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From low to high rear suspension - how?

M

Morten K

Joined Apr 2019
8 Posts | 1+
Denmark
Hey all,

I'm in the proces of getting the suspension on my HS 2014 upgraded. It turned out I have a low version of the HS and want to see if I can make it "standard"/high. In the front it is not a problem to buy the cartridges for the standard version, but what about the rear? I have purchased the Andreani rear suspension upgrade kit which is for all versions of the HS. There is a new spring, which is same length as the one I had on. There are more shims, but they only make the suspension harder not longer.

I can't seem to find the answer in the forum, but if it is there please post the link.

Any pointers will be appreciated!

/Morten
Denmark
Hyperstrada 821 from 2014
 
The "high"-cartridges from Andreani is already fitted in the low version HS forks. Now the problem is the rear and the upgrade kit which I presumed was able to make the low to high too. At this moment the forks are around 2cm up through the the bridge (I hope it is called that). That works fine, but I would like the rear to be those 2cm higher too.
 
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You simply need a longer shock. It is possible the 'low' shock is a regular shock with an internal spacer to reduce the length. A suspension shop could determine this rather easily by taking it apart.

Or, buy one on ebay.
 
Thanks for the input. The suspension shop they might get me 1-2 cms but it would take for them to physically modify the rear shock. But it should not be an entirely different shock when the upgrade kit is for "all versions" should it?
I also believe I have seen a thread here on the Forum about this, but unfortunately can't find it now.
 
It's either a shorter shaft, or spacers inside the shock.

I bought a fully adjustable YSS shock, their 285mm length for the hypermotard. High, low and rebound. I did the Andreani full height carts like you did, and I didn't see the point in putting a non-adjustable shock on the back
 
Morten K said:
The "high"-cartridges from Andreani is already fitted in the low version HS forks. Now the problem is the rear and the upgrade kit which I presumed was able to make the low to high too. At this moment the forks are around 2cm up through the the bridge (I hope it is called that). That works fine, but I would like the rear to be those 2cm higher too.
Click to expand...

That's interesting! I didn't know it was possible to fit higher version cartridges in low version forks!
Did you modify something or it was a smooth change?
I'm also interested in this mainly to increase ground clearance.

For the rear shock you can find some used ohlins coming from the sp versions. Here in Italy you find a lot of them used.
 
Morten K said:
Thanks for the input. The suspension shop they might get me 1-2 cms but it would take for them to physically modify the rear shock. But it should not be an entirely different shock when the upgrade kit is for "all versions" should it?
I also believe I have seen a thread here on the Forum about this, but unfortunately can't find it now.
Click to expand...
Screenshot_2020-08-14-17-27-31-258_it.subito.jpggc
 
Thanks for the tip!
For now I will stick to the upgrade kit with Öhlins spring and see how it gets. Just delivered the HS to the mechanic friday so looking forward to the result.
 
You really should get a proper height rear shock to go with the longer front suspension. A super tall front and lowered rear will change the handling noticably.
 
I know, but adjusting the front forks and the "bridge" will align so that the suspension balance is right.
 
Sorry if I'm a little off-topic but it is important for me to know before buying I thought front forks where different ( Hyperstrada low-normal) but you said it's possible to have higher Andreani cartridges in low version hyperstrada. Was it a smooth work or it is difficult and you had to change or modify some parts?
 
You cannot push the front forks high enough into the triples to make up the difference in height. The forks are tapered where they meet the triple clamps, there is maybe a 1/2" of available adjustment in total, and they should be mounted in the middle of that, so you have ~1/4" of positive adjustment. It won't work well.

I had an Andreani dealer do the front forks for me. He asked what height I wanted, and set it up. I don't think anything extra was required, and I wasn't charged more.
 
1st gen "Low" version did have a different rear shock assembly than Standard. I'm not sure if any of the mounts or linkage were different.
 
I have an 821 "low", only the actual damper is different in the rear, everything else is the same. The forks have slightly shorter lower legs, but Andreani doesn't see an issue with running them full height.
 
elephantwithtrexarms said:
I have an 821 "low", only the actual damper is different in the rear, everything else is the same. The forks have slightly shorter lower legs, but Andreani doesn't see an issue with running them full height.
Click to expand...

Thank's a lot! This was my main concern. I wanted to upgrade to Andreani cartridges but I also wanted to increase my ground clearance (by changing the rear shock too). They are expensive, so I wanted to be sure it was possible.
How do you feel the bike with higher cartridges now?
 
I'm 5'7, and with a DP race seat it's very high but I'm fine with it. Ground clearance is much better. It's not a huge change when you're moving. The forks are way more compliant and hard hits are night and day. I hit a small pothole at speed the other day, got ready for the shock but the bike just swallowed it up. I swapped out to a much lighter spring than I originally had installed and I still haven't reached anywhere near full travel, so go light and follow their suggestions. Their standard valving is very stiff and sport oriented even with the compression adjusted all the way out.

I had the shop save the old internals so I could see what Ducati provided. It's not even set up with a shim stack, it's just holes for oil control, complete crap. Even simple cartridge emulators would be a huge upgrade.

P.s. if you look at the cost of other Ducati parts, OEM and aftermarket, they won't look so expensive in comparison ;)
 
Thank's a lot for your reply! I've sent an email to Andreani here in Italy and they also confirm it's possible to put higher cartridges in low version hyperstrada. As you said they strongly suggested to change the rear shock in order to balance the bike and raise the back.
Thank's a lot for the suggestion and the review!
 
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Happy to help. Now go have fun choosing a rear shock! Remember, a well tuned rear shock will help with rear tire wear, so it will pay for it's self over time! (Also look up the Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness, I think it applies in this instance).
 
elephantwithtrexarms said:
Happy to help. Now go have fun choosing a rear shock! Remember, a well tuned rear shock will help with rear tire wear, so it will pay for it's self over time! (Also look up the Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness, I think it applies in this instance).
Click to expand...

I've already found a good used ohlins which came from an hyper 821 sp but I fear that it's too high I've discovered that hyper low version rear shock is 2 centimetres shorter than standard hyper rear shock which is 2 centimetres shorter than hyper sp rear.
I think the sweet spot is higher andreani cartridges for the front forks and an used standard hyper rear shock (which I will later modify with andreani spring).

Now I have another issue: I've asked andreani which higher cartridges should I buy. On the website there are 2 different code for standard hyper and high hyperstrada chaos.
Do you remember which one of the two you have bought? (105/D08E or 105/D09E)
I attach the screenshot, maybe you can help me againf
 

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