Suspension Upgrade question- please help

[RedRider]

I am in a little pickle and need some advice.  First the facts.  Own an 800 S2R, usually ride backroads, not much, but some highway.  Rarely if ever get the bike over 80mph.  Last year I had among other things, my front forks oil changed and I think the springs.  After coming back from a great ride (tail of the dragon) I noticed my front end was kind of mushy.  Local dealer says the "cartridge" is shot in both forks and at the very least needs to be replaced.

I have searched this board and the "other" board (sorry guys, I was there for years before all the *$%! went down).  Similar threads exist i know, but form a year or two ago.  I know my front end sucks, but I didnt expect after the new oil and springs for it to have any trouble.  So now I am stuck having to make a decision....do I spend a bunch of cash to upgrade the internals or look at just getting a set of forks off of ebay.  I really dont want to spend more than 1K and the local Ducati dealer doesnt really seem to care about telling me what options I have other than a new set of ohlins or replace the stock cartridge that i know sucks.  I am leaning more towards a set of adjustable forks on ebay, but its slim pickkins and most are damaged or bent.  I also am not completely sure which forks would bolt on with the least amount of modification or having to change the brake setup. I am severely underqualified to do any of this myself so I will have to depend on the dealership for all labor etc.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[Speeddog]

Adjustable Showas from a recent Monster are a pretty easy install.

Pretty sure that '00-'02 M900, M1000, S2R1000, '01-'02 S4, '04-'05 S4R are all going to have ones that fit.

You'll need one of the front axles that's got the holes for the compression adjust.

How many miles on your bike?
I've seen some high mileage Monster forks and haven't seen a 'shot' cartridge yet.

[RedRider]

Well, thats one thing that really bothers me.  I have less than 5000 miles on the bike.  I dont get to ride very frequently due to a heavy work schedule.  I bought the bike new in 2006 and have already thrown a bit of cash at it in upgrades (2 seats, full arrow exhaust, arrow steering dampner, suspension set up, and some other bits and pieces.  I dont track the bike or ride really agressively so I didnt see the point in upgrading the brakes or the suspension anymore than I already had.  The dealer told me they had not seen any blown cartriges before and I am way out of warranty.  I think there is a kit available that I could get from PJparts that would make the forks adjustable, but not sure if that is all I would need or if I would still need new springs and to get the oil replaced again. 

What does a front axle with holes run?  And, is the shop going to charge me up the wazooo to replace that too?

[Speeddog]

I've seen a handful of customer's S2R800's go past and *way* past that mileage with no fork issues.
But sometimes shyte breaks too.  

How much do you weigh?

-edit--

Here's some more info:
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=37034.0

Try using the 'search' button up there on the left, search for 'fork' or 'forks' in the Tech section, lots of talk about forks.

[RedRider]

Yeah, things do break....oh well.  Could have been worse i guess.  I weigh about 200lbs which is why I had the oil and springs changed a year ago as well as the spring tension on the rear tightened up as well.  Bike handled much better after that and the dampner install.  

I keep finding posts about this Matris and Bitubo cartridge available at carpimoto, but I dont really relish ordering something from overseas if I can get it stateside.  I thought PJs carried it, but I cant find it on their site.  

Oh, and thanks for the link to the other post!

[Speeddog]

How many miles did you do in the past year?

There's a *possibility* you could use the springs you have now in a set of adjustable Showas.

I've no idea of the current source for Matris and Bitubo.

The OEM front and rear springs on an S2R800 are too soft for you.

[Düb Lüv]

matrisusa.com . they're the us distributor. as being a owner of matris cartridges, i wouldn't have bought them if i didn't get'em used. if you like tinkering and aren't tight on money, go ahead and buy some. i'm not trying to discourage, just the real life truth.

just saw that bellisimoto selss matris too. http://bellissimoto.com/MatrisForkKits.html

after reading what i said, i felt like i was coming off as an a$$hole.

they only makes a handful of cartridges for ducatis so either way you'll need new forks or housing. regardless of what forks you use, i have R6s, the spring rate isn't going to be correct and matris won't have your bike weight to get you the correct spring rate. so you'll have to have your bike weighed. i called matris usa for some pricing on softer springs and new oil, about $160 for 2 springs and $40 per bottle of oil, probably need 2 bottles. to keep from voiding the warranty, you have to use their oils. the parts would be coming from matris italy cause they said they couldn't afford to a lot of parts in stock. likely axle and triple modifying.

[RedRider]

Thank you for your reply regarding the Matris cartridge.  I have looked at this option, but am totally confused with it.  On the caprimoto site the matris kit they sell is a F05 S 20mm.  The bellisimoto site sells a F05 R 25mm kit.  Both apparantly for the S2R.  Then I found one that appears to be the same as the on on the caprimoto site at oncycles http://www.oncycles.com/catalog.asp?pn=BDD00102 that is on sale, but doesnt come with the oil.  It is spec'd for a yamaha, but looks like the same kit.  VERY confused with the cartridges and again, would have to have everything done by my dealer cause this mod is way over my head. 

I just wish there was some decent plug and play option here.  I can spend the dough, just want to make sure I get what I pay for and dont have to worry about future problems, ya know?

[RedRider]

How many miles did you do in the past year?

There's a *possibility* you could use the springs you have now in a set of adjustable Showas.

I've no idea of the current source for Matris and Bitubo.

The OEM front and rear springs on an S2R800 are too soft for you.

about 1400 miles in the last year.  guess i need to replace the rear cushion as well.....hmmmmm.

[badgalbetty]

you could also buy my bike which has the shizzle that you need and then some.
Adjustable showa front end and a new rear shock will sort you out in fine fashion and then you'll be blipping along around those corners in triple digit fun!Also just make sure your front tire has the correct pressure in it. If it gets low the front end handles like a wet noodle. That a free and easy thing to check!
BGB

[RedRider]

Well, i have seen your ride and she is pretty, but I am partial to red

Last 5 cars and my bike, all red. 

I don't really need all that much out of my bike, save the daredevil stuff for my cages on 4 wheels. Already had a doozy of a spill a few years ago and learned a valuable lesson.

Anyway,  thanks for the offer.  Any other words of wisdom you can give me?

[stopintime]

PJs usually gets you what you need. Call them. I think they get a lot of stuff from CarpiMoto.
If there are any unknown fitments issues (Düb Lüv?), PJs might know about them...

This is the kit for the S2R800. Matris will deliver with oil and springs of your choice - no extra charged.
http://www.carpimoto.com/EN/28217_FD100S-Matris-Fork-Cartridge-Kit-for-Ducati-Monster-400-05-620-800-03-04-750-900ie-2002-S2R-800.htm

If you do this, maybe it's a good idea to have a motivated suspension shop do the install, instead of your dealer?

IMO, it's really really worth it to spend on your/our forks

[suzyj]

IMO, it's really really worth it to spend on your/our forks

Absolutely.  I replaced my forks with 998 ones, with 0.9 springs, and the rear shock with a 999 one.  It's transformed the bike.  The stock suspension on the lower-end monsters is pretty basic, and it's very easy to make huge improvements.

[BK_856er]

Wow, so Matris finally has an official presence in the USA.  That's cool.  I have their M4R steering damper and S series fork cartridge kit.  Very nice parts.  A couple of years ago I wanted to replace my Matris fork oil, but I couldn't buy it in the USA and Matris would not provide any information on a suitable alternative.  I took an unused portion of oil to my lab and measured the viscosity across the entire temperature range....then measured some commercial oils to find something that would work for me.

I like the Matris stuff a lot, but I hear that GP Suspension has some new solutions.  Local, responsive support can be an important consideration.

Get your spring rates correct on both ends + improve the forks + basic setup and you will be rewarded in a big way.

BK

[J5]

forget about speaking to your dealer about suspension nor buying bits from x website

go and find a supension specialist that know what they are talking about

you dont visit a GP for a knee replacement , go and speak to the specialist