s4 sidestand woe!

[andy pea]

Hi peeps,
Just wondered if anyone could shed some light on why my sidestand is so appalling :mad:
It seems about 3" too short ( :o ) and doesn't sit flat on the ground when extended ( :o :o )... the edge of the flat plate on the base is determined to dig in and sink wherever i park? Could it be the ride height needs lowering? Does anyone know what the standard ride height setting is as mine does feel a bit "tippy toey" to a short @rse (ahem... average, i mean!)
Thanks all,

a pea :)

[Pedro]

Hi Andy

some stands seem worse tham others. Does the bike feel like it's going to over balance? Worth carry a side stand puck in your pocket so you always have something to stand it on.

Cyclecat do a machined billet version but not cheap!

Ped

[DesmoDom]

Yeah, it sounds like it's sitting too high, I had mine raised by only 5mm and it made a difference with the stand.
Standard seat hight is 803mm
Standard rear spring length is 153 +/- 1.5mm
Rebound damping from closed position 19 clicks
Compression ------------------------ 2 turns

Hope this is of some use

Baz

[andy pea]

Cheers Ped,

It doesn't feel like it's gonna over balance as such but the edge of the base plate doesn't sit flat and just digs in?

When i picked it up from the nice chaps at ducati aylesbury, they said it was fine and proceeded to pivot the bike round on it's stand!

"We do this with all of 'em mate!".... hmmmm :confused:

a pea :)

[andy pea]

Yeah, it sounds like it's sitting too high, I had mine raised by only 5mm and it made a difference with the stand.
Standard seat hight is 803mm
Standard rear spring length is 153 +/- 1.5mm
Rebound damping from closed position 19 clicks
Compression ------------------------ 2 turns

Hope this is of some use

Baz

Cheers for the quick reply baz!

I'll check me settings tomorrow and let you know!

Thanks again

a pea :)

p.s. does raising the ride height make a noticable difference to the steering (to mere mortals such as i :o )?

[DesmoDom]

Yes, it quickens the steering, but if that's what you want, you can still achieve this by putting a 60 profile tyre on the front and setting the rear suspension to standard.
Best thing to do is try a few different settings, to see what suit you.

No probs BTW :D :D :D .

Baz

[PaulS]

Have you managed to actually adjust the ride height on your S4? I haven't been able to get a spanner on the lower rose-joint locknut to be able to rotate the rod. Any tips (on doing this) would be appreciated.

[DesmoDom]

Well I did'nt actually do mine, as I couldn't get the C spanner onto the locking rings enough to turn them, so I didn't bother trying to adjust the ride height. I had it done for me in the Isle of Man at the Ducati dealers in Castletown.
The manual tells you how to do it, but it don't show you.

BTW, the bloke who did it, said he had to drop the shock out of the frame to adjust it, so I'm glad I did'nt have to do it myself, as I did'nt have any way of hanging the bike. :D :D :D

Baz

[Keabs]

Yeah, Raised mine recently.

Had to take the ride height adjuster out.

Had to support the bike off the weight of the spring (lifted it by 2 cargo straps on the frame and the garage rafters.

Then I undid the allen bolt at the bottom of the shock (behind the rubber plug on the right hand side of the swing- arm). This also releases the bottom of the ride height adjuster. Watch the bolt doesn't drop inside the swingarm - I used blu-tack to make sure the bolt stuck to the allen key.

Then got another allen key into the top mount of the ride height adjuster (I had to grind the small end off of an allen key, then used a socket over the remaining long section to get into the mounting bolt.

Once the ride height adjuster was removed, I was able to get it into a vice and adjust it. Remember which is bottom and which is top. The bottom eye has a clockwise thread. Once both are loose hold each end and turn the large middle section two to two and a half turns out. This will raise the ride height by approx 30 - 40 mm. It's supposed to be 10mm of ride height per one turn of the adjuster. I guess it all depends on the accuracy of your measurement as to what result you get. . .

Refit is the reverse of dissasembly, as they say . . .

This speeds up the steering and allows the bike to hold a line rather than understeer and head for the hedges.

My sidestand also doesn't sit flat, but I just use a stand puck and don't worry about it.