Sports: Re: [DucatiST] DC but not ST

Nick Woods, on Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 07:00:36PM -0000 you wrote:
>
> Since I value the wisdom and literacy here (including you, NickA!), I'm
> wondering if there are any owners of older Monsters who may have
> addressed the harsh suspension that seems to be typical of the genre?
> OK, my M750 is pretty basic, with no damping adjustment on the forks
> and only rebound on the shock, but the forks can probably be improved
> with an educated change in oil weight and quantity.
> How about the shock spring though? Is there a source of lighter-gauge
> springs I can tap into, or do I just need to go to a specialist?
> Thanks for any help. It's not as if I expect the comfort of my ST4 from
> the Monster, but an improvement in handling of rough backroads would be
> welcome!
> NickW, UK

Nick, you didn't get any advice!

Changing the grade of the oil in your forks will have an equal effect
on the compression and rebound damping. Only changing the spring will
change the travel for a given load. If you've got 50mm forks, I have a
pair of Marzocchi forks, with rebound adjustment that you could borrow,
to try and maybe buy. They're from an M900 "dark".

I had my rear shock absorber rebuilt at 55,000 miles. That made a big
difference to the ride as it had lost a lot of compression damping.
Now, with another 37,000 miles covered, it's feeling tired again.
I don't know whether to get it rebuilt again, as I'm tempted to get
one with an external preload adjuster (probably a Hagon since an Ohlins
would probably cost as much as the Monster is worth)! A rebuild would
certainly be softer on the wallet.

Talking of Hagon, you could buy Hagon progressive springs for your forks
for GBP 80. They will certainly be lighter at small loads.
See http://www.hagon-shocks.co.uk/

--
Jan
On the road:'03 ST4s ABS (since April 2010), '99 M900 (since new)
Languishing: 'Guzzi V50 III & that legend of unreliability: a Lario!
Norwich, UK