Front end wiggle

[Howie]

Am I right in thinking that the CBR has a full fairing, and handlebars that offer less leverage on the steering? Plus a headlight mounted in the fairing rather than on the fork tubes, and mirrors mounted on the fairing rather than on the handlebars.

The rider on the Monster is hung out in the breeze. It is hard to avoid small inputs to the steering when hanging on, even loosely, at high speed. Turbulence around the mirrors would tend to amplify these. And the headlamp acts like a pendulum hung off the front.

Hypersports bikes are built for very high speeds; Monsters not so much.

Because the tyre stabilised the wobble quickly when left to itself, it sounds to me like all is good.

But I've ridden only a short distance on that particular model, and not at very high speed.

I am a little bit bothered by your description of the fork action as "harsher" than the Honda fork. The Ohlins fork may well supply a bit more feedback than the Honda fork but "harsher" makes me wonder whether the legs still have the proper Ohlins fluid in them or whether that has been swapped for something stickier.

However, you say the front end has been stable in all other conditions, and that suggests the fork fluid is good.

What I was thinking.

[Monster09]

Am I right in thinking that the CBR has a full fairing, and handlebars that offer less leverage on the steering? Plus a headlight mounted in the fairing rather than on the fork tubes, and mirrors mounted on the fairing rather than on the handlebars.

The rider on the Monster is hung out in the breeze. It is hard to avoid small inputs to the steering when hanging on, even loosely, at high speed. Turbulence around the mirrors would tend to amplify these. And the headlamp acts like a pendulum hung off the front.

Hypersports bikes are built for very high speeds; Monsters not so much.

Because the tyre stabilised the wobble quickly when left to itself, it sounds to me like all is good.

But I've ridden only a short distance on that particular model, and not at very high speed.

I am a little bit bothered by your description of the fork action as "harsher" than the Honda fork. The Ohlins fork may well supply a bit more feedback than the Honda fork but "harsher" makes me wonder whether the legs still have the proper Ohlins fluid in them or whether that has been swapped for something stickier.

However, you say the front end has been stable in all other conditions, and that suggests the fork fluid is good.

This totally makes sense.  After thinking about your explanation, I thought of an additional factor.  The CBR has a much larger windscreen.  I am sure the function of  aerodynamics on the windscreen loads the front end keeping the front wheel planted.  The conclusion I have come to then, the bike was not designed to do what I asked of it.  To think I can ride it like the CBR is false thinking on my part.  This is such a simple explanation of the issue it is a little embarrassing on my part.  I am still going to check the suspension settings more carefully, but considering the stable nature of the bike at speeds it was designed for, I think I will not need a steering damper.  Thank you for your help

[Moronic]

Glad to be of assistance. Let us know how things go after you have some more miles up.

Your assessment of the two bikes sounds about right to me, and you may well be on to something with respect to the windscreen.

But I would offer a subtly different emphasis.

Different bikes are optimised for different conditions. It is not so much that the Monster was not designed to do what you asked of it, IMO. More that it was not designed primarily to do what you asked of it. It was not designed with high-speed riding as a big priority. (Compare with, say, the Panigale.)

You can still ride at high speeds but you won't get as much help from the bike.

Do look into the suspension and set-up. Ducatis tend to be quite sensitive to small changes - a good thing if you like tuning your bike.

The fork fluid may well be overdue for replacement (again, I would recommend paying for the Ohlins fluid as that is what the fork was set up for). I don't know how well the stock Ohlins shock works on your model, but there could be gains available here also from valve or spring adjustments.

In case it helps, my older-style Monster (with tuned suspension) feels perfectly stable at speeds up to the performance limit of your 1100 and beyond. But I'm not coming straight from a hypersports - I have low expectations.  

Edit: one other thing you might think about checking some time is the wheel balance. If this is a little bit out, it will show up more at high speeds.

[Monster09]

Do you know what weight Ohlins oil to use. The manual that comes with the bike says Shell 7.5.  I assume that means 7.5 weight.  Ohlins oil comes in 5 and 10 weight.
Maybe you can suggest where to to find a shop manual for the bike. Thanks again for the help.

[GeorgeA]

Wow, this is great. Lots of information. Thank you for the link! I have some reading and adjustments to make.

Here to help 

[Moronic]

Do you know what weight Ohlins oil to use. The manual that comes with the bike says Shell 7.5.  I assume that means 7.5 weight.  Ohlins oil comes in 5 and 10 weight.
Maybe you can suggest where to to find a shop manual for the bike. Thanks again for the help.

Almost certain you want the five-weight: Part 1309-01.

Likely Ohlins USA could confirm.

Can't help with a shop manual for the bike, but Ohlins offers downloadable manuals for a bunch of its forks here: https://www.ohlins.com/support/manuals/motorcycle/owners-manuals/

These are for its aftermarket forks. They don't offer anything specifically referencing OEM forks. I picked a few and they all recommended "1309-01 only".

[Monster09]

Almost certain you want the five-weight: Part 1309-01.

Likely Ohlins USA could confirm.

Can't help with a shop manual for the bike, but Ohlins offers downloadable manuals for a bunch of its forks here: https://www.ohlins.com/support/manuals/motorcycle/owners-manuals/

These are for its aftermarket forks. They don't offer anything specifically referencing OEM forks. I picked a few and they all recommended "1309-01 only".

The rain has set in here in the US Northwest and threatens to last.  It may be a while before I can get back on with the results.  Thanks again!