[Dave S]

After seeing a guy on here selling his Scrambler with Maxton suspension,front and rear,I have enquired about it.
Maxton sent me a very detailed email with prices.Just fill in their enquiry form online.
Rear shock £425+vat (20%)
Fork cartridge 185+vat and £70+vat for fitting.
Email them for more details.

 

[Cag]

I have placed an order with Richard at Maxton for scrambler suspension and will give some feedback once fitted.

They are a highly skilled team with a wealth of knowledge plus are local to me. I like to have suspension regularly serviced by the manufacturer every 10000 miles not just the oil changed so decided to use Maxtons as they can provide backup and future modifications if required. Please note I have no involvement with the company except as a customer.

 

[ladyeclectic]

Wow, those prices are good!

 

[Cag]

That price is for one GP 20 cartridge for the front. Thought about same as other suppliers, they have a more expensive option if you want it.

 

[Sham61]

I also contacted Maxton yesterday and Richard sent me a very detailed spec as Dave S said above. I will be keeping them in mind when I get my bike. The shock is probably the first thing I will change when I get my bike as I wasn't impressed with the original on the test ride. As Cag said they put a new GP20 cartridge in the right fork only as the left is difficult to do. You can have both done with their GP30 package with full adjustment but it is £1115 + VAT.

 

[Joe Bar]

They are a highly skilled team with a wealth of knowledge....

Plus one on that. :icon_thumright:

Here's Maxton's assessment of the stock Scrambler suspension -

FORKS
The front forks on the Ducati Scrambler look nice but are actually cheap and very crude. The forks are upside down forks with a spring in both legs but damping only in the right leg. The standard forks feel very harsh over small bumps this is because the forks have got too much low speed compression damping. Over high speeds the forks feel like ‘pogo sticks’ which means they dive very quickly and spring back at you very quickly.

REAR
The standard rear unit is a very cheap unit, probably one of the cheapest you will find on a modern bike. The unit is not adjustable for damping and is sealed, so it cannot be serviced or revalved. The standard unit has very little rebound damping so feels very ‘bouncy’, but it has too much low speed compression damping which makes the ride feel harsh over bumps. The spring fitted is a progressive spring, the first rate of the spring is OK for the average rider weight, but the second rate is too hard and can also make the ride feel hard over big bumps.

 

[Jimip86]

Hi all ,
Im the guy whos scrambler was the test bed for maxtons work and its well worth the money !!!
mine took a while to get sorted as it was the first and was also at the start or the race season so the guys at maxton were very busy !!

 

[The Duchess of Desmo]

Ordered the rear today they will start to build it this week. They work on 2 weeks

 

[littleowl]

I have placed an order with Richard at Maxton for scrambler suspension and will give some feedback once fitted.

They are a highly skilled team with a wealth of knowledge plus are local to me. I like to have suspension regularly serviced by the manufacturer every 10000 miles not just the oil changed so decided to use Maxtons as they can provide backup and future modifications if required. Please note I have no involvement with the company except as a customer.

Are you getting rear or rear and front Steve?

 

[The Duchess of Desmo]

I an on strict diet as its set by weight! . I put a lot of weight on when I gave up smoking few years ago. Now it's war on the bulge!! Will get front done if necessary

 

[Cag]

Having both done. If you do change weight just get spring changed its that easy.

 

[Joooooooosh]

I really can't decide between Maxton and Nitron. The Maxton is a little cheaper and I've managed to find more user reviews. Nitron's shock looks a bit flashier though, with their titanium coating.
In an email response they also mentioned their shock raises the rear by 1cm which I think could be a big improvement, because without a full tank of fuel, the front end is pretty flighty.

I've not heard much about Hyperpro yet either.

 

[stavely]

I really can't decide between Maxton and Nitron. The Maxton is a little cheaper and I've managed to find more user reviews. Nitron's shock looks a bit flashier though, with their titanium coating.
In an email response they also mentioned their shock raises the rear by 1cm which I think could be a big improvement, because without a full tank of fuel, the front end is pretty flighty.

I've not heard much about Hyperpro yet either.

Who said it raised the rear by 1cm, Nitron or Maxton?

 

[Joooooooosh]

Who said it raised the rear by 1cm, Nitron or Maxton?

I'm glad you asked, I just searched through my emails from a while back and it seems it got it the wrong way around.

It's Maxton who offer the shock in a slightly longer version if you want to raise the rear, it's an option at no extra cost! Nitron may well do the same if asked but they didn't mention it when I contacted them. (Edit, read more about the R1 Nitron, it has a shock length adjuster built in)

It also seems I got the pricing a bit off, I think I was originally quoted for the Nitron R2 shock, which is much pricier than the base R1.

Maxton NR4 shock - £510 (inc VAT)
Nitron R1 Shock - £440 (inc VAT)
Nitron R2 Shock - £702 (inc VAT)

I'm really into the idea of raising the rear for greater leg room and moving the weight forward on the bike. The Nitron is cheaper and to my eyes, the best looking. II will research more later but from what I've read, it seems the Nitron isn't quite as adjustable as the Maxton, with one single adjuster affecting compression and rebound .
The Maxton has separate compression and rebound adjusters but you can't access compression damping without removing the shock...

No option of a remote pre-load adjuster on the Maxton either, relies on a tool in a similar way to stock suspension. (I think my mind is made up)

It's worth adding that Maxton will swap the purple spring for a black one for free. Or do any colour you want for £40.
Nitron charge £10 to swap the baby blue for a black spring.

 

[The Duchess of Desmo]

I really can't decide between Maxton and Nitron. The Maxton is a little cheaper and I've managed to find more user reviews. Nitron's shock looks a bit flashier though, with their titanium coating.
In an email response they also mentioned their shock raises the rear by 1cm which I think could be a big improvement, because without a full tank of fuel, the front end is pretty flighty.

I've not heard much about Hyperpro yet either.

Have a chat with Richard at Maxton . I wanted to buy British if I could so that too was a factor in the choice also several of the racing fraternity using Maxton.

Mine being fitted Tuesday 11 August

 

[Cag]

Went to Maxton this morning and picked up my bike with the new front and rear suspension fitted. I have done 90 miles to get home and really appreciate the changes it has made to the bike. Only problem is the speed showing on the instruments must be wrong, it can't be going that fast.

Would like to tell you more but going back out to have more fun. Be warned these modifications will increase the amount of petrol and tyres used. This won't be a low mileage bike.

I now have a 90% Italian bike with 10% English ingenuity what a great mix. Very happy.

 

[Dave S]

Brilliant mate!
Think I will see the rest of the summer out with the sh#t units then have a word with Maxton.
I'm down in Somerset so would have to remove my forks and send by courier.

 

[The Duchess of Desmo]

Brilliant mate!
Think I will see the rest of the summer out with the sh#t units then have a word with Maxton.
I'm down in Somerset so would have to remove my forks and send by courier.

Better to go in person. You could book a cheap travel lodge and meet with the crew at Ponderosa not too far from Maxton and ride out with us all!

 

[The Duchess of Desmo]

Went to Maxton this morning and picked up my bike with the new front and rear suspension fitted. I have done 90 miles to get home and really appreciate the changes it has made to the bike. Only problem is the speed showing on the instruments must be wrong, it can't be going that fast.

Would like to tell you more but going back out to have more fun. Be warned these modifications will increase the amount of petrol and tyres used. This won't be a low mileage bike.

I now have a 90% Italian bike with 10% English ingenuity what a great mix. Very happy.

Gr8 news, sit and have a beer when you get back and tell us some more!!

 

[Cag]

Had a few good runs with the new Maxton suspension .

I think it adds so much to the handling and suits my riding style much better than the original equipment.

I found the original suspension, predictable safe and fun and great for a new rider. The feedback was safe, predictable and a good teaching aid in how to ride a bike.

The shortfalls I needed addressing were-

Drift out in corners.
Dramatic difference in handling with full or low fuel.
Dropping of rear end in corners at power on if not correctly loaded on approach.
Odd compression of front forks when ABS operates.

My first impression is that the items above have been rectified to give a bike that rides similar to my other Ducatis. It's how a like a bike to feel.