hello all, new to this forum. I used to own a 2013 Pikes Peak with Skyhook. I had no real reference point to previous Multistrada models and I had never owned or ridden any bike fitted with Ohlins. I do know from experience that getting a professional suspension setup makes a huge difference and has always been a game changer with the bikes I have owned (sports and nakeds). On my 2013 PP, I found the ability to change suspension settings, especially based on luggage and panniers useful with the 2013 skyhook. In sports mode there was a nice stiffer and more responsive feel to the bike but I found that after turn-in, especially on sweeping corners there was a vague feeling from the front. After two year's of use, I was at world Ducati week and took advantage of the free suspension setup provided by Adreani. The suspension engineer worked his magic with the electronic settings and I found the bike even more positive after that. The slight vague feeling was still there but the overall positive effect combined with the convenience of electronic adjustment made owning the bike a joy. I've anyone is interested the adjustments made on the DSS were, (for one rider) for all modes: Preload 12, Front medium, Rear soft. For reference, I weigh about 14 stone, 14 1/2 in my PPE on the bike. Recently, I've had a few niggles with the bike and found myself interested in the new Pikes Peak models. I'd heard some stories of the skyhook system failing and needing to be replaced (I had the ECU replaced after 900 miles on returning from a trip to France) and after getting a good deal on a second-hand PP, I swapped for the Ohlins model. I'd also ridden and owned a few Ohlins bikes by this point and saw the benefit of the suspension - both aftermarket Ohlins and manufacture-sourced Ohlins. I realised I'd be looking at a trade off between pushing a few buttons vs. manual suspension adjustment and winding up the pre-load on the rear. I've had an initial setup on the PP and have ridden with all three panniers full and a passenger and just increased the stiffness on the rear to cope by 6-7 clicks. It runs like a dream so far, I'm going for a full suspension setup by MCT when I can. I really liked the convenience of the Skyhook but the failures put me off a little bit. Hopefully by going with the conventional suspension setup I'm reducing the number of areas that can go wrong.
I love the Ohlins on my 2011 1200s but have upgraded to a 100Nm spring as the 85Nm was far to soft for riding two up! Bike is so much better.
I love the Ohlins on my 2011 , as I only weigh 175 lbs and never ride 2 up this suspension with the upgraded Ohlins Mechtronic ECU is great with nice feedback , had a right fork seal leak recently and used a homemade piece of light plastic cut out from a milk jug as a cleaning tool around the seal , worked great and no more leak .
