There’s definitely something not right in the videos, so I think everyone is agreed on that. Most get some stiction but nowhere near that bad. others will know but I seem to remember these forks had some weird bladder in them pr some quirky design that could be unreliable, a search might help or others on here might know. Lower fork clamp bolts are a must though, they will be surprisingly low in terms of torque but there are 3 I think on each leg. However your issue seems to be different in different parts of the stoke rather than just tight all the time. It’s not missing a wheel spacer is it? Or got a collapsed wheel bearing? Pretty out there but this would be allowing the forks to be effectively squished and not parallel
Here’s one link, possible fault bladders in the fork https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/1199-marzocchi-forks-faulty-damping-prefered.77022/
I think the fact the wheel is retained in a wheel chock could be an issue to. You're asking the forks to move around an axle that is being held in a fixed plane. The movement of the forks is having to come from the rear of the bike. The rear is having to roll forward. If that's on a paddock stand, then that's an even worse scenario.
I'm not sure about the wheel bearing, there aren't any vibrations, or wob Good point. I'll take it off the chock and repeat the process. I dont want to sit on the bike when it is on the paddock stand, im sure it will take my lardy arse, but it doesn't feel ok. Although I'll see as it will do the reverse of the chock and force the front to move.
You shouldn't really have the bike on any stands while trying to set up or diagnose suspension issues. It's usually a two person job.
That's a good point, the wheelbase shortens when the forks do, so the bike is being 'pulled' forwards when you compress the forks, and if it's on a rear stand also it will be restricting it's movement
Right folks, went to Ducati Oxford yesterday. The fork seals were cleaned but it made no difference whatsoever. So it is booked in for a fork rebuild at the end of this month. TBF the oil has probably never been changed, so I'll be interested to see what the result is afterwards.
Stiction is just resistance to the initial force trying to crate motion. Friction is the resistance felt when in motion. in my experience with bikes so far Stiction is mainly due to poor front wheel refitment when clamping the axle and torquing the axle nut. I would always recommend releasing the axle pinch bolts and bouncing the forks after the Axle nut has been tightened. I had a friends R1 once with high stiction in the initial travel and used a headstock stand to separately (after releasing Preload and Comp/Rebound) move each fork leg through a range of motion to compare each side. result was that one leg was slightly bent, unnoticeable on visual inspection but noticeable on side to side comparison of travel resistance. just some food for thought.
Fork rebuild probably a good shout providing whoever is doing it checks they are straight at the same time. Oil won't be causing the issue, and tbh I'm really not sure I've ever heard of a dealer 'cleaning the fork seals'.. I'd genuinely be interested to know more on that.
It's my term rather than theirs. They used a hook type tool to run around the inside of the fork seal. Crap came out. Thus my use of the word cleaning. Not meant to imply anything different.
probably using a fork seal 'Sealmate' or something similar to make sure that there isn't anything imbedded in the seal or between dust and fluid seal
Fixed. Front shocks fully rebuilt. Dealer did it under warranty. It might be in my head but super difference on the way home.
Good recommendation but now you need to slacken the caliper bolds also, bounce, hold and tighten to re-center the brakes.
No. The spatial relationship between the axle, the wheel and the LH fork is absolute. The RH fork floats on the spindle until the clamp bolts are nipped up. edited for Pani specifically as they appear to be LH fix, RH float on pictures. My “old” bikes are the other way around.
Yes that's true but if you tighten the pinch bolts prior to bouncing, you're not giving the axle the opportunity to seat well IMHO.
I think the correct torque on the nut is plenty to seat the spindle to the fork and pull the wheel into the correct position. The problem with torquing the nut up after nipping the axle clamps is that if you bounce the bike with both sides free and the nut not to torque, it settles both sides fully floating, then if you nip up the floating side, and then the fixed side, then torque the axle nut up, you have 2 negative possibilities - 1. That the nut forces the “fixed” fork across the spindle and the forks are misaligned immediately. 2. That the nut torques up without moving the spindle on that fork, where you will find that your caliper on that side can’t be set up central to the disc, and over time, the nut will loosen off and the forks become misaligned as the bike is used. I would always recommend that you fix the fork, wheel and spindle on the fixed side and ensure the forks are parallel and free bouncing with only the sliding fork unclamped.
