Preload does not give a firmer or softer ride, that's the job of rebound and compression. Preload raises/lowers the bike so that it in is the suspension working range and also bike stability.
It's fairly well established that none of the dealers touch the factory set-up, so not surprised there demo bike would be lower. Prob half a turn on the front and 12 on the rear.
Not quite, it's a more controlled ride with less Max extension knocking, less uncontrolled bouncing, much less bar wobble and tank slapping, and turns with much much more front end feel and control , but if you honestly feel with pre-load fully out that it makes no difference, then may I suggest you don't ride erm... As spirited as you may think and thus leave as is. Happy days.
Which bears out the fact that my bike was slightly higher than the demo. Had deep conversation with them yesterday about this & no they do not touch the setup & yes they are told by Ducati under no circumstances touch the setup on Skyhook models. If the individual wants to adjust the preload that is fine but we do not & know anyone who has needed to.
Ok point taken. Still going to do the adjustments & takes pics of front leg depression before & after. will mark on the leg somehow for reference.
The suspension people who did my bike said that they get a lot of Multistrada S in for set-up. Which would suggest that Ducati are a bit over-optimistic in the belief that there factory set-up doesn't need altering
I think if you do a lot of high speed or track day stuff yes its maybe a good idea. We used to spend ages setting up GSXR 750,s & 1000,s for track day use so i do understand.
That could be that they have different rear preload to yours tho. Mine is massively different when you adjust the rear preload, even 3 or 4 steps on the control (say 10 to 14) is a noticeable change
I'm still sorting through the details on my new '17 S. I agree with those that prefer the throttle response in sport mode, but around town the suspension settings for urban are easier on my back and fillings. Have changed to mid for the engine in urban, will likely switch it to high. Have also cut down the DWC. Haven't fiddled with preload as I don't notice any bad habits at-speed. Have done some twisties 2-up and managed to scrape a peg a few times. I hadn't thought of using Enduro mode on the street to get a bit more clearance, I'll have to try that. We have some very tight canyon roads where a bit more peg height would help. I don't want to raise the pegs though as I'm already a bit legroom-challenged (I'm 6'1"). On my R1200GS (which is sitting in the garage waiting for fork recall replacement - one reason I bought the Multi), I had a custom seat done 1" taller to get more room. Not sure I'll do that with the Multi as despite the knee bend it so far isn't bad on a longer ride.
Just done 5 days in Wales/The Lakes, so bike is fully run in now. I had forgotten to adjust the rear preload along with the tweaks to the front and pushing on with fully loaded boxes, the front was dropping in lovely, but the rear end was tieing itself in knots, wallowing and bouncing about. Set Sport/Touring to 16 and wow, what a difference! Might firm up the sport 1/2 notches, but pretty happy with the handling now, especially considering the weight and 19" front wheel.
Not sure if that's true, not for me anyway. Although I had mine done at a track day, it was always my intention to improve the handling for road use. As it turned out once the sag measurements had been taken and bike adjusted the only thing I would need to change would be compression and rebound according to suspension people. So "hardiest" for track or spirited riding and "default for "road". The Multi's modes are brilliant for this and I can't fault the advice given by the suspension people as it's been spot on about road/track settings.
did you have the auto preload adjust in bike plus luggage? Makes a huge difference and can be done while riding along too
Spot on IMHO. Having done a bit of track time, unless it was a full race bike I wouldn't adjust the preload at all, just up the comp etc.. But I am keen to explore this 'skyhook needs no preload' Ducati dealer comment, so think I may drop a few people wh actually know a line
No, I didn't spot that way of doing it? I spent 15 mins faffing about on Llandudno sea front trying to suss it out (bike took 3 attempts to start afterwards!). How is that achieved or should I rtfm?
Yes, IIRC (but haven't done for a year!!) hold the MODE button until the preload screen comes up showing the helmets and luggage, then select. Works up to about 10mph I think. You can set this settings too, the same as the single rider settings, so you have them ready if you ever need them. Also useful if you are on 'canyon roads' 'alpine roads' with lots of camber that means you need a bit more clearance, as you can just up it while moving without messing in the big settings menu
DUK emailed me a month or so ago when we started talking about this on the other thread, and confirmed the front pre-load IS to be set for rider.
