Suspension And Ride Height

[andyp]

Hi folks... got a long one for you here.

It's to do with my suspension setup on the 848 Corse... I'll try to keep it as short and clear as I can so here goes...

1. The bike handled very strangely out of the crate so I had it setup by a professional in June(ish) 2013 and he did an amazing job. He took out a lot of preload from the shock and sorted the damping, set the sag - the whole nine yards. But to my knowledge he didn't alter the ride height (other than the changes that happen due to the suspension settings).

2. I had the bike in for a service in March 2014 and had in the meantime got myself a ride height adjuster so rather than mess around removing stuff to fit it, I asked the bike shop to fit it while it was in for the service. My instructions were clear - "set the ride height to exactly what it is now" and I could then work from there if I wanted to. I didn't notice any change in height at the time, or in the handling of the bike. Key point here - I didn't measure it before or after the adjuster was fitted as I totally trust the shop but I wish I had just to be sure. It's been spot on all year and having changed the tyres recently it was borderline perfect.

3. For some reason I noticed recently that I was able to have both feet flat on the ground when stopped and I'd never been conscious of being able to do this until now. So I checked the ride height and it was 40-50mm lower than the stock dimension in the manual. Last night I measured 790mm to the top of the seat pad at the back of the tank. The book shows 830mm to the underside of the seat pad. (I chose the wrong point to measure to and only realised today). So, I added 20mm to the seat height - now at 810mm to the top of the pad - and took it out for a few hours last night. Immediately it felt nervous and like the front end feel was notably "worse". In short, I was back to having to trust the front end rather than actually know what it was doing. It turned a lot more quickly into corners though and the flick-flack from one side to the other was lightning quick (relatively speaking) but the nervous feel was still there. It must be all in my head though.

What I don't know is what height the bike was at before I had the adjuster fitted but after I had the setup done. Was it still at the stock height, or was it at the 790mm that I measured this week? My feeling is it was at the lower height but I'm confused as does removing preload not raise the seat by extending the shock? Or is it the other way round?

So, my question is this really. Should I just put it back to the height it was at before I moved it and disregard the fact it's a lot lower than stock? Does the ride height matter or is it all about how it feels to me? My thoughts are that I should put it back and forget it. Put it down to a trial that I didn't like and leave it alone. Or should I keep messing with it and see how I get on? I don't want to go and get it setup again, I was happy with it already and was just looking to experiment and test it out. But if I can get a balance of quicker steering without losing the front end feel I'd do that. Maybe I lower it a little again (say half way between what it was and what it is now) and try that? Or is this a can of worms I want to avoid?

It's amazingly noticeable how much the 20mm change made. But it could all be placebo... I never really mess with this stuff and my understanding is limited with regard to what changes will do to the feel of the bike. I get what they are doing, but don't fully get what changes will translate to out on the road / track. Other than the fact that higher ride height means more flickability but less stability. The thing that's confusing me is how the adjuster can alter the ride height without affecting the suspension settings.

Having written this, I think it's a no-brainer... put it back and leave it alone.

Andy

[couchcommando]

848 ride height also changes when you adjust the chain, I assume you have the standard bar measure that and set new one the same if you haven't, Ducati's do need a few mm more ride height to turn properly, isn't mike Edwards on here who raced one may be worth asking him his settings for ride height ?

[andyp]

Thanks guys for these posts, both were very helpful in sorting out my confused brain.

Mulled this over, came home from work tonight and put it back to how it was before I changed it. It's a lot lower than I had it last night but the feel and front end confidence is back to how I want it and it's much better. It's definitely slower to turn in, but it's still responsive - just not nervous like it felt with the higher ride height.

Whether it's "right" or "wrong" I have way more confidence in it with the lower height and it's way more planted. I think the perfect answer is to add a wee bit of height, maybe 5-10mm which should quicken the steering but without giving up the feel and stability that I like.