Track Bike Camera Mounts

I added a couple of new camera mounts to my bike for track days, and created a short video of the different angles going through the same sequence of corners.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t8ijdsJ2vA

Track Bike Full Fairings

I was able to get the new full fairings painted and installed on the bike. It was weird scuffing up these perfect Senna gray fairings to paint them flat black, but it needed to be done. :-) As much as I loved the idea of a half naked bike with a full belly pan, I have to admit that it looks better with full fairings.

Motorcycle Track Day - 09/22/2012 @ ECR

Back at Eagle's Canyon Raceway for two days back-to-back with RideSmart.  My wife came with me, and even though she had no intention of doing either track day, we brought her bike with us on the trailer so that she would have transportation to and from the track as well as to participate in the parade laps on Saturday.  While waiting to do the parade laps, she was encouraged to sign up for Sunday's event on stand-by and they would let her use some rental leathers for free.  We both had a lot of fun, and she'll be attending track days with me going forward. :-)  Below are video clips of two of my best laps from each day, and photos of both of us. It's nice not getting passed as much as I did on my first track day, and as you can see from the videos I'm passing a lot more people now, but I think I'm going to stay in Level 1 for next season to make sure I can proficiently stay on the race line, continue working on correct body position, and improve my throttle and braking so that I can be more comfortable with passing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F23Zp3BVPww

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwWAEtEH9cI

Track Bike Belly Pan... I'm done with it.

I spent so much time and effort getting that belly pan to fit, and I really like the way it looks, but the damn thing got ripped off the bike while I was backing it off the trailer at Eagles Canyon Raceway on Saturday. The ramp folded down into a low spot on the ground and was steep enough to catch an edge of the pan... now its dead. :-/

The good news is I found a pair of brand new OEM full fairings that were being clearanced out by a Ducati dealer VERY cheap. :-)

Photos and video of the track day coming soon.

Track Bike Updates

I've made a few updates to the track version of my Ducati 900 Supersport, all of which have absolutely nothing to do with the bike's performance. :-)

I've had problems with the belly pan dragging at the track because it was mounted so low on the bike to clear the exhaust.  Since I'm not using the pan to catch any fluids, I decided to cut an opening into the bottom for the exhaust to fit through similar to the factory fairings. I also trimmed the pan and modified the mounting points to mount it up higher on the bike so that it has the same ground clearance as the factory fairings.

I also replaced the grey tank pad with a black version from the '99-'00 Supersports, added some TechSpec grip material to the sides of the tank, and recovered the seat with a new Sport Skinz replacement cover from Sargent Cycle.

Now the bike doesn't look so much like a piece of crap that was thrown together quickly with random used parts for track days. :-)

Ducati 748s Maintenance

I finally got up the courage to perform the 12,000 mile routine maintenance on my 2002 Ducati 748s. I've already done the maintenance on my 2001 Ducati 900 Supersport with a 2-valve motor, but the 4-valve motor in the 748s is much more complex and the maintenance is much more involved. In addition to replacing the cam belts and inspecting/adjusting the valve clearances, it is also recommended to pull the cams out of the heads to check the condition of the rocker arm faces and replace any that show excessive wear, which is a known issue for 748/916/996 Superbikes from 1995 to 2002.

I purchased all of the specialized tools that are required to perform the 4V maintenance from Desmo Times, and stripped the bike down to just the motor and frame. I worked on things a little at a time so that I wouldn't get too overwhelmed with it all. I was happy to discover that all the valve clearances were within Ducati's recommended specifications, however I found two opening rocker arms that needed to be replaced. :-( I should have the bike back together and back on the road within a few weeks.  While I have the bike stripped down this far, I'm also going to install a new custom aluminum coolant reservoir to replace the plastic one that is prone to bursting.

Motorcycle Track Day - 05/6/2012 @ MSRC

My second track day was awesome! :-) I was in Level 1 again with RideSmart at Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, TX. This was my second track day, and my first time at MSRC. The bike performed flawlessly, and I was doing pretty good myself. I was a LOT more comfortable on the bike and you can see from the photos below that I was able to lean the bike over farther and _almost_ touched a knee. :-) My instructor followed me around for a couple of laps and later told me that my lines and body position were really good and that I am good to advance to Level 2 at my next track day if I want to. I did have a problem with the belly pan scraping again on the sides with the bike leaned over farther, so I'm going to do some more trimming on the pan to raise it up closer to the engine. The video below is three of my best laps from the last session of the day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nykff7Vb950