FOR THE DO-IT-YOURSELF DUCATI OWNER

REAR RIDE HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT

$ 0+ (Depends on Anchoring)

mm End Wrench,   mm Hex Key, Ruler, Support for the Front and Rear (Straps and Anchors In My Case)  22mm and 10mm Sockets (For The Chain).

As with the rear suspension adjustment, you really need to get some sort of anchoring system to hold the bike in place.  The rear suspension needs to be unloaded and the rear tire really needs to be off the ground in order to get the arc off easily.  Here, the bike is held steady by straps to each side and a zip-tied front brake lever to prevent it from rolling.

It's also possible to lift the rear using a floor jack and some sort bar and hook system, but it's so much safer to use straps from the ceiling anchors as shown.

Once the suspension is unloaded, you can then undo the arc fasteners using the mm wrench and mm hex key.  It gets tricky here.  On the left side, you can hold the hex key from behind because there is a cutout in the plastic fender for the chain and the hex key can fit.  On the right side, you need to actually take off the fender fastening bolt and push the fender out of the way to fit the hex key into the arc bolt.

Once the bolts are out, you can swing the arc free.  It helps at this point to raise the rear even further off the ground so that the arc can swing out of the way without hitting the plastic fender and swingarm.

This is how far in my adjusters were screwed when I got the bike- there is supposed to be a jam nut and a couple of threads showing, but there wasn't.  First I needed to set it back to stock.

This is the diagram that my manual gives as stock.  The distance between the centerline of the arc joint attaching bolt and the centerline of the adjuster holes is 238mm.   But, it's a little tricky to measure that with the arc on the bike.

After that, I simply measured from the mark on my frame to the centers of the adjuster holes as shown.  Once I got 238mm, I stopped.   That's stock.  Next, I screwed out the adjusters 5mm more until there was a total of 243mm.  I definitely would not reccomend more than about 7mm out past stock.  5mm raised the rear about 1 inch, 7mm would probably be about 1 3/8".

Whether you decide to go more than 5mm or not, you MUST leave 10mm of the adjusters threaded into the arc.  This is for safety reasons.   In order for any kind of bolt or screw to work, you need to have at least the diameter of the bolt threaded into your particular hole.  The adjusters are 10mm, so in order for them to safely hold, they need to be screwed in at LEAST 10mm.  At 5mm out past stock, they still were threaded in about 13mm, so I'm not worried.  You'll also note that I bought some new jam nuts to replace the missing ones.  The jam nuts add strength to the arc/adjuster coupling.

Once the adjusters are in the proper place and the distances on both sides are equal, you can lower the bike back down to line up the arc with the swingarm.  Put the bolt and nut back on the left side, then it's time to fight with the right.  As you can see, it's a bitch to get that bolt back on.

What I did was simply take a hacksaw blade to the fender and extend the cutout for the brake line a little further to accomodate the bolt.  I only went just far enough so that the bolt would slide in easily and I could hold it from behind with the hex key.  With the arc back in place you can't even see what was cut, and it makes it so much easier next time you adjust the height.

With the arc back in place, you can now tighten the adjuster bolts/nuts and the jam nuts.  Don't overtighten the jam nuts, simply snug them up.

If you loosened the the arc joint attaching bolt (like I accidentally did- it's not needed), be sure to torque it back to spec.

Once everything is tightened, you can lower the bike back down and go for a test spin.  IMPORTANT- be sure to adjust the chain first, as it is most likely going to loosen up after this procedure. WARNING- be very careful at first.  You won't be ready for the difference in steering, and may lose control if a turn is taken too fast.  However, once used to it you will be thanking yourself for taking the time to perform this mod.

This page is in no way associated with Ducati.com, nor is it an entity of Ducati Motor Holding, S.p.A.  All content, information, and views expressed herein are those of myself and do not reflect those of Ducati or its affiliates.  The "DUCATI" logo and "Circle D" are registered trademarks of Ducati Motor Holding, S.p.A., all other content on this website is copyright 2006, Monster Man Productions.

Raising the rear suspension's ride height makes a huge improvement in the steering
quickness of your Duc.  We're not talking inches here, maybe about one inch of height.  By
raising the rear using the suspension arc (found on Monsters and the 8** series bikes), you
are placing more weight on the front, leading to quicker steering.  You're also shortening
the wheelbase slightly (you'll need to adjust your chain afterwards), helping steering even
further.  You'll definitely feel the added height and more aggressive seating position, and it
feels much better than the stock position.  It's possible to go a little bit higher than I did, but
I wouldn't recommend it at first.

The first thing I did was find the centerline of the arc joint attaching bolt.
 I used a socket and a long extension over the bolt.  In a straight line out,
it intersected perfectly with my frame.  Then I marked a line in pencil on
my frame to indicate this centerline.  The beauty of it is that the line on
the frame matches up with the centerline of the arc joint attaching bolt
throughout the arc's movement because the bolt is fixed up near the
frame.  So, no matter which way the arc is pointed, from the line on the
frame to the adjuster holes will always be the same distance.