About to pull the trigger...Suspension worries

dlbracey · Apr 9, 2014

I'm about to pull the trigger on a red 2013 Hyperstrada at a bargain price. This is my first new to me bike, so I'm probably a little overly hesitant.

I had a chance to test ride a 2014 SP and loved it, but it was too tall for my 5'10", 30" inseam body. Unfortunately my dealer didn't have a demo strada, but I sat on one and was happy with the ergos. My only hesitation is that I'm a bigger guy - around 210lbs (dry) and I've heard a lot of complaints about the suspension on the strada in general and especially when compared to the SP suspension.

I'm fairly new to street riding (lots of dirt in the past), so I'm certainly not "dragging knees" at this point, so I don't even know if I will notice the imperfect suspension. I guess my question is, is the $2K to upgrade to the SP and the next $1-2K to add the low seat and some of the Strada accessories going to be worth it or is the Strada a good enough platform that I can upgrade the suspension if I desire and as mods come to market?

Thanks for the help, I've really been enjoying reading the posts here! Looking forward to joining the crowd.

gatdammit · Apr 9, 2014

Welcome! How will it be used? Fun, commute, etc.

dlbracey · Apr 9, 2014

Mostly fun, some longer rides out into the country for camping. I have a fantasy of getting my fly fishing gear on it and going out stalking some nice roads and some trout...

dlbracey · Apr 9, 2014

I'm in NYC now, but about to move to Central VA which makes what I mentioned above a little easier...

zippy49 · Apr 9, 2014

The forks can be fixed for less than $500 plus some shipping, see my "fork upgrade" thread in the 'Mechanical and Technical' section. Mine have been dialed in to my weight and riding style.

The rear shock is not bad, has a remote reservoir and hydraulic preload adjustment which should handle your weight without a problem. My wife and I weigh >320 and ours does fine two-up.

dlbracey · Apr 9, 2014

zippy49 said:
The forks can be fixed for less than $500 plus some shipping, see my "fork upgrade" thread in the 'Mechanical and Technical' section. Mine have been dialed in to my weight and riding style.

The rear shock is not bad, has a remote reservoir and hydraulic preload adjustment which should handle your weight without a problem. My wife and I weigh >320 and ours does fine two-up.

Thanks. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Is this the Race Tech upgrade that you wrote about?

gatdammit · Apr 9, 2014

The Strada is a better stock adventure bike than the SP, especially with the deals some people are reporting for 2013 models. Some of us don't like the brake dive and lack of adjust-ability up front, but it will certainly carve sweepers beyond a novice riders abilities.

dlbracey · Apr 9, 2014

gatdammit said:
The Strada is a better stock adventure bike than the SP, especially with the deals some people are reporting for 2013 models. Some of us don't like the brake dive and lack of adjust-ability up front, but it will certainly carve sweepers beyond a novice riders abilities.

Thanks so much! Sounds great to me. I'm going to pull the trigger!

zippy49 · Apr 9, 2014

dlbracey said:
Thanks. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Is this the Race Tech upgrade that you wrote about?

You bet. Worth every penny. From what I'm hearing about the Andreani inserts, they are not perfect either. Not to mention triple the price once you get them installed and set up properly. Shipping is the only hassle.

Twozzie found a local shop to do a similar job, you might ask around your area.

If anyone saw the article on frame alignment in the latest Cycle World, R/T does that too. Hope I never need it....

britm3 · Apr 9, 2014

I went through the same thought process on the SP vs the strada - and for me the deals on the '13 Strada's are two hard to pass up - it was a $3k difference in price and I wanted most of the Strada accessories, so adding those to the SP would have made it a $3,600 spread at least for me.

dlbracey · Apr 9, 2014

britm3 said:
I went through the same thought process on the SP vs the strada - and for me the deals on the '13 Strada's are two hard to pass up - it was a $3k difference in price and I wanted most of the Strada accessories, so adding those to the SP would have made it a $3,600 spread at least for me.

Yeah, that's where I'm ending up. About to submit the paper work. Pretty excited.

michdave · Apr 9, 2014

Just my 2 cents: I installed the Andreani fork kit. They weren't cheap, but they did make a huge improvement. I wish zippy and I lived closer to we could compare the R/T setup vs these. Without doing that I really can't say which way to go. But I logged 200+ miles today on back road twists and a few highway on/off ramps, and even some fast paced tracks back to the State Parks in MD, and the forks preformed awesome. I even hit some deep holes on the trails probably going a bit to fast and they soaked them up; only bottomed on one…but I was going around 40mph when I hit it. If you can go with the R/T and save the money, I'd do it if you'll be happy with not wanting to adjust things a lot. If you'd like to dial things in from day to day depending on your riding style, then you may want the Andreani.

But, regardless of what the Andreani POS instructions tell you,…You will most likely need more than a 140mm air chamber gap. That's another story though.

Have fun on your bike. They're a riot to explore on.

dlbracey · Apr 9, 2014

michdave said:
Just my 2 cents: I installed the Andreani fork kit. They weren't cheap, but they did make a huge improvement. I wish zippy and I lived closer to we could compare the R/T setup vs these. Without doing that I really can't say which way to go. But I logged 200+ miles today on back road twists and a few highway on/off ramps, and even some fast paced tracks back to the State Parks in MD, and the forks preformed awesome. I even hit some deep holes on the trails probably going a bit to fast and they soaked them up; only bottomed on one"¦but I was going around 40mph when I hit it. If you can go with the R/T and save the money, I'd do it if you'll be happy with not wanting to adjust things a lot. If you'd like to dial things in from day to day depending on your riding style, then you may want the Andreani.

But, regardless of what the Andreani POS instructions tell you,"¦You will most likely need more than a 140mm air chamber gap. That's another story though.

Have fun on your bike. They're a riot to explore on.

Thanks for the reply - I read a bunch of your posts on the Andreani upgrade also. My plan is to just ride the hell out of it for a while as is and then see where to go from there. Honestly, right now I'm not even sure I will notice the "problems" coming from by '71 CL350...

On another topic, from your posts it seems like you are going over to Duc Pond in Winchester for service instead of Coleman in NOVA. Have you had good experiences with them? I've got to find somewhere in VA for service once I move down to Charlottesville.

amhobby · Apr 9, 2014

I had some of the same worries you do and after having my bike for 4 days now I can say for certain I made the right choice. Most fun I've had on a bike in a long time.

dlbracey · Apr 9, 2014

amhobby said:
I had some of the same worries you do and after having my bike for 4 days now I can say for certain I made the right choice. Most fun I've had on a bike in a long time.

Awesome - I'm committed now! Just took you guys to push me over the edge!

michdave · Apr 9, 2014

dlbracey said:
Thanks for the reply - I read a bunch of your posts on the Andreani upgrade also. My plan is to just ride the hell out of it for a while as is and then see where to go from there. Honestly, right now I'm not even sure I will notice the "problems" coming from by '71 CL350...

On another topic, from your posts it seems like you are going over to Duc Pond in Winchester for service instead of Coleman in NOVA. Have you had good experiences with them? I've got to find somewhere in VA for service once I move down to Charlottesville.

Seriously, they're great. I went there first on an (not official) recommendation from Ducati service when my coil crapped-out. Donnie is the owner and walked up and introduced himself when I walked in to get the bike because he had never seen me in the shop. He showed me all around the place and talked bikes with me awhile and went over the issue. Then when it came time to do the suspension stuff he walked me through the entire process, etc. I wish the folks I bought the kit from took that time with me and I wouldn't have had the issues I did.

It's a hike for me, but they're all really nice folks and very down to earth. That may be the best part about "Ducati" only or "european only" dealerships; most folks there really enjoy motorcycles and everything about them; including dealing with the folks who buy/ride them. Where-as most Japanese dealerships are very "hit-and-miss" when it comes to customer satisfaction (in my opinion).

R6chase · Apr 9, 2014

I'm still running my stock suspension, and the sport bike guys I ride with rarely get too far ahead of me when I want to keep up. I may eventually upgrade if I start doing more track days, but this bike handles just fine for somewhat aggressive to mild street riding.

suprphreak · Apr 9, 2014

200lbs, stock suspenders, having a blast!

dlbracey · Apr 10, 2014

suprphreak said:
200lbs, stock suspenders, having a blast!

Hah! Good to hear another big guy having a good time. I dreamed it was in my garage last night. The next few days waiting for the transport company are going to be painful...

gatdammit · Apr 10, 2014

May I ask what the sticker price is?

About to pull the trigger...Suspension worries

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