seriously, the easy path is get some M1000 / S2R1000 or even better S4R / S4Rs forks from the US....

Shit mate, this is were you call up the services of your friendly machine shop or that retired bloke down the road who still dabbles in that sort of thing 'cos he enjoys doing it.






                     Mmick

[goldFiSh]

been there. enlisted some help.

actually it's been an adventure researching it all and then working to a tight-arse budget on it.

managed to get most of it for really good prices.

only problem is, I then start to think about other upgrades "just while I'm at it"....

[Betty]

My M800 suffers the same issues of the shitty forks - I'm about to put 999 forks on it, which is not for the feint hearted..

Does Nemo know you are messing with his bike like this?

There are many and varied options, it just depends on how deep you want to get yourself. I am sure if this was being discussed elsewhere on the board we would have been inundated with 'GSXR fork swap' posts by now

[goldFiSh]

Does Nemo know you are messing with his bike like this?

No, but he'll appreciate it, I'm sure. By all accounts he'll be as tall as me by the time he's able to ride it, so I think he;ll appreciate the forks, the sargent seat and the cycle cat adjustable rearsets  [moto]

[Betty]

With the application of suitable amounts of cash to the problem, it's possible to replace all the guts of my forks with an adjustable version:

http://www.matrisusa.com/Products/776-f05-s-for-ducati-monster-695.aspx

God I wish I hadn't found that.

OK, sit down, take a few deep breaths and have a good think about where this is heading.

We have just been having a similar discussion about Techno's situation: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=36749.0

So first things first ... how wedded to this bike are you, what do you think you will want at the end of the day, how much do you like fiddlin' with stuff and how much money are ya gunna spend?

The reason I am bringing this up?

Well you have already talked about changing the ride height, now adjustable forks ... then it might be brakes or more power (presumptuous I know). At the end of the day you might be sitting back and thinking I could have just got a bike with a better stock setup and then tweaked it for less cash.

Ask Betty about this - he's done it on his bike - nice, but an expensive option..

Yes I have the Matris kit on my bike (not sure if it is exactly the same) and yes it is expensive (bought mine from PJs Parts last year for less than that). The system is still a bit of a compromise (you still use your stock forks) but it does give you adjustability and the springs set to your weight.

I had mine installed by a suspension guru so they have been set and forget so far. There was an issue with the cap not fitting properly but that may have been my fork tubes (we'll never know).

If you are happy to shop around, second hand adjustable forks with springs set for you, could still be cheaper. But if you are primarily worried about preload then just change the springs and play with the oil ... it will probably get you most of the way there.

This is another option if you just want preload adjustment (I don't think it offers adjustment for compression or rebound damping):
http://www.carpimoto.com/EN/Bike_Ducati_Monster-695/Brand_Bitubo/Suspensions-Wheels/34513_D0022ABB09-Bitubo-Fork-Cartridge-Kit-Ducati-Monster-620.htm

So you have plenty of options ... it just depends on what you want.

[suzyj]

OK, sit down, take a few deep breaths and have a good think about where this is heading.

It's all cool.  I bought the bike as a project, not so much as a finished product.  I get nearly as much enjoyment from obsessing about this stuff as I do from the riding.

I've got a list of things to do to the bike, starting with raising the rear and adding some preload to the forks (I'll probably just con a mate into machining spacers for now, but will keep the new cartridges in mind for the future).  Then there's lovely rizoma clip-ons, etc etc.

The plan is for the bike to improve in capability as my skills improve.  Or at least, that's the plan...