Fork upgrade for Hyperstrada

Racetech update

Took a few days to schedule it in. But yesterday I got to see what's in those Kayabas. Pics are attached below.

The bad news: There is damping only in the RH side. Looks like maybe fifty bucks worth of parts to me. Sorry one valve is on it's end. That one is mounted on an odd sized stud, will require machining to fit the new one. I was pretty unhappy that this was what Ducati thought was adequate on a $13.5k bike. But It seems that many manufacturers are taking the cheap way out on suspension these days.

Tony the tech pointed out that the LH side has no mounting hole in the lower clamp, which makes securing a second cartridge impossible without a lot of fancy machine work. So I emailed David at Fastbike who told me that yes, the Andreani cartridges are functionally separated and the LH does compression. Apparently the cartridge just sits in the bottom of the tube without any securement other than spring pressure. Wonder how that would last on a bad washboard road, though.

Well, I had one foot in, so I decided to go ahead with the R/T valving in the RH side. Tony assured me that it would be fine. Should be done early next week; I'll let you know how it works and how much it cost.

Tony said that R/T won't sell this as a kit, due to the machine work required. Too much potential for damage. And of course I won't be taking pics of it...

What I would really like to do is ride mine back-to-back with an Andreani equipped 'Strada - has anyone in Southern California done theirs? Let's meet up and do a brief swap.

Welcome to the new millennium...where we pay more and more for less and less.

Still, for less than a grand you could get the Andreani kit and install it yourself...if I didn't live so close to R/T I might have done that instead.

I will reserve my judgement until I try it out. Could well be worth it.

apples and oranges

R/T does not make full cartridge kits like the Andreanis. They make, install, and service custom valving. I still prefer dealing with someone face-to-face, and if I'm not 100% happy with the setup they can fix it.

The alternative is to contact David at Fast Bike Industries in North Carolina for the Andreani inserts. They are the US distributors, and his price seems reasonable. David has been quite helpful with honest advice. And they do appear to be in your neighborhood.

Is it the 'sella bassa' (low seat) one? And exactly what do you mean by 'too low?" Are you dragging hard parts already?

Got the forks back on, total was under $500. R/T replaced the springs, and put a Gold Valve on the rebound side. Changed oil to 5W. Haven't gotten a chance for a test ride, family stuff is getting in the way. It does feel softer when I bounce on it, and the front and rear seem well matched.

Might be a bit too soft, but I only have to pull the RH fork for a damping change...

C'mon, Gat! Please read my last two posts again. They only modified the existing cartridge setup on the RH side, changed oil and put stiffer springs in both. Reduced the preload to get the sag right. Still no external adjustments, and the only visible sign that they have been changed are the little RaceTech stickers on the lowers.

As I suspected, the original setup had too much preload on too wimpy a spring. That's why so many owners report bottoming. R/T went up on rate by about 25%, reduced compression damping by 33% with the oil change, and installed a custom rebound valve to bring the rebound damping up to match the new oil and spring rate. These settings were calculated based on my specific weight (165 dry) and riding style (fast sport touring).

Now when I sit on it, the front sags 32 mm - that's 21% of total travel, and just about right. And when I close the throttle to enter a corner, it settles on its own instead of needing a touch of front brake. I am quite pleased with the result, and the cost was quite reasonable - no more than a set of heated grips installed by a dealer! On Saturday I'll take it to Ortega for a real test.

By now there must be a few owners who have the Andreanis - where are the reports? Hello?

Test Ride Report

Venue:
I have a route I call a 'standard ride' that takes us to breakfast at a famous biker hangout and back. It's a 75 mile loop that is at least 50% twisty corners. Been riding it for decades. I went alone today, so I could boogie without watching my mirrors for wifey etc. Weather was mid-to-upper 60's F., dry, with a thin overcast of clouds. Traffic was fairly light.

Bike:
2013 Hyperstrada, mechanically stock except for the Race Tech fork work. Rear shock set at zero preload, rebound at 1-1/2 turns out (standard per manual). Forks pulled up slightly, to the center of the mounting flats; that is how it was delivered. Rider at 175 lb. total weight. Tank bag only.

Ride/handling:
The first thing I noticed was that the little bumps I felt in my hands were mostly gone. Not as much dive under hard braking. I even tried it on the freeway coming home, and the hop at 70+ is also less by maybe a third. Felt a bit low at first, but did not sink too much in corners and held a line perfectly at any throttle setting. I got a toe down, but that was mostly sloppy foot position. I did not use any more or less lean angle, still trying to get used to the feel. Took a bit more effort in hard transitions, found myself heaving at the bars a bit, but that could have been related to some extra -um- enthusiasm. Got it up to speeds to which I must take the fifth without any sign of instability, even when I relaxed my grip.

Conclusion:
Need more time to get used to it, but it looks like the best $500 I've ever spent on a bike. And they didn't even give me a discount!

Usual disclaimers - no affiliation, no kickback, etc. etc. just a satisfied customer.

It's tailored to riding style and weight. I agree with R/T that getting the spring rate right is paramount; all the other adjustments are just band-aids.

I read recently that Ohlins and Showa have different design philosophies about this, where Ohlins uses more rate and less damping and Showa does the opposite. But I would ask about the spring rate before I went for the Andreanis. I like the .85 kg/mm ones in my forks. If you are heavier or plan some track days you might want more. They should be able to supply what you need.

PS I forgot to mention the Dunlop Qualifier 3s. They could well have helped high speed stability.

correction

Dang, I misread the email about the original spring rate - it was even weaker! The new springs are nearly 35% stiffer.

And the Gold Valve might have compression damping in it as well as rebound - hard to tell, as I know very little about cartridge suspension designs. I only know what I like...