The perfect prescription for twisty fever
You all may have noticed over the past couple months there’s a new favorite two-wheeled beast in the garage; the ’09 Ducati 1098 R Bayliss LE. I’ve managed to crack off over 2,000 miles since it joined the stable the end of May. However, an overly stiff suspension setup has made for a rather harsh ride and a lot of pain to the ole backside.
This past weekend, my good friends up at Ducati Indianapolis assigned their very best suspension specialist to the task of setting up both the front and rear ends of my 1098 R. Like any visit to your family physician, the most important component of an effective diagnosis is telling the Doc where it hurts. After explaining my pains to Shock Doctors Craig and Matt, their prognosis involved a rather painless easing up of some rear spring tension followed by a slight tweaking of some compression and rebound settings at both ends.
Unfortunately, I had very little opportunity to try out the new suspension settings over the weekend. Monday morning once again started off with a six hour drive down to Knoxville, Tenn., for a week of meetings. However, the newly adjusted 1098 R just happened to accompany me on this trip for a little late-afternoon playtime opportunities.
After wrapping up work duties Monday afternoon in Knoxville, a couple of us set out in search of some local twisty roads to test out the new suspension settings. We set off on TN US 411/US129 going south out of Knoxville. About 20-some miles south, we split off of TN US 411 on to TN US 129. Well, after years of every riding buddy I have telling me about it, I was finally on the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap. In an 11-mile stretch of road, it makes 318 curves with names like Hog Pen Bend, Shake or Bust Bend, Gravity Cavity, Parsons Curves and too many others to name.
Hopefully the weather holds for the rest of the week and we’re able to explore a few more of the twisty routes the area has to offer. I think some more tests of Shock Doctor Craig’s suspension remedies are definite in order.
The Red Bull Indianapolis GP is less than two weeks away, and if you want to see the most amazing test of suspension dynamics at work, come out all three days, August 28, 29 & 30, 2009 to watch the 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP classes attack the 2.61 miles and 16 turns of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
I’ll see you all next week at www.redbullindianapolisgp.com
Greg