Is my DDC even working?

[Oli]

Imo if it wasnt working it would be rock solid.

+1

 

[Ukbmw]

+1

Yeah its strange that with ignition off there is a vast difference in the damping but when on theres no noticable change

 

[soofsayer]

Is your bike totally standard from new, and preload/sag set correctly?

 

[Oli]

Yeah its strange that with ignition off there is a vast difference in the damping but when on theres no noticable change

Only thing I can add is that it is important to understand that the damping will be different depending on whether you?re stationary, riding smoothly or riding aggressively.
With ignition off, or if there is a traditional DDC failure, the suspension is essentially hydraulically locked. When the ignition is on but the bike is stationary, the damping is softest and it proceeds to provide further support in motion depending on how fast and how you are riding.

If you feel no difference when riding the bike regardless of DDC mode or setting, then I would recommend you have it checked by a BMW dealer as there may well be fault

- Oli

 

[r25sti]

just to add to the above i dont think the slamming on brake test tells you anything except its not locked up so is essentially working.

 

[Ukbmw]

just to add to the above i dont think the slamming on brake test tells you anything except its not locked up so is essentially working.

Yeah i know. Im just looking for answers.
with working 12 hour days at the mo i dont have time to take it anywhere to get it looked at.

 

[r25sti]

in the first post you said you had spoken with a specialist, what was you after off him? what dose the bike do? mine barely moves until im riding and when my missis sat on it yesterday nothing moved. she couldn't even move the forks 1 mm. (with ignition on)

 

[Ukbmw]

Advice was start by going back to stock settings and he gave me some numbers to punch in. But ive already tried that when i got the bike.
Basically i have zero feedback from the front end.
It often feels like its gonna tuck.
It feels like its stuck in the soft position to me so when i enter the corner its diving too much causing the tuck feeling.
When you adjust your damping can you hear a faint humming from the top of the fork leg? I was told i should be able to hear it but i hear nothing at all

 

[Oli]

... When you adjust your damping can you hear a faint humming from the top of the fork leg? I was told i should be able to hear it but i hear nothing at all

No, to my knowledge and in my experience there is no ?humming? associated with DDC adjustments.
If your suspension technician was inadvertently referring to ESA rather than DDC, then there is a humming associated with the electric preload adjustment

- Oli

 

[Ukbmw]

No, to my knowledge and in my experience there is no ?humming? associated with DDC adjustments.
If your suspension technician was inadvertently referring to ESA rather than DDC, then there is a humming associated with the electric preload adjustment

- Oli

Apparently if you put a screwdriver on the fork top and listen you should hear the stepper motor working.

 

[scooby]

if it was your suspension guy that told you that,then i'd be going elsewhere as he clearly doesn't know the DDC system.

post up your settings,weight,sag etc,if they are all out then it's going to feel wrong no matter what you do.

 

[Oli]

Apparently if you put a screwdriver on the fork top and listen you should hear the stepper motor working.

But the DDC is not controlled via a stepper motor, it is a solonoid valve.
Ohlins use stepper motors, which is the ?electric screwdriver? analogy often used

 

[scooby]

i've spent weeks playing around with the DDC,and never once heard anything coming from the forks whilst changing the settings

 

[Oli]

IMO the suspension technician you spoke with is confusing DDC and ESA.
They are two totally different systems

 

[bmwbadboy]

Advice was start by going back to stock settings and he gave me some numbers to punch in. But ive already tried that when i got the bike.
Basically i have zero feedback from the front end.
It often feels like its gonna tuck.
It feels like its stuck in the soft position to me so when i enter the corner its diving too much causing the tuck feeling.
When you adjust your damping can you hear a faint humming from the top of the fork leg? I was told i should be able to hear it but i hear nothing at all

Did you fix a zip tie ? What does it show on heavy breaking ?

 

[Ukbmw]

I wont say any names because he is offering free help via email so i cannot grumble.
At the mo ive lost track of all the numbers.
The front preload is wound right down and it was on plus7 when i came home but still soft.
I dont know what motor is on the forks but i did too presume as it was adjustable it would be a stepper. Looks like very little is really known about the ddc in general.
Ive seen posts saying how hard the bike rode when numbers were high. Well mines never hard but the rear end is good and feels nice making me feel something is a miss with the forks

 

[Ukbmw]

Did you fix a zip tie ? What does it show on heavy breaking ?

I havnt yet.

 

[soofsayer]

I wont say any names because he is offering free help via email so i cannot grumble.
At the mo ive lost track of all the numbers.
The front preload is wound right down and it was on plus7 when i came home but still soft.
I dont know what motor is on the forks but i did too presume as it was adjustable it would be a stepper. Looks like very little is really known about the ddc in general.
Ive seen posts saying how hard the bike rode when numbers were high. Well mines never hard but the rear end is good and feels nice making me feel something is a miss with the forks

As suggested already, posting up your settings would be a quick way to get some guidance. Sounds to me like it could have non original springs, but without knowing your rider weight and settings we are all blindly guessing.

 

[bmwbadboy]

I wont say any names because he is offering free help via email so i cannot grumble.
At the mo ive lost track of all the numbers.
The front preload is wound right down and it was on plus7 when i came home but still soft.
I dont know what motor is on the forks but i did too presume as it was adjustable it would be a stepper. Looks like very little is really known about the ddc in general.
Ive seen posts saying how hard the bike rode when numbers were high. Well mines never hard but the rear end is good and feels nice making me feel something is a miss with the forks

Wind down to right means you are full on preload. it's a very bad setting to check damping in front forks. you should unscrew it fully to left.

 

[alex]

"The front preload is wound right down and it was on plus7 when i came home but still soft."

If you can call that soft you've been given chocolate springs.