KTM Superduke - Ground Clearance

[dhtmbowen]

I have a Superduke which is in Superduke Battle trim.

Its an excellent machine but suffers from ground clearance issues.

I have worn through the belly pan / oil catch tank on both sides (again).

This is a pain because:

1. when it touches down hard it moves the bike off line and threatens to unload the tyres

2. it limits lean angle - there is 1mm or so of unused tyre on the front so normally I'd expect to get a bit more

3. my riding style is now hang right off and dig the knee in hard to hold the bike off as much as possible

N.B. 3 is a lot of fun and has enabled me to chop my lap times by quite a bit and give me more confidence when the bike is grounding out but its a limiting factor and I'm going through knee sliders like the wrath of God.

Help / advice please!

[tootall]

Have you got adjustable ride height at the back? Or space to whack a spacer in the top shock mount? Jack it up at the back and try and raise the front either with forks down in the yokes (if you havent already) or preload adjustment.

[Weety]

Have you checked the rear sag? If it's on a standard shock they are soft. I put small cable tie on the rear shock shaft and found I was easily using all the rear travel, and mines is the slightly stiffer mark II model. Whacked up the rear preload and slow speed compression while I wait for a stiffer rear spring. WP UK do an ungrade for the standard mark I model which is 1 rate stiffer front and year springs, or for a fat wad of dosh you can get the race kit - new fork internals and a new rear shock http://www.wpsuspension.co.uk/race_package_superduke.php .

KTM twins sell a ride height adjuster but the price is pretty unbelievable and I'm not sure raising the rear alot and not the front is really the way to go, not like it steers slowly is it? Here' s the link anyway, http://www.ktmtwins.com/990superduke/sdshock-adj.html

[dhtmbowen]

Sorry. Perhaps I should have provided a bit more information:

The bike has the WP race suspension front and rear.

The forks have been pushed all the way through and the rear has been extended to compensate and speed up the steering and increase ground clearance.

I have experimented with more preload and more compression damping but it makes the bike uncontrollable on the way into corners so I am running 12mm sag at the rear but a fairly strong spring.

I have adjustable rear sets set high and they touch down only very occasionally.

Thanks very much for the interest and advice.

[tootall]

Hmmm.

Are you, ahem, of a slightly stout nature? Is the dynamic sag within reason?

[Leon]

Never seen you ride, so can't know for sure. But if i had to make a suggestion that would be to put a lot more attention on your lines.

Following wrong lines through the track or trying (unsuccesfully) to replicate the lines of a faster rider, quite often gets you to a position where you make corrections while still on lean. Usually amateur riders run wide without understanding it and thus steer a bit more to close their line. That gives the bike that extra lean that you would not really need if you followed the correct path through the start of the corner.

I am still doing such mistakes and trying to work it out as well.

Just think about the time that the bike touches the ground... Most probably is the time that you see the exit of the turn. The time that you try to tighten your line in order to get you where you initially wanted to... If that's the case, then change your line. You should follow that line that will get you out of the corner without the need of any extra steering changes while on lean.

Keep in mind that the SuperDuke is a bike that can get a lot of lean angle very easily.

I 've never used my Battle series bellypan as it touches down almost all the time.

With the Akra headers and the racing clutch cover, only the Rizoma pegs of my SDR touch the ground occasionally.

I am not trying to seem as a fast guy, i am far from that. I 've just faced the same problems and that's what i 've come to throuhg the time i 've spent on tracks.

Here r some pics of me and my SDR in action.

Hope that helped a bit...

Cheers

[dhtmbowen]

Leon

Thanks very much for your reply.

In answer to your question about where I'm touching down; that depends upon the corner:

Slow corners on the way into and through the apex

Fast, longer corners - fairly early on and then for a long time.

The problem is made worse by the fact that I like to 'hook' turns - lean forward and down to the inside of the bend to help tighten the line - this has the effect of dragging the bike after the apex.

Looking at your photos and other comments I think that I really need to ditch the battle bellypan as I'm not racing and its clearly getting in the way. I'm using Rizoma rearsets as well and only occasionally touch them down - once I've worn through the bellypan.

The other thing that's apparent is I really need to hang off more which is not as easy as it sounds as I am both short and fat!

Anyway, thanks for your time - I'll start with ditching the Battle bellypan - as I don't have the stock one I'm going to see if I can't get someone to make me a thinner, deeper catch tank.

[Leon]

Well, i still believe that a better line will save you from a lot of trouble.

Apart from that, the stuff below will also work.

- Flicking the bike faster into the turn

- Getting your ass a bit outside. Head is nice for photos, but the butt makes a lot of difference on lean angle.

- Getting on the gas earlier

Removing the bellypan and the clutch cover though should be first on the list. You can easily find a stock belly pan on flebay

Have fun working out on the hooligan