For the first time in 12 years of track days and racing I have purchased a brand new motorcycle to convert for racing in 2012. I picked it up last weekend and am getting pretty excited.
I've been following Jarel's build here on the forums and his and mine are going to differ quite a bit for a few reasons:
1) My bike is going to be a racebike, where his is primarily destined for track day duty. This means that mine has to be compliant with a number of specific rules that his does not.
2) Cost - always a concern, but I am considering my bike a multi-year project with reasonably basic functionality this year followed by more extensive modifications in coming years.
3) Development - One of the interesting parts about this project for me is that I get to develop a bike for competition. This isn't a GSXR or even a 1098 where the modifications that "work" are known. There is a fair bit of crossover from the 1199, but the 899 will likely be a very different animal.
4) A point - I've always wanted to prove that a substantially stock motorcycle in the hands of a competent, but not "great" rider is completely adequate for club racing.
With that - here are the planned modifications and suppliers that I'm using to assist with the project.
The bike:
2014 Ducati 899 - Red
Big thanks to Brad and the team at Northern Colorado Euro Motorcycles for working with me to get this project off the ground. They are as excited for this as I am!
Planned modifications:
Bodywork - Armour Bodies from Woodcraft CFM
Initial impression here is very good. The parts all come pre-dimpled where it needs to be drilled for mounting and the quality looks excellent. The primer is in good shape and really should be a "scuff and shoot" for paint.
I've had most of the brands over the years and always gravitated towards Sharkskinz when I could afford it. This is my first set of Armour Bodies and I would rank it very close or equal to the Sharksinz in quality. One goofy thing about this bike is that in order to remove the lower (fluid containing) fairing that is required for racing you will have to remove the exhaust. It's not a super big deal, but certainly more difficult than most bikes for things like tech inspection or routine maintenance.
Controls- Woodcraft rear sets and clip-ons
I've used Woodcraft controls on my race bikes for most of my racing career - these look just like they should. On top of that the folks at Woodcraft are great and fully support the amateur racing community. I'm happy to give them some of my money.
Case covers / Engine protection - We have a local euro salvage shop called Imperial Sportbikes and they were able to source a right side case cover off of an 1199 for me so that I could install the proper Woodcraft case cover for the clutch.
Exhaust- Termignoni
There aren't many options here and they are all expensive. This decision was based fully on which of the available options I could get for the best price today. I'm sure it will be great!
Tires - Pirelli SuperCorsa DOT (the bike is going to be supersport legal)
Jarel has chosen the Bridgestone because, well, he's the trackside rep for them. My experience has been that WAY more important than the tire itself is my relationship with my trackside vendor. Jarel (hopefully) has a great relationship with his (HA!). Our local Pirelli rep, Sol Performance, has been extremely supportive of our club and racers. It's a bonus that a lot of the electronics are already set-up to work with the Pirelli. I'm curious to see how Jarel makes out with the Bridgestone.
Brakes - Stock master cylinder with Ferrodo CP1 pads in front and a different brake line set up. My only negative impression of the bike so far is that the front brake feels a bit like mush. I'm hoping that removing the double banjo bolt at the front right caliper and replacing the brake line with something that has a "T" in it will help this feel dramatically - I will report results once the lines and pads are installed.
Suspension- STM Suspension in Fort Collins, CO is helping out with this. I've acquired a TTX from an 1199S (again from Imperial Sportbikes) that has the electric adjusters installed. We are going to remove these and replace them with standard TTX valves, again, I'll let you know how this works out. The stock rear shock is a Sachs unit and we will probably just parts bin it. The Sachs stuff is really a PITA to work on. Parts aren't super available (seals etc) and we need this part to be easily serviceable.
Since the bike is going to be SuperSport legal I'm not allowed to do the linkage swap that Jarel did on his, as much as I would like to, so we will be tuning the rear suspension to work with the stock linkage, which appears to be fairly progressive.
Front suspension is going to remain mostly stock. The Showa Big Piston Fork is a pretty good starting point and used on a lot of motorcycles. We will start with simply getting the right springs installed along with fluid that has known properties and work from there.
Engine work - None
Fuel- Premium pump gas
Electronics- I'll be working with Brian and the team at Boulder Motorsports to map the ECU and tune the bike to my liking. One part of this that I think is really interesting is engine braking control. I've decided to try to manipulate the bike this way instead of installing a slipper clutch. I've ridden a variety of motorcycles in the past 12 years, many without slipper clutches at all, and some with really high dollar ones that worked really well. It's going to be fun to see what the engine braking control is like and how well it works.
Rider- The rider will be getting a tune-up with a coach before the season begins - I can't wait!
Ready, Steady....
GO!
I've been following Jarel's build here on the forums and his and mine are going to differ quite a bit for a few reasons:
1) My bike is going to be a racebike, where his is primarily destined for track day duty. This means that mine has to be compliant with a number of specific rules that his does not.
2) Cost - always a concern, but I am considering my bike a multi-year project with reasonably basic functionality this year followed by more extensive modifications in coming years.
3) Development - One of the interesting parts about this project for me is that I get to develop a bike for competition. This isn't a GSXR or even a 1098 where the modifications that "work" are known. There is a fair bit of crossover from the 1199, but the 899 will likely be a very different animal.
4) A point - I've always wanted to prove that a substantially stock motorcycle in the hands of a competent, but not "great" rider is completely adequate for club racing.
With that - here are the planned modifications and suppliers that I'm using to assist with the project.
The bike:
2014 Ducati 899 - Red
Big thanks to Brad and the team at Northern Colorado Euro Motorcycles for working with me to get this project off the ground. They are as excited for this as I am!
Planned modifications:
Bodywork - Armour Bodies from Woodcraft CFM
Initial impression here is very good. The parts all come pre-dimpled where it needs to be drilled for mounting and the quality looks excellent. The primer is in good shape and really should be a "scuff and shoot" for paint.
I've had most of the brands over the years and always gravitated towards Sharkskinz when I could afford it. This is my first set of Armour Bodies and I would rank it very close or equal to the Sharksinz in quality. One goofy thing about this bike is that in order to remove the lower (fluid containing) fairing that is required for racing you will have to remove the exhaust. It's not a super big deal, but certainly more difficult than most bikes for things like tech inspection or routine maintenance.
Controls- Woodcraft rear sets and clip-ons
I've used Woodcraft controls on my race bikes for most of my racing career - these look just like they should. On top of that the folks at Woodcraft are great and fully support the amateur racing community. I'm happy to give them some of my money.
Case covers / Engine protection - We have a local euro salvage shop called Imperial Sportbikes and they were able to source a right side case cover off of an 1199 for me so that I could install the proper Woodcraft case cover for the clutch.
Exhaust- Termignoni
There aren't many options here and they are all expensive. This decision was based fully on which of the available options I could get for the best price today. I'm sure it will be great!
Tires - Pirelli SuperCorsa DOT (the bike is going to be supersport legal)
Jarel has chosen the Bridgestone because, well, he's the trackside rep for them. My experience has been that WAY more important than the tire itself is my relationship with my trackside vendor. Jarel (hopefully) has a great relationship with his (HA!). Our local Pirelli rep, Sol Performance, has been extremely supportive of our club and racers. It's a bonus that a lot of the electronics are already set-up to work with the Pirelli. I'm curious to see how Jarel makes out with the Bridgestone.
Brakes - Stock master cylinder with Ferrodo CP1 pads in front and a different brake line set up. My only negative impression of the bike so far is that the front brake feels a bit like mush. I'm hoping that removing the double banjo bolt at the front right caliper and replacing the brake line with something that has a "T" in it will help this feel dramatically - I will report results once the lines and pads are installed.
Suspension- STM Suspension in Fort Collins, CO is helping out with this. I've acquired a TTX from an 1199S (again from Imperial Sportbikes) that has the electric adjusters installed. We are going to remove these and replace them with standard TTX valves, again, I'll let you know how this works out. The stock rear shock is a Sachs unit and we will probably just parts bin it. The Sachs stuff is really a PITA to work on. Parts aren't super available (seals etc) and we need this part to be easily serviceable.
Since the bike is going to be SuperSport legal I'm not allowed to do the linkage swap that Jarel did on his, as much as I would like to, so we will be tuning the rear suspension to work with the stock linkage, which appears to be fairly progressive.
Front suspension is going to remain mostly stock. The Showa Big Piston Fork is a pretty good starting point and used on a lot of motorcycles. We will start with simply getting the right springs installed along with fluid that has known properties and work from there.
Engine work - None
Fuel- Premium pump gas
Electronics- I'll be working with Brian and the team at Boulder Motorsports to map the ECU and tune the bike to my liking. One part of this that I think is really interesting is engine braking control. I've decided to try to manipulate the bike this way instead of installing a slipper clutch. I've ridden a variety of motorcycles in the past 12 years, many without slipper clutches at all, and some with really high dollar ones that worked really well. It's going to be fun to see what the engine braking control is like and how well it works.
Rider- The rider will be getting a tune-up with a coach before the season begins - I can't wait!
Ready, Steady....
GO!
