Dave Moss on the V4 suspension

Nice comments. Would have liked for him to have ridden a V4s too with the electronic Ohlins.

Wonder if current owners agree that the suspension is very stiff, and that the stock grips should be replaced due to the stretched out riding position. Glad to hear how light and manageable the bike feels though.

Bikeman said:

Wonder if current owners agree that the suspension is very stiff, and that the stock grips should be replaced due to the stretched out riding position. Glad to hear how light and manageable the bike feels though.

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I was sitting on the V4 today. I can't yet comment on the stiffness of the suspension but the riding position is perfect for my 5'8" frame. It's actually more comfortable around the knee area than my 959 which could benefit from rear-sets as the pegs are 1/2 inch too low for my legs.

DarR said:

I was sitting on the V4 today. I can't yet comment on the stiffness of the suspension but the riding position is perfect for my 5'8" frame. It's actually more comfortable around the knee area than my 959 which could benefit from rear-sets as the pegs are 1/2 inch too low for my legs.

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Yeah I also came off the 959, the seat/tuck positions are much more comfortable. What I need to know is the info on the Showa/Sachs rates so I can give them to dave, nobody has that information though, I might reach out to DNA.

Bikeman said:

Wonder if current owners agree that the suspension is very stiff, and that the stock grips should be replaced due to the stretched out riding position. Glad to hear how light and manageable the bike feels though.

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The grips seems ok to me, but the suspension seems very, very stiff for me for the street. I am 240 pounds and when I hit even small/medium sized bumps in road it bounces me off rear seat. I must foresee any bumps and stand on pegs at least 2-3 inches off seat or bike launches up into my nuts.

I think I need to adjust preload on Sachs spring but there doesn't look to be very many turns left on the rear shock. I am checking with Ducati Omaha looks like they have a good range of Ohlins springs that work on the Sachs(base model) suspension.

I was thinking of using the stock spring on race days then getting a more cushy spring for street use.

Not sure if the upgraded Ohlins suspension is as stiff, or if preload sag can be set electronically or not. If had to do over again would maybe have considered paying the $$$ for the V4 S!

Bought a V4s yesterday. I still need to read more about the sag. The Ohlins suspension defaults to dynamic mode so reacts in an active way to the road. I did a twisty ride on the way home and found it really nice. Not at all too stiff. The suspension can be set up pretty much any way you want including full manual mode where you can enter suspension values via the instrument panel just like using clickers. I went for the S model just because of the suspension.

Even the dealers that have been test riding these say the suspension are stiff... hopefully I'll find out tomorrow

Ducv4 said:

I am 240 pounds and when I hit even small/medium sized bumps in road it bounces me off rear seat. I must foresee any bumps and stand on pegs at least 2-3 inches off seat or bike launches up into my nuts.

I think I need to adjust preload on Sachs spring but there doesn't look to be very many turns left on the rear shock.

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Given your weight, pre-load may be fine. Check your sag.
What you describe sounds more like too much compression damping. Try clicking it down a notch or two and take it from there.

@oleary
If the suspension feels stiff when riding and your sag is fine, look at your compression damping.

Dumb question. Can you just turn the preload adjusters on the front fork? Seems like those rubber caps would turn with the adjusters. Manual says have the dealer do it. I have not even measured my preload yet but do not want to touch those preload adjusters on the fork until I understand how to do it.

oleary said:

I set the sag to 25 mm front and 15 mm rear (rear shock has 10 mm of preload according to Dave) which is the same as Dave did to my 1199S.

Full "out" on the forks was 28 (short) turns on the left leg and 15 turns on the right.

I got the desired sag on the front with 12 turns on both legs.

The rear shock I turned out two full turns.

Although I got the sag I wanted the spring rate is still too hard for my liking.

I haven't played with the (dynamic) compression and rebound, .... yet.

We will be on the track July 8th so I will be able to get a better idea of how she works.

FYI, I am about 190 pounds with gear.

I, too, would like to hear Dave's comments on the S suspension.

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Think I figured it out. Pull the rubber caps back. Disconnect the wires. Adjust the preload. Re-connect everything. Is that right?

Yup, that's tomorrow's project.

Yes, it is actually quite easy once you figure it out.

Set the sag on my V4s yesterday. Used the Ohlins method where first you measure the full extension of the fork with the wheel off the ground then the extension with both bike and rider. So that includes the free sag of just the bike. I grabbed some setting from an R1 online which is probably ball park. Free sag with just the bike was around 30mm FYI which is also in the ball park. Ohlins lists between 30 and 50mm of sag with both bike and rider. I set mine at around 40 which is 5 turns in from full out on each fork. I measured approx 14 turns of adjustment on each fork. Mine came from the dealer at 2 turns in from full out and felt OK for the two rides I have done. Certainly not too harsh. I have not found anything online about adjusting the sag on these particular forks.

I've had the V4S for 4 days now, about 275miles on it all by me
Did open her once, some backroads but not pushing it at all... I am 5'10" 175lbs and the suspension is definitely more for track right out the gate, preload could be taken out just a turn or 2 but out of box it was still good for street, and Maryland/DC roads suck including the highways lots of bumps. The dynamic suspension seems to be doing it's thing just not on the very first bump or 2 if you switch conditions. But out of box I would say it's ready to hit the track for my weight... Dynamic suspension just needs to kick in.

As for the grips and riding position... it's freaking perfect for me; I was a little pissed they didn't have adjustable rearsets for this but the feet higher up and everything locking into place naturally is what I go for and usually try to do on my bike anyways. This just made things easier to hold onto w/ the thighs when riding.

new trailer is out for V4S suspension evaluation, the full video is on their site but you have to subscribe. I watched the full video off their site and he said the stock V4S rear suspension spring rate is too much for anyone under 180lbs. Dave had to remove 3 turns to get some static sag in the rear. Given that, the stock spring rate that comes on the bike is 95 N/mm which is rated for 160-180lbs. How come Dave had to take almost all the preload out for a 180lb rider? I weigh 160 and I'm trying to see if I need something softer in the rear. I'll have to measure sag tomorrow to see where I can get it.