Looking to upgrade the suspension on my Monster 821. Overall I reckon the suspension is okay, a bit on the firm / sporty side so no issues with the sportier side of road riding. It settles nicely after cresting rises and holds its shape round corners. Overall a good effort from Ducati to put in something that is not adjustable but still works very well. However, can this be made better ? Particularly a bit less harsh over sudden bumps. I have ordered a Nitron R1 shock in black for the rear, on the basis that it has to be some kind of improvement as it has compression and rebound adjustment - which the OE shock does not. And the Nitron unit will be made specific to my weight. Figured that must be worth the upgrade and should be straightforward to fit. Not sure about upgrading the front as that is quite a bit more hassle and expense. That is the bit that concerns me - can the local non Ducati bike garage do this upgrade - is it rocket science that needs specialist garages to do ?
If you can change the rear shock a fork internals change IMO is no more complicated, talk to Nitron they may have an internals kit for your Monster. I service my own forks on my trials bike it’s pretty straightforward and IMO far easier than changing out a rear shock.
You can most likely have the internals on the front forks changed ie cartridge/valve through which the fork oil is squeezed on compression & rebound, the spring and the viscosity of the fork oil. Any competent suspension specialist will be able to do this it doesn’t have to be a Ducati dealer and arguably you shouldn’t even ask them to do it as they most likely won’t have the expertise to do so but will outsource it. As @DucatiScud says you can even attempt it yourself, I’m sure a search on YouTube will throw up many useful videos. However, if I interpret it correctly you don’t have any adjustment on the front either (very strange) so You may be better off swapping the forks for something off a higher spec model that does have the adjustment and then start tweaking things. Never forget the starting point is setting the sag correctly for you in your gear which should be 1/3rd off the overall suspension travel.
According to the owner's manual the standard rear shock is adjustable for rebound, with manual preload adjustment. I randomly selected a 2019 edition so that may not apply to your bike. Andreani manufacture a drop in cartridge kit to replace the non adjustable damper rod forks you currently have. If you don't want to spend that sort of money you could: - Reduce the length of the spacer above the spring(s) to reduce preload. - Change the oil to a viscosity that reflects your weight above/below 'standard'. - Replace the fork spring(s). Both Hyperpro and Wilbers manufacture aftermarket 'progressive' fork springs, subject to model fitment.
All of the above You've got a similar issue to me (Hyper) - completely non-adjustable forks Next thing on my list is Andreani replacement cartridges - they give you fork-top adjustments...
Thank you for your comments. "talk to Nitron" - good idea. I watched a YouTube vid, not for the Monster particularly but rather for Nitron Cartridge set to be installed - I think it was on a Honda. Unfortunately the Monster 821 does not have the suspension options from new that the 1200 has. Noted about setting the sag correctly first. You are right about the rebound adjustment, although not so obvious as a big twisty knob on the side - forgive the non technical term. Preload, I get that - compress the spring with use of a big special spanner. The front forks - the cartridge kit from Nitron is not so expensive - a few hundred £££ pounds not such a big issue. I just have to be sure that whoever installs it and sets it up knows what they are doing. I would not be that familiar with what you describe to set the bike up properly. Maybe practice on a old dirt bike but not about to start that learning process on my lovely new Ducati. But useful information for someone who has had a bit more experience than me ! I looked at them as well, but will probably go with Nitron front and back. Either one has to be better to have the adjustable rather than the stock non-adjustable that we both have now.
I'm have a Nitron shock on my R1200S (bought with it already fitted) and I can't fault it. Will now look at fork internals from them to compare to Andreani cost. Suspension seems to be a mystery to most people. I enjoy it, and have always been happy to do my own; I'm used to tuning mechanical systems. It needs mechanical understanding of what's going on in the system, plus feel for what the bike's doing front & rear as a result of making changes. Hmmm - someone could make money out of running hands-on 'clinics'....
You could also consider contacting one of the specialist suspension companies like MCT in Suffolk, depending on where you're based. Then you'd have complete confidence in the bike being set up properly.
Good for you. Nice to get stuck into something mechanical - changing a tail tidy, levers and an end can are about my limit. With this Monster I can tell that the suspension is a bit harsh for me in stock form, but it is not dangerous or unsettled when making making progress. So it is not a disaster if I left it alone. But I think throwing a few £££ at it will make it a bit better overall.
hi there, any update on this? I am upgrading to hyperpro springs front and rear next month (springs, seals, oil). My 2015 monster 821 was "not in use" the last 2.5 yrs now that its back i feel the suspension being way too soft, feedback is missing, have the feel that the geometry is suffering as well due to the rear shock.. but i am not willing to spend too much on it. I hear many good things abt the hyperpro's so i was convinced that the upgrade will help a lot. Did anyone try out the hyperpro springs on the monster?
Sorry - I was all set to spend some money on upgrading the Monster 821 - Dymag wheels and Nitron Shock. Dymag did not have the measurements to make the wheels straight off, so they would need to take the measurements from my bike to make a set of wheels. So that was off. Cancelled the order for the Nitron shock and traded the Monster in for a new Suzuki GSX-S1000 with adjustable suspension as standard. Took delivery of the Suzuki early October 2021 so only a few weeks after my last post. Interesting to see how you get on with your bike though.
not bad at all, enjoy the new bike !! I will update for first impressions. As said, is just a spring update so nothing spectacular but i do hope for a solid improvement, fingers crossed .. to be continued..
so this lasted a bit longer than expected but that's life.. for who ever thinks about upgrading the springs on a duc monster 821 .. I went for an upgrade kit from Hyperpro. Front and rear progressive springs, seals and oil incl labor cost was abt 550 EUR. Took abt 2 hrs. Suspension feel is now a bit harder (which i wanted, i am abt 90 kg so with gear close to 100), rebound is good and got finally some sag in the rear which was almost close to 0 before. Front to rear transition seems better and the balance improved a lot , turning a tad more stable (disclaimer follows). I have to admit that i never touched my suspension in my 6 yrs of ownership so even a simple oil change would have a good result i think. Having said that, the new springs are more suitable for my weight and this allows for a better set up. Don't expect miracles but in my opinion and for the money spent, its not a bad upgrade at all, i definitely recommend it. You need take into consideration that on the 821 monster, the front forks have no adjustment at all while the rear shock is not serviceable and only allows for a few very basic adjustments, so if you are not willing to spend more for a front fork kit and a new rear adjustable shock..know your limitations and adjust your expectations accordingly. hope this helps someone, stay safe
Just for information , my 2020 821 Dark Stealth has fully adjustable forks as standard. Don’t know about other model years.
That was interesting to read and well done for going ahead with the upgrade. I am sure this will be useful information for others as well.
