[Tuned]

The valves aren't the issue, it's the shim stacks. So throwing Öhlins valves in there, isn't really going to be a huge difference. Yes it's better because the stacks are better, but it's nothing awesome. I've done the UES kit on many bikes and never been IN LOVE with the results.

What most people do (myself included) is run the cartridge kits. Öhlins makes a fantastic drop-in kit for pretty much all modern sportbikes. Back in the day we ran 25mm kits because they were the easiest to get decent settings for. However today most people run the NIX 30mm kit, which is a huge improvement. The nice thing about running a cartridge kit is that someone else will build it for you, with the spring and everything and all you need to do is drop it in as a complete unit. This way you can guarantee it was built properly and for your weight/riding ability, which is the key.

I actually prefer (so do many people) the Öhlins cartridge in the Showa fork for MANY reasons. The biggest reason is that the Öhlins R&T forks have a rounded cap, preventing you from using cap extenders, which are actually very important when setting up ride height. You won't see a single bike on the AMA grid without those extenders on them.

Right now hardracing.com has a deal on a TTX36MKII shock and NIX30mm cartridges for YOUR bike, configured for you @ $2249. You can probably get a similar deal from other Öhlins dealers, it's nothing outrageously special. This kit will get you started on the path to having good suspension that you won't ever have to worry about again. When you're ready to get the chassis geometry setup properly, you can simply call your local Öhlins dealer and get those extender caps and screw them on.

One final thought… if you're going to do the suspension, I would absolutely without doubt do the chassis geometry kit; 30mm offset triples, linear rear link, shortened adjustable ride height adaptor. These three things together will make your bike sing. The problem is, if you do them up the road, you will need to make an adjustment to the shock, as stock it comes too long, it will need to be shortened. So thats why a lot of people do the whole kit together and you should be able to do all of it for $3200 USD. It's a lot I know, but I'd save and do it all because it will turn your bike into an amazing machine.

 

[Tuned]

I was just wondering if replacing the valves, springs and oil would make a big enough difference to justify the $500 cost.

It's $2240 actually, the $3k price includes everything to make the bike work properly.

Yes the UES (valve kit) will make a difference for sure.

The reason I don't like the kit is because it's substandard. It doesn't resolve many of the inherent problems with the fork. It's a quick fix for a bigger problem and you will probably eventually do the cartridge kit anyway, negating that $500 bux you spent. So in my view, start saving money so you can buy the real deal. Even if you don't buy new, that's OK… I see cartridge kits on ebay all the time for cheaper then the price I quoted. Just gotta keep your eyes open!

 

[Tuned]

I'm not really too educated on what the offset triples do, but from what I've read it's about shortening and lengthening the wheelbase (????). It seems like the consensus is that it handles better through turns, but a bit unstable on straights?

The problem with Ducati superbikes is that the engine is very long. To solve this problem, Ducati resorted to using a pretty short swing arm and moving the front forks further away (offset) from the steering stem. This even's out the weight distribution pretty good and delivers enough trail for the average rider. It also makes the bike very stable for slow-speed street and 2 up riding.

However, there simply isn't enough weight on the front end for serious track riding. The bike will run wide on corner exit almost every time and getting it to steer at high speed due to the longer wheelbase, can be difficult. Plus, the stock progressive rear end, has issues with squat and that leads to less traction on exit as well.

The solution to the problem is to bring those forks back a few millimeters (fork offset) and extend the rear end of the bike slightly which puts more weight on the front end. This AND a 1 less degree rake, allows the bike to fall into the corner much easier at high speeds and it won't over steer on corner exit. Adding a progressive rear link helps tremendously with the squat issue.

The fork offset and rear link gives greater stability at high speeds. However, when decrease the rake angle, it absolutely effects stability. This is why a lot of riders run high-end adjustable steering dampers to help quench those issues. There really aren't any down sides on the track, on the street at slow speeds, the bike will have less stability.

With all that said, there is no reason you can't focus on one thing at a time. Start with the forks/shock and over time work your way through the different components. Many of us (myself included) are so use to running with proper geometry, it's difficult for us NOT to suggest doing the right thing because of how good it truly feels. However, you are just starting out and money spent on education at your level is probably far BETTER money spent, then adding hardware to your bike.

 

[Tuned]

I'm more impressed that you took the time to get the O with the two dots on top when spelling out Ohlins

Umlaut's are part of many languages and mac keyboards have the function built in, so you don't need to switch keyboards layouts to whatever native language uses them, in order to type them. If you hit "option" and "U" at the same time, the umlaut is put in place and if you use the letters (A, U, O, E), the umlaut will stay on top of the letter used.

Now that's education!

 

[Tuned]

Dave Moss is the shit!

Best guy on the west coast. Best part is, if you live near him, he'll teach you everything you need to be successful at tuning. So wish I lived up there!