Wheels ‘n’ suspension

[Ron1000]

Hi guys,
Just wondering; are the 1100s gold wheels lighter than the 1100evo wheels. If not are there any lightweight ducati wheels that are a direct fit for an 1100evo.

Also similar on suspension; the 1100s ohlins are a direct swap I believe. Are there any other direct swaps? S4RS maybe.

Thanks again guys.

[slob]

AlanC had forged Marchesinis from a Hypermotard S on his 1100

[Luddite]

Is this a winter project, Ron?!

The rear Öhlins on the 1100S is nothing special - it's just a DU737 but with a much firmer spring (130N/mm against 115N/mm). I seem to remember you've already got a DU737 on yours so no need to change that.

The Öhlins forks from the 1100S, (if you managed to find a set), are not a straight swap as the brakes have a different offset, (15mm against the Evo's 10mm), so you'd need to change the discs too, (or fit a spacer ring), if you're running the standard wheels. You'd also need shorter caliper bolts, (or spacer washers), as the Öhlins mounting holes aren't as deep.

I think you'd be better off having the stock forks reworked by the likes of K-Tech or Maxton. They would be set up to your exact specifications and it'll probably be cheaper than fitting a second-hand set of Öhlins, which you'd probably still have to have serviced and possibly resprung/revalved anyway.

As for the wheels, I don't think the 1100S ones are any lighter, just a different colour. As Rob said, the Hypermotard S wheels are forged, so are an option, and Doggy recently fitted some forged Marchesinis on his 796. They were originally for an 848, I think, and fitted his standard forks and brakes with no modifications.

Keep us updated on any upgrades!

[Ron1000]

Thanks guy’s

Was thinking about doing a kind of 1100S Evo type thing.

Mostly thinking the gold wheels are nicer and the ohlins front would be trick. It’s also getting near to ‘front suspension service’ time so was thinking about a change. I could maybe just get my fork internals changed.

I suppose the options would be nice lightweight ones off of another bike/OZ racing wheels or powder coat my current ones.

[Doggy]

Hi Ron
As mentioned I fitted the light weight Marchesini wheels . I bought them because I liked the look of them more than the standard ones . The weight difference was a bonus . They feel unbelievably light when you pick them up, I must confess I didn't really notice much difference in the riding experience .
They bolted straight in to my 796, I've sold the wheels now to Mart64 .

[Luddite]

For my money, you'd get the most bang for your buck by having your stock forks reworked. If you did manage to source some second-hand Öhlins, you'd want to change the oil and seals at the very least and possibly have them resprung.

K-Tech have done my and Chris.p's forks so it'd be a simple matter for them to do yours. Don't forget, Moto Rapido ran K-Tech suspension on their Panigale in this year's BSB, so they definitely know their stuff. (Some may argue that it was this that gave them the edge over the PBM boys, who stuck with Öhlins.)

If you really want the Öhlins-style gold stanchions, then Brook Suspension can give them a TiN coating for about £200 (or you could go black for that DLC look). Actually, I think Brook are K-Tech agents so they could presumably rework the forks too at the same time.

[Ron1000]

K-tech internals was my thoughts too.

848 wheels fitting is handy, there’s a fair few of them on ebay.

[crawsue]

James, just swapping the fork springs for Vince’s surplus K-tech ones made a noticeable difference to my Evo....I’m seriously considering getting the full K-tech upgrade next Spring....btw...swapping the Sachs shock spring for an Ohlins spring helped as well, from memory the Sachs is progressive, the Ohlins aint! I’m following your quest with interest. C

[crawsue]

A quick follow up on the suspension thoughts above, I did a partial “upgrade” with Vince’s cast offs and saw an immediate improvement (as above) I then read all the relevant stuff and advice on here and decided to get my forks reworked by K-tech over last Spring.
A combination of Covid, holiday commitments and crap weather here in the West of Scotland...( yes, seriously ��) meant that today was my 1st outing on the Evo, a marked difference, much plusher ride and very stable over some local ,well known “bumps”.....all in all it’s a positive result .
I had forgotten how engaging the Evo is to ride , my pal has got a Hypprmotard SP on order, I’m really looking forward to a full-on summer of shenanigans
By “cast-offs” I obviously meant...”quality used parts no longer required “....!!!!

[Luddite]

Glad you've finally got the opportunity to try out your upgrade, C. Glad too that you're feeling an improvement.

Have you checked the sag? Mine needed to be wound back a bit from K-tech's setting. And don't be afraid to experiment with the damping. Again, a few clicks off both compression and rebound, improved the ride for me. (And what you should notice when compared with the stock forks is that the damping adjusters actually make a difference that you can feel!).

[Flip]

When Maxton reworked my 900 forks I asked them to re-anodise the forks to freshen up the colour so presumably whoever you use to rework your forks would have access to a similar service.

[alan s4]

What kind of condition were your forks in Flip before the were re-anodised. Mine are showing signs of corrosion, wasn't sure whether that could be dealt with as part of the refinishing process?

[Flip]

Sorry I missed this Alan- considering their age they weren't in too bad condition, no deep scratches but some general corrosion after so many years.

My forks are the type with a kind of 'ringed grain' finish but with some gentle cleaning up prior to sending them off it meant that very little was visible without affecting the original machined finish too much.

The thing to remember with Anodising is that it won't cover up any imperfections, or rather they'll still be visible through the new finish but if your forks are not too bad, with a bit of clever positioning and rotating in the Yokes you should be able to hide a lot of it.