Bimota Forum

[dingbat]

Hi all, I need to reduce rear rideheight a bit (short legs syndrome !) - 15 -25mm more measured at tail end of bike- if possible. I am told that EF 10 and Trofeo bikes have a 5mm longer shock than the road going bikes ? Before I get into the business of getting the Ohlins shortened I am looking at making an adjustable lower link rod to try first. Before I start taking stuff apart and take the bike off the road I wanted to ask if any of you out there have your bike apart or have access to the measurement of diameter of the pins which secure the short vertical suspension link (top and bottom pins) and if so would you be good enough to me let me know what they are ? If successful I could make a couple extra linkages if anyone wants one. Cheers !

[2bims]

Without wishing to be too rude...how tall are you Matey?...Not so long on the inside leg meself but never had a problem with the Vdue...the physical width of the seat though probably causes more issues for folk of the less than tall factor.

The ohlins fitted (to all the bikes from recollection) is the same...and already has a ride height adjuster at the back....a large blue alloy hex locking ring, and a same size adjuster in silver on the body...I presume you have taken these down to their lowest level...i.e. with least amount of thread showing possible....

The other element with the rear Ohlins shock is whether preload is correctly set for your weight.....when set up properly the rear should squish down easily and settle by a good couple of inches first when you sit on the bike....firming up nicely after that...

Try simply pushing lightly on the rear end of the bike near the tail light with the bike either on a rear stand or side stand...it should bounce up and down by a couple of inches easily without very much effort at all...

I've seen some Vdues arrive where the rear end is rock solid from fresh...and the preload, and damping and rebound are way out....

What clicks have you got the rear spring set to? How many rings are showing on the preload? Another on here copied the settings for my Vdue to get his "squishing down nicely.....

I understand you want to be able to ride the bike...and touch the ground...naturally...just want to check you have it set up right to start with before messing with shortened linkages etc...as heaven only knows what that will do to the action of the rear shock......Presumably you would be dropping the forks through the yokes also to balance the bike up?

[dingbat]

Hi all, quick update - seat height of original Vdue I believe quoted at 810mm (32" in old money) for original bike ; I have a 29" inside leg. My mates did'nt call me "The Gnome" once upon a time for nothing after all ! Current set up working fine otherwise. Asking about this when I picked up the bike in Meda Piero and now Harris Performance in UK confirm that bikes were fitted with longer shocks from some point onwards when clearance issues with fairing bellypan grounding out under track conditions were experienced. It was high to start with and the longer shock just means that now there is no more adjustment left to go lower so its a matter of working with it to give me some adjustment back around a lower datum point. Harris has some experience with Bims in general and V due / Ohlins in particular and they can modify existing shock for about £125 GBP or work out the geometry and make a linkage. I'll let you know how it turns out !