I bought a set of desmo forks about a year and half ago that had been involved in a crash thinking I would be able to get them fixed up as and when I found the money. This was for my now redundant 1098S build. It turns out the only parts that were able to be reused were the top caps, springs and preload tubes, literally everything else had to be replaced. It took a while but I managed to find all parts new and genuine Ohlins, the main parts being: - Gold outer tubes (from the factory instead of black) - Both Inner tubes (stanchions) - Both inner cylinder tubes (tube that piston goes up and down) - Both Piston rods - Both Piston holders - Both fork bottoms (I got the last ones left in existence apparently) - Both gas reservoir tubes - All internal pistons, valves, seals, o-rings - Both fork bottom valves - Dust/oil seals and oil - Upper and lower outer tube bushes Unfortunately, since fixing these I decided to try and cobble a 1098RS together and using these would require modification to both the forks and the triple clamps due to the difference in fork outer tube and axle diameters. The parts were sourced and re-assembled by BG Motorsport who are a suspension company based out of Silverstone and were amazing to deal with. I can include the paperwork that I have relating to these. I'm just wanting my money back so I can put it towards a set of FGRs which would be plug and play. £4200 plus postage and packaging.
That's my dad's NSR 250 MC28, it has a custom RC213vs motoGP inspired top triple clamp, JHA exhaust, Brembo M4s with RCS, HRC card with race loom and lights splice, 675r Ohlins forks, samco hoses and a tyga seat conversion. He fully rebuilt the engine himself and got it properly dialled in as well, 2nd gear onwards absolutely rips Thanks for the comments folks. The forks are just as nice in real life too lol it's a shame they have to go but it's for the best. Just remember, Christmas is coming up
I completely split the Desmo forks before sending them to BG and I've also rebuilt my dad's Ohlins R&T forks. To be honest the quality of the Desmo forks are far superior to the standard Ohlins found on most sports iterations. The piston rods are polished, the the machined piston holders are much more intricate, the caps, Inner tubes and gas tubes are the same as FGRs so they are definitely worth that bit more than normal R&Ts. It would be good to have the billet fork bottoms like the FGRs but I suppose we can't have it all lol Indeed the caliper spacing is 100mm which I think most, if not all Ducatis utilise. The right fork bottom has a 30mm diameter and the left has 25mm diameter. The Desmo uses the same spindle as the 999 and again the triple clamp diameters are 53mm upper, 56mm lower which can really be used across all models provided you have the right triple clamps. I don't have an axle but I can throw in a titanium axle nut and do a deal on Brembo M4 calipers in good condition if someone wishes to buy the forks.
I have a set of these type forks on my 996 track bike. Fully admit they were bought for the bling, but I was pleasantly surprised to find they were a step up from the ohlins fitted previously which had k-tech internals and were set up for my weight. Even with my basic fiddling they were much more responsive and fantastic under heavy braking
Good to hear and hopefully reassuring to folk that are interested that these aren't just a gimmick. I should probably add that the forks need no work what so ever, however, in order to make them fit, I believe you will need a 999 axle and Desmo caliper spacers which are 12.5mm thick. If you're lucky enough to have a 1098R or 1198SP the right side will need 7.5mm caliper spacers due to the TC mount. Both axles and spacers are relatively inexpensive and easy jobs. The axle is still compatible with 1098/1198 wheels.
