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Friction in Forks?

gatdammit

gatdammit

Joined Mar 2013
3K Posts | 161+
Naples, IT
Hey Strada Fans. Got an issue that I'm not sure is an issue. When my front forks are working over uneven pavement, I get a noticeable friction feeling throughout the bars. On nice smooth roads, smooth as silk. But anytime the front strut rebounds or compresses, it's almost like I get a big increase in engine buzz or road friction in the front end.

And it's not like strut action. It's almost as if all the sudden the connection to the road is amplified and then stops when forks settle.

Really weird and that's the best I can explain it. When I'm on a rough road I really notice it when the forks settle out momentarily.
 
Same thing here. I didn't mention it before, but it's definitely from the forks. Every movement on rough roads is felt with a buzz in the hand grips. I thought the steering stem nut was loose or the axle nut but all is OK. Just another reason I can't wait for the aftermarket to come out with some springs, etc. I dropped my front tire pressure down from 36 to 32 and maybe it's my imagination but it seemed to help somewhat. I also ordered a set of the original grip puppies, which now wrap over your hand grips and cushion the vibration. I hope that helps with the sensation also. Thanks for starting this thread, I thought it was just my bike.
 
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I hope a fork overhaul fixes it, because it doesn't feel like something that will just vanish with some new oil in the tubes.

I've been running 34f/36r, based on dealers recommendation. I'll try a little less air. I fiddle with rear preload adjustment often but I honestly don't notice much difference.

Those Grip Puppies look like a sweet purchase!
 
I think I'll try 32/33 like SuperTen. I also purchased 5wt fork oil to try, but havn't done it yet. I'm 165 and have my rear preload out 5 turns from max. Owned many different bike, but never felt a front end like this one. Hopefully, it will get fixed someday.
 
Well so far at 1200 miles my front end is silky smooth and doesn't exhibit any noise or vibration over bumps at all. There was definitely a bit of stiction in the forks and shock at first, but it's gotten smoother with each mile. But at no time has it made odd vibration or noise over bumps, regardless of size or frequency of road irregularities or speed. Maybe mine's unique, but in talking with three owners over the weekend, two with standard Hypers and one 'strada, none of them had any front fork complaints at all. Hmmm . . . .
 
The first thing you should do is ensure you have the right sag. It requires adjusting the spacer or replacing the spring in the fork. Correct sag of 25% will make a world of difference.
 
The sag is the amount that the fork gets compressed by the bike's own plus your weight as the driver on it. So what he tries to say is that the forks spring is too soft or too hard - I think it tends to be too soft at the Strada, seeing how deep the front dives at hard fast braking. It's said that a value between 25% to 1/3 of sag in relation to the forks length is optimal for chassis behaviour. As we cannot set any preload on the fork, there is probably no way around getting new springs.
But anyway I find it's nothing to do with the friction we are all concerned about. That shouldn't be normal, I will go to my Duc dealer on Monday and ask about it. After a week, I'm at 850kms and I feel it did not settle but got worse.
 
I encourage anyone with this issue to hand the bike over to your dealer and get Ducati's attention. As it stands, my shop wants to hold on to the bike for extended analysis, which I translate as they think I'm making this **** up. I mentioned it when my first set of rotors got swapped out at around 1700 miles, but the tech just said that it's a soft and active front end, so you get a lot of feel. Nuh-uh. I'm gonna ride their demo Strada for comparison.
 
Been to the dealer, he testdrove shortly and just recognized the grainy feeling while coming to stop which he thinks is from the brakes. I told him that the symptoms show even and especially in higher speeds on non-perfect, uneven roads. I will testdrive their Strada again to see whether it's just my imagination. It feels as if the fork is sticking for a short moment in the compressed state and it's taking a lot of safety feeling away as I feel as if the tyre loses tight surface contact - in a constant speed of course, so no hard acceleration.
 
Stradavarius said:
If fork is an issue:

http://www.andreanigroup.com/en-us/...oId=11246&modelloRepartoId=67875&reparto=moto
Click to expand...

OK, who is going to crack first. Full review required.

Personally I find the front suspension a bit strange. It seems like it is too stiff but it may just be friction. It is most noticeable on roads that are only a little rough, the bike tends to pitch like the back and front are miss-matched. I cranked the back up to 10 turns of preload and 2.5 turns of rebound damping and it is better but still not quite right. Having said that it seems ok on rough roads.

I checked the front preload and am getting about 20mm sag, and using a cable tie, I am using 120-130mm of the 150mm travel. So I could not say that the spring is too hard.
I was thinking of refilling with 5wt oil to see how that goes.

I have done 2500km now and it may have loosened up a bit, but is still not quite right. So adjustable inserts like these Andreanis may be the go.

Guy
 
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Ok just dont see what you guys are talking about....

Noise and friction, pitching up.....I just dont see it
 
I did notice that when i 1st got the bike, my fingers went numb, like white finger from using vibrating hand tools.
I thought at 1st maybe cold weather or gloves too tight, but never had that issue using my other bikes.
I'll be monitoring it and checking for vibration through handlebars next time i'm home in a few weeks.
 
We got the cheap forks on the Strada, It was the first thing I noticed and have been talking to my dealer about maybe an Ohlins cartridge fix. The slightly better forks on my SP does not have this friction feel to it with every bump on the road.
 

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