Analyse this - what to do with my / the bike's ergonomics?

[stopintime]

Thanks for the help, guys Moving thread to "general" to see if more people will respond.

Hi - calling for some insight and a little push forward.

I have improved my skills every ride and I feel it's time to adjust things. When I started this (first) season about 10k miles ago, comfort was my main concern. I put on SpeedyMoto risers and rotated the bars. I have absolutely no issues with fatigue, as my cruising position is quite upright.

As skills have improved I lean forward and inwards more, at least for track and twisties - loose elbows, shoulder first a.s.o  It makes a huge difference.

Question is if I need to make some adjustments to make the offensive riding position more permanent. The pictures shows my relaxed and typical offensive position. I am 6'4". Soon to come: suspension rebuild.

Among my ideas are:
    - raise the rear. Some will come of the suspension rebuild and maybe a little more by adjusting ride height rod (getting damper if needed)
    - loose the risers or get clip ons with a little rise in them. I don't think I can handle city traffic with straight clip ons under the triple.
    - work on permanently holding the offensive position.

What do you think?

[JohnnyDucati]

Hey Stoppy-

Hope all is well.  I think you and I are exactly the same height:  6'4".  My weight is around 225 lbs.  Yes, I am a porker and need to lose a few.  I ride an '07 Rs and I believe it has the same geometry as your S2, although I believe mine has the Ohlins gear and yours the Showa?

I struggled with the bike for the first 2 or 3 months.  My feeling was that it was lethargic going into leans and turns.  The chief mechanic at Motocorsa here in Portland happened to have the same bike as me at the time.  Although a little shorter than us, his weight is about the same as mine.  He recommended the same front and rear re-spring for my bike that he had on his.  I took his advice and I'm glad I did.

It was the first major mod I did to my bike and it made a night and day difference.  Although the ride is stiffer, the improved responsiveness through turns and leans is fantastic.  I think you would enjoy the same benefits of a respring.  Understand, though, it does make the longer rides less comfy and a little more fatiguing.  The stock rear spring on mine was 01092-36/105 L176.  The new, stiffer spring is 01092-41/115 L277.  I believe the key number is the spring rate 105 N-m vs. the stiffer 115 N-m.  I don't have the numbers for the stock front springs on hand, but the new ones have 25.5/260/9.5.  I'm sure that you can do a similar swap with the Showa gear.

My next mod will also be to raise the rear as far as I can.  But, definitely have to get a steering damper first.  From what I'm told by the guys I trust is that a damper is an absolute necessity if you mess with the geometry like that.  Also, I plan to add a Sergeant seat, which adds about an inch of height.  That's about 2 inches total when combined with the extra inch on the adjuster.  Ah, if only we weren't limited by silly things like a budget ha ha.  I blew my whole mod budget on a full Arrow system & ECU just last week  .  By the way - I can't describe how awesome that mod feels.  It is transformative, is all I can say.

I've thought about lower, more aggressive clip-ons, but I've decided against it.  Just today my buddy from work who rides and SV was telling me that he is putting the stock bar back on because the clip-ons he put on were just too tiring and painful on his wrists.  Have also heard the same complaints from a fellow DMF'er with clip-ons on his M750.  Great for short rides, but not so for the longer ones.  It's what I like about the monster - just lean down over the tank when hitting the twisties, then relax back upright when your done.

Here is info I found on springs and spring rates that I thought was informative:  http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/tech/suspensionspring.php

Anyway, good luck.

Johnny D.

[He Man]

definetly a respring. you dont have much fork meat. your prelad eats up a lot of it. once that gets set you can raise the rear.

[Ducatista]

For the track, get a dedicated track tool.     That way you can mess with the ergos all you want without putting yourself on a torture rack for the street.

[Oldfisti]

You can also drop the ride height a touch in the front. The stock setup has a sluggish initiation for turn-in IMO.

[JustDucky]

The wrist pain many people experience is often due to carrying too much of your weight on your wrists and handle bar angles not well suited to the individual's natural wrist angle.  What worked for me was a set of adjustable clipons.  Gilles make some very adjustable clipons with different height risers to suit you.  I went with a pair of used Cycle Cats (the tall rise ones) - after using them for 1000 miles I'd have paid double for them.  They are a bit lower than stock bars but the once adjusted I've been able to ride hours on end without pain.  I personally like the simple clean look of the Cycle Cats compared to Gilles. The stock bars were so painful I actually went to an ortho for carpal tunnel testing.  The test results came back after I changed bars so by then I had already confirmed for myself what the test revealed - no problems.  With proper brake/clutch routing the clipons can be raised or lowered for the street/track if so desired when mounted below the triple.  To counteract the weight bearing on the wrists, focus on using your abs and back to support most of your weight.  A concious effort at first but soon it becomes second nature.

[LA]

Rasing the rear ride height is the 1st tihng to do. I think 1" works best. The Ducati shop did mine and went way too high so I came home and reduced to 1" and it works great. I really helps turn in and "finishes" the turn MUCH better.  Just remember to measure the distance from the floor to a fixed point on the rear of the bike before you start. You have to leave at least 5 threads showing on the adjuster rod on both ends - it's in the manual. I had to remove the adj. rod to do mine.

You can drop the front a little. I did mine 3/8" - wheel to radiator clearance on full compression limits it to like 1/2" I think.

Others are correct on the springs needing to be replaced for bigger people too (yea I'm fat). They come calibrated for no more than about 185 I think. 

I increased preload on front and rear and damping on both ends too.   

Loose the risers and you'll probably enjoy the position. I find the stock bars a very good in between too low and too high.

A steering damper is a must.

LA

[stopintime]

Thanks guys 

I learn from each post and I learned a lot from testing the 848. It was natural to work the core muscles and my grip was also much lighter with the sweep of the SBK bars. My hope is to get bike/rider closer to that experience.

So, my current plan includes: suspension, brake upgrade, raising rear, rearsets already positioned back, Rizoma bar for back sweep, maybe removing the risers, maybe a damper, working hard at riding. Fortunately I've been able to ride a lot this (first) season and I'm getting there - can't wait for next year with a "new" bike to allow me the next steps, maybe into some fast and comfortable cornering. As things are today I can follow experienced riders on much better bikes, but I'm not comfortable and probably closer to disaster than I need to be.

This season is already almost over, freezing temperatures in the mornings here, but I'm happy with what I've been able to learn and do in my first year of my second life as a rider. Let the winter mods begin