I have just lowered the ride height using the dogbone on my ST4 as I am a shortarse (30" inside leg). Do I need to adjust the front forks at all to compensate for the change? Not looking for a track bike setup - just a safe all round road bike. Any help would be most appreciated guys. I ride solo & am around 13st.
Many people will tell you that the fork angle will have changed and the handling won't be as sharp. In truth I very much doubt that you will notice any difference. While I had the front fairing off I dropped the forks through the yolks a little on mine but that could not be felt in the ride either.
Thanks Bob. The previous Ducatis I've had have been the smaller Monsters, and I didn't have to touch the setup on those. This one's a bit tricky to manage on tiptoes.
Sorry to disagree but altering the ride height on an ST4 has a HUGE effect on the handling! The general consensus if you do some searching is to put the bike on the ventrestand and adjust so that the rear wheel is about 10 to 15mm off the ground. If you've reduced the height because of your stature you'll need to compensate by dropping the forks and lowering the front end to regain the quicker steering or else it'll handle like an oil tanker!
Hi Samurai, having ridden the bike for some 100miles since dropping the ride height I haven't noticed any difficulty in it's handling at all. I'm not a 'track day' rider - just enjoy bike riding, & now feel more comfortable on the bike at this height. No doubt if I were to ride it like I stole it, there might be some merit in tweaking the front end; but at present it's quite a nimble oil tanker! Thanks for your comment though.
Sorry to disagree but it makes no difference at all on my ST2 (same beast different engine) or on my 848, and that is the opinion of both me and my wife who also rides both. But there again I am no super expert race rider and only have just over 40 years riding experience. You don't need to measure the clearance under the wheel as Ducati give you the exact length of the adjustable rear suspension tie rod in the workshop manual.
True, Ducati give you the standard length of the tie rod but that gives you a tyre to ground measurement of about 35mm if I remember correctly. The steering on mine was really slow and ponderous before I made the suggested adjustment. It was like a different bike after that. Ultimately you pays your money and takes your choice.
Mine handles just fine since shortening the dogbone as I said before. Just a point though - my clearance is nearer 35mm now, where before it was closer to the 15mm mark. Maybe I've got it nearer to where it started. I'm happy with it at the end of the day.
Interesting development re my forks. On closer inspection the fork legs were 3mm BELOW the top yoke. I have since raised them to 5mm above (ie dropping the front end by 8mm total) as recommended by a mechanic friend of mine. This should compensate for the lowering of ride height on the rear. Haven't been out on it yet as it's a trifle inclement at the moment, but we'll see. Apparently the legs should be flush as per stock settings, so I've effectively dropped the front 5mm from stock. Watch this space - if I start selling off parts, you'll know I went too far...
