Ducati Diavel Motorcycles Forum banner

xdiavel suspension tuning

26K views 24 replies 16 participants last post by  DarkEvo  
#1 ·
found a good suspension tuning vid for the X...might be already posted here before.

 
#2 ·
#3 ·
Thanks for that video! I've been playing with the rear suspension settings for a few weeks - really hard to find a sweet spot. In the video he softens the preload but tightens the rebound which would make the rebound slower if I understand correctly. What I ended up doing - forks I turned both preload and compression to full clockwise. I backed off each 1.5 turns from there. Rear shock rebound I tightened fully then backed off to 1.5 turns (supposedly factory setting but I think the previous owner had softened it beyond that). Rear shock preload I am not 100% certain where to measure from - factory is supposedly .71 inches or 18mm which I believe is from the start of the threads to the top of the spring. Mine is more like 1 inch or 24mm which gives me 27 mm of slack when I sit on the bike (205 lbs and a full tank). It's okay...if I add a bag of gear I know I need more preload on the rear just hard to know how much.
While I can improve the suspension with these tweaks I am still not 100% happy. If I soften it up it bottoms out too easily, if I stiffen it up it pogo sticks on rough roads and if I add my tour bag of 25 lbs I can't find the right settings. I am thinking a Nitron 2 is in my future and I look forward to any feedback on that upgrade.
 
#4 ·
I find setting suspension difficult, but this help.
Bring me the video once i have time and I'll try to adjust the suspension better
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
hi all,
i adjusted my rear shock yesterday (from standard) and what a difference!
Ive now got just 4 threads showing on the rear and i have turned the rebound to 3 turns out (from fully in). I'm 12.5 stone and its brilliant!
Also, on the front, i have the rebound 3 turns out (from fully in) and left the compression as standard on the front.
It's no longer hurting and it's made a huge difference guys.
I went out on a 60 mile trip yesterday as a test and honestly, its transformed. really.
 
#8 ·
Blues - so I am clear -- you weigh 175 lbs and you slacked off the rear shock pre load to almost nothing and sped up the rebound? You adjusted the front rebound but not the preload or compression?

I would expect this would be too soft - very interesting that you find it working so well! The suspension setting is frankly driving me crazy - I am trying to learn what I can.
 
#9 ·
I wish the forum showed which year bike...maybe Blues has a 2018 and it's different enough on the rear. But I'd agree that with rebound essentially wide open, it should be a very "loose" ride and will likely bounce and overshoot some. This may be fine if he's actually just cruising around, but for those that are pushing it, we don't want bouncing or dramatic movement mid-corner at speed.

This is a new bike for me, so plenty to learn, and I appreciate the info. Dave Moss has a ton of great content on YouTube, and his site too: https://feelthetrack.com/category/all/

This is an oldie but a goodie I reference as well: http://www.gostar-racing.com/club/motorcycle_suspension_set-up.htm

I'm running about 230lb with gear for my stock 2017 XDS, and will be riding somewhat spirited after breakin, so Blues settings wont help me. But once I find something definitive I like I'll post my settings in this thread too. (Though I'm expecting I'll probably need a nitron rear)
 
#10 · (Edited by Moderator)
If you have a soft spring, you need less rebound damping so the wheel can come down from being compressed more easily. An overly stiff spring shoots it down forcibly and that's when you need rebound damping. A soft spring needs more compression damping so it doesn't bottom as easily, a harder spring needs less compression damping. That being said, the above adjustments make sense to me. Ideally you start with the proper spring rate, easily determined by how much sag you have when loaded. I think the Penske guy said my 2018 Ducati spring had a 385 lb/inch. spring rate. Nitron recommends a 450 lb/inch spring rate for me at 225lbs.
That's what i put on the Penske. I still haven't tried it yet, hopefully picking the bike up Friday.
 
#12 ·
I've been watching Robert Taylor's videos https://youtu.be/GfD3Y6T9GkU...in one he mentions that manufacturers should stop saying 'fully adjustable suspension' - as he says the suspension is only adjustable maybe 15 or 20 pounds in each direction - if the xDiavel has a spring for 175 lb person (but we don't really know? is that 385 lb per inch), those of us nearer to 200 lbs are dealing with a spring (or fork springs) at its max - leaving little room for adjustment. so it makes sense to me that a stock bike has a certain 'range' and beyond that we are playing at the extremes of preload and rebound which to my mind would make suspension adjustment more difficult. I will keep playing with mine and watching this topic.
I came from a Multi with the electronic suspension adjustment - pick one rider, one with bags, rider/pillion with or without bags...never had to think about it! Can't say I knew much at all about suspension until the XD came into my life. Thinking too - a Nitron 2 is in my near future.
 
#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi all,
I do realise that the suspension settings i've set don't make sense to some but genuinely, they work.
I actually had to buy a kidney belt as the jolts were really horrible (on british roads anyway) but it's really made that redundant.
It's only a c-spanner and 10 mins but please, try it.
As for the front, standard (except for the 3 turns on rebound) as i quite like late braking (EBC sintered pads. SOOOO much better than standard brembos) so it's fine for that.
Hey, if you don't get on with it, put it back to whatcha had!
Also, when the missus gets on the back, i will be stiffening it up as it's obviously more weight/leverage etc and it's going to be compensated.
Image
 

Attachments

#16 ·
Hi all,
I do realise that the suspension settings i've set don't make sense to some but genuinely, they work.
I actually had to buy a kidney belt as the jolts were really horrible (on british roads anyway) but it's really made that redundant.
It's only a c-spanner and 10 mins but please, try it.
As for the front, standard (except for the 3 turns on rebound) as i quite like late braking (EBC sintered pads. SOOOO much better than standard brembos) so it's fine for that.
Hey, if you don't get on with it, put it back to whatcha had!
Also, when the missus gets on the back, i will be stiffening it up as it's obviously more weight/leverage etc and it's going to be compensated.
Hey - I'm not saying what you are doing doesn't make sense - I'm trying to make sense of suspension settings and never had to do this before. Today I downloaded Race Tech's motorcycle suspension bible (very interesting - a little technical) and spent the day adjusting the rear shock. I now have 34 mm sag. Rebound I turned to the fastest/softest setting and backed it off 1/4 a turn. Thought it would be super fast but it's not. It's better - not perfect but now it's time to get the front a little softer because I am out of balance with only 17mm sag on the front.
One thing I noticed - the xDiavel Ohlins rear shock is progressive - bigger loops (firmer) at the wheel end and tighter/softer loops at the frame end. The Nitron is a straight shock -- does that make it more predictable? Also Nitron's shocks are sold in 5 kg increment - I am thinking IF I change to a Nitron I should first install new exhaust from Zard - it's 5.3 kg less than stock so that's one shock difference.....and on it goes!
 
#15 · (Edited by Moderator)
Here's my pre-breakin suspension settings for stock 2017 Xdiavel S, and I'm running about 230lb with gear:

Forks:
Preload: 5 turns in
Compression: 1 and 3/4 turns out
Rebound: 1 and 1/2 turns out

Shock:
Preload: (Was 11/16" to spring and I could force it to bottom out by bouncing, now 15/16" to spring no bottom out so far and sag is in the ballpark -see pics-)
Rebound: 1 turn out

Stock shock preload:
Image


Pre-breakin shock preload:
Image


..I'm expecting to need to adjust further post-breakin, as I start to ride it harder, so we'll see where it goes. So far a very fun foray into "cruiser-ish territory" coming from sport and sport-touring!

Image
 
#20 ·
Agreed @H1MKK, and I can say personally that Dave Moss Tuning is 100% a great investment. He offers a 30 min skype session for $80, and a diag via email which only cost me $40. He asked me for a series of photos and gave me instructions on how to take the measurements, then told me where to dial in my suspension. Unfortunately, nobody seems to know what size spanner wrench you need to adjust the rear preload. I tried two different Ducati dealerships, Cycle Gear, and another motorcycle parts shop. The most popular suggestion was to buy the adjustable. Which at $50 I feel is a waste since I will only ever use it for this purpose, so I was hoping to just buy the size I need.
 
#24 ·
There were two Dave moss videos where he adjusts the xdiavel. One was a black haired guy the other grey hair guy.

The one video Dave used these setting for the 190lb rider

FRONT
Fork preload fully out
Compression 3 turns out
Rebound 1.25 out

REAR
Preload fully out
.5 out on rebound

Anyone try these settings?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#25 ·
Hi All!

Reviving an older post - trying to find some general starting points and directions based on my weight (100kg’s+/220-230lbs). Coming from a Streetfighter and Panigale, I like riding on the xds somewhat sporty.

I didn't do anything to the shocks just yet, but it is pre-owned. Normally I looked up some basic settings based on weight from the owners manual, but cant find it for the XDS.

What would you advise as a general startingpoint based on weight and style?:
  • Front fork; rebound; fully CW (out?) + backing up 2 turns CCW?
  • Front fork; compression; fully cw (out?
  • Front fork; pre-load; fully CW (out?)

Rear shock; no tread visible (fully out?) with rebound fully out + 1 turns back?