2013 M1100 1100 - Suspension blows....

[Skybarney]

Hi all,  I have owned quite a few bikes over the years and this is the first one I have ever owned that has a suspension I am having a hard time liking.  At 165lbs my front springs are too soft and I get launched out of the seat over rough roads.  Needless to say it is not confidence inspiring in the mountains.  My dealer said I could drop it off for 500 in new front springs but he was unsure if my bike would be down days or weeks waiting for the new springs.  He also said the forks have to be pulled from the bike to be re-sprung....

Does anyone have any ideas?  I am not afraid of spending a few bucks but I would rather do it with a suspension guru than not.  I am in Northern California (Sacramento).

[Triple J]

Go see Dave Moss. Have it adjusted first ($40), then springs & valves if the adjustment doesn't take care of the problem. I'd probably just do springs & valves right off the bat if you have the $$ though.

http://feelthetrack.com/

[danaid]

 Try these guys, they are in Modesto.

http://bosscyclesportsmodesto.com/index.html

This is where Ducati tech, Don Babbs is now working, doing all kinds of motorcycle work.

[Raux]

that's strange. the stock setting are for about your size.

look in the manual and reset all the settings to neutral as per the manual.

if there are at the stock settings. then have a friend help you set sag using the preload

then adjust to taste

that's free

after that, if it isn't to your liking, then put some money into a suspension shop to see if they can get the setting right.
IF that doesn't suit your tastes, THEN go big $

[Slide Panda]

Go see Dave Moss. Have it adjusted first ($40)

Wait what? A first visit to Dave is $40?!

Shit... another reason to be out in cali... stupid east coast...

[Skybarney]

I already kicked out an email to Dave ( :   I paid my local dealer 100.00 to tell me my front springs are too soft.....   grrrrrrrr.....  Set them at the middle and was bottoming out the front fork and getting tossed by the rear end.

[Triple J]

Wait what? A first visit to Dave is $40?!

That's the charge for a basic suspension adjustment...at least it was a few years ago. Might be $50 now. Our local guy charges $40 as well. Easily the best $40 you can spend on your moto.

[Curmudgeon]

My 796 got a cheap Ohlins and spring before it went out the front door because the demo I rode had an essentially rigid rear end. I'm 175 plus gear. My dealer who is an Ohlins tech, ex-national champion Ducati rider, set it up to his taste and he's 185 lbs. After setting the sag, all he had to do was to back off the damping one click (DU-737 = $625-). He had intended to tear into the forks, but after riding it, felt no need (Marzocchi). I agree. It's firm but never jolts or gets upset. In fact, my 245 lbs son rode it aggressively one afternoon and loved it!

Definitely get someone to set it up for you before you go screwing around too much. You've ridden a lot of bikes and I've no idea how much different your Evo versions are..., but I shouldn't need to remind you that the rear setup has a ton to do with the way the front feels too.

I'm aware I could improve my suspension another 10% as I've had full Ohlins bikes which were plusher but just as poised. The cost would give me nosebleed though. 

Not many here pregnant dog about Evos and my 796 wasn't total trash when I got it, so Ducati isn't putting total crap on there from the factory. Get it dialed in and we'll cross our fingers and toes for you! 

[racingj]

 "Skybarney",  Myself @ 170lb, I know exactly, you can work with the fork to get some bump compliance.  I adjusted the fork preload all the way in, then backed it off 1 1/2 turns , I agree, it still needs more spring in the front. Compression setting 1/4 turn in from all the way out. rebound setting all in then started backing off until it started to work like it should. The stock rear shock ? Way to much spring under the bike, I adjusted sag for about 1/4 of shock total travel while seated on bike, this almost took out all spring preload, then added rebound to try to match the front suspension action . 1100EVO could use a rear shock , but I'm not so sure the Ducati / Ohlins replacement for this bike is much better than the stock Sachs. Still no compression adjustment on the Ducati catalog Ohlins shock. Race Tech will build one for this bike. 

[brad black]

i fitted some springs to a 09 model recently, std they were very soft with lots of sag.  i ran 0.95 in them to suit a 105kg (230 lb) rider, used a 38mm od spring that were 268mm long free length.  i machined up some 29mm spacers to sit under the springs to give it 15mm preload with the adj backed off.  ended up with 6 turns preload (14.5 max, 1 turn per mm) for 33mm sag.  5 weight oil set to 110mm with the spacers under the springs in, but not springs or original preload tubes.  damping adj reb 1/4 turn out, comp 1/2 turn out.  damping seems surprisingly soft, could maybe use a heavier oil.  or just get them revalved as well.  owner seemed pretty happy, given he tought it was a waste of time  (and money) initially.

i added 3 turns of preload to the rear spring, otherwise as was.

spring change is pretty easy.

[Curmudgeon]

7.5W is spec. For an oil change I was planning to use Spectro 10W which is more like a smooth 8W unless my guy has some better 7.5W. I suspect 5W isn't quite enough?

[Curmudgeon]

1100EVO could use a rear shock , but I'm not so sure the Ducati / Ohlins replacement for this bike is much better than the stock Sachs. Still no compression adjustment on the Ducati catalog Ohlins shock. Race Tech will build one for this bike. 

That DU737 I'm using has only one screw, but according to Ohlins in NC adjusts both compression and rebound together. Whatever the case, it works with a spring for my weight. They have a plusher version for $1,800. DU-737 isn't THAT bad!  The Sachs felt virtually rigid. Is it perfect? No. But not bad...

[brad black]

for reference, the one i did had showa adj forks.

[Greg]

I took my 2012 M1100Evo to our local suspension guru and for $20 he set the sag, set the preload almost to max on the forks, and also dialed up the compression to almost max, then he backed off the preload a bunch on the rear, don't recall if he changed anything else on the rear.

So basically the same as you guys, it was way too soft on the front and too hard on the rear.

[Skybarney]

Thanks for all the feedback!  I will try backing the pre-load off the rear a bit and go from there.  Thanks all!