1299 Softly Sprung

You might want to respring the rear shock at least. Adding preload usually helps temporarily but it takes away feel and can make the ride a bit hard. Better to respring it and the forks too for your weight. Goes for any bike really.

 

I would measure the static and rider sag with what you have. As a ballpark, set your static sag to 10mm by adding or reducing preload. then sit on it and measure again. If your seeing more than another 30mm travel, so 40mm total you're looking at stiffer springs. I set my bikes up so they use roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of the available travel with my weight on it. Your bike has 120mm travel at the front and 130mm at the rear so 35 to 40 mm rider sag is probably a good starting point. I do not reduce static sag via preload to less than 5mm to get there. If I can't achieve those ballpark figures I change springs. You can stiffen the front marginally by running a smaller air gap, i.e. add some fork oil. (Not sure this is good advice on the 1299 forks, haven't had the opportunity to have a good look at them but on conventional forks air gap is a valid tool for setting them up). That may gain you a couple of millimeters but the rear is really just governed by the spring rate.

 

Ducati tend to over-spring the rear and under spring the front, ie too hard at rear, too soft at front for the average 13st rider. At 16
+ st rear may be ok. Front likely needs beefing up. That ime of Ducatis over the years.
I have a 1299, 18st in leathers and had my front rebuilt and the rear I left with the ttx spring that came with it and works ok

 

If it’s a used bike I’d start with putting all the geometry to standard and work on dropping front rather than softening off if you want front to feel more planted

 

Average rider is 13 st you say , hoorah at last I am above average !

 

Ducati Italian racing snake

 

I wish…..when I said above ,I meant more than !