1198 steering

[gixxer72]

A friend has a Ducati 1198. He bought it new, has not been crashed, and does not get ridden hard at all. I had a chance to take a ride on it and was shocked at how difficult it was to turn. It took a huge amount of input to get the thing to change direction, and it did not want to stay leaned over or hold a line. It was so bad that before another friend hopped on it I warned him and he came back thanking me profusely for not letting him get into a corner before he found out the thing wouldn't turn.

I suggested to the owner that something was wrong, possibly the damper. He was indifferent, likely because it's been this way since new and he doesn't know any better (limited bike experience). I remember on old bikes with adjustable dampers that if you cranked them up full stiff the bike would steer heavy, but this was much worse. Faulty damper? Is there any other issue that could cause this? As great as the engine was I don't ever want to ride it again unless the issue is fixed, and I'd like for my friend to have a bike that handles properly. Any advice appreciated!

[OreoGaborio]

Dunno bout faulty damper... that would certainly make it difficult to initiate a turn but I woudln't think it'd cause it to not stay in it.

My thought is flat tires or crappy geometry.

[jwm2k3]

I owned both an 848 and now an 1198. These bikes inherently a difficult to turn...meaning they take muscle to change direction. Having said that, both of my Ducati's turn excellent once I set geometry. The bonus to the bikes inherent cornering is the rock solid stability.

I test rode a few 1199's, the new bike turns and changes direction almost effortlessly....why didn't I buy one??? They are twitchy as hell, much less stability. I think it's just the way these Ducati's are.

Now, with my hard to steer and hard to turn bike, I am fully able to turn it at will. Why? Suspension setup and the fore knowledge that counter steering works wonders...

[carsick]

I dunno, maybe it needs some rain like the MotoGP Ducatis so's it'll turn....

[NPDCPA]

Elaborate: hard to turn the bars at a stop or hard to steer into a turn? These things tend to run wide at corner exit, but I haven't heard any chatter about steering like a truck, although they do benefit from a steeper steering angle.

How's the sag set up? Compression damping?

[Brendin87]

Is the front tire flat spotted?

[gixxer72]

The problem is turning while under way. I didn't notice any resistance to actually turning the bars while stopped or at very low mph. At 45 mph coming into a turn you need to put a VERY significant amount of force into the bars to get the thing to lean in - it's not right. By comparison I have ridden a 748R, a 999 and a streetfighter, none of them had this issue. No bike I have ever ridden felt this way, it was downright scary. I suppose if the geometry was so completely fucked during assembly that could cause it...
I didn't notice anything wrong with the tires, and I've ridden on tires that were flattened out from too many miles, and tires with very low pressure. Never had anything close to what this bike feels like.
This guy does not turn wrenches so sag and all other suspension settings are factory.

[OreoGaborio]

Ducatis suck. Shoulda bought a Hyosung.

[backinthesaddle]

I'll take it for a couple of weeks and see if I can figure out what it is. On second thought give me a couple months to be sure.

[NPDCPA]

My 1098 doesn't have that problem. Have the forks ever been out of the triples?

I would go over all of the stock settings: forks with 3 lines showing, OEM rebound and compression settings at both ends, set the sag to street specs and then check the rear ride height. Did he change tires? What's the diameter of the new tires compared to OEM? If all of that doesn't work then go to GMD and see if Pete can't fix you up.

Also, this: http://www.onthethrottle.com/howto/d...fork-geometry/

[scottieducati]

Still sounds like flat / low front tire to me. Or could maybe be overtightened steering head bearings? Low tire pressures (like teens, low 20's for psi) will definitely make the bike impossible to turn.

[gixxer72]

Still sounds like flat / low front tire to me. Or could maybe be overtightened steering head bearings? Low tire pressures (like teens, low 20's for psi) will definitely make the bike impossible to turn.

I'll check his tires. Then suspension. The bike doesn't hunt or twitch like I've experienced with over tight head bearings...
Thanks for everyone's input.