Installed new tires

In preparation for a track day on Friday, April 22, I decided to get some new tires for the bike. Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa.   They turn in really nice and I’m excited to test the grip.

Went back to stock clip-ons

(Jan 30th, 2011)

Yep. I did.

As one of the first to hack up my bike to install 06 comfort bars on a 1000S along with AZ_Scott and couple others, I re-installed the original clip-ons.

I think it has to do with a couple things: (1) these bikes are more ‘track’ minded and (2) I got my fat ass back into shape.

The position is really suited for the track and, when at speed, the bike responds nicely.

They look cleaner and more functional at the track.  I’m only 5’9″ and my arms aren’t long BUT I can see that the stock clip ons are the way to go.

Here’s a picture I took when I first did the mod. You can see the difference.

The left one is the ’06 clip-on at its max highest position.
The right one is the ’07 clip-on at its lowest position.
There’s a big difference.

I (re)like the original ’06 clip-ons.

Racetech fork springs = Happiness

(Jan 28th, 2011)

I finally installed Racetech springs on my 1000S. Racetech recommended that I go with .90kg/mm (stock is .850 kg/mm) and with 10wt fork oil (stock is 7.5). I weigh 170 w/o gear. (Racetech part# FRSP S3827090)

Now I had done some tweeking to my stock forks before installing these Racetech. I had installed 25mm spacers in each fork and used 5wt fork oil.  It made a big difference over stock but I was still not quite at my goal. I have gone to several track days with this setup and it was adequate but there’s room for improvement.

The Racetech springs were slightly shorter than the stock springs by about 20mm. So I re-used the spacers I made with the Racetech springs.

Without adding oil, I re-assembled the forks and put them back on the bike with the wheel so that I can check the sag. I was close to 50mm!

Then, I added the spacers that was supplied with the Racetech kit to add some preload. It stacked up to be about 35mm high for each fork. Re-assembled the fork again, put them on the bike and measured again.

BAM! 30mm sag (bike + rider)

Added the 10wt fork oil (400cc per fork in accordance with OEM specs) and took it out for a spin.

I AM VERY HAPPY. It tracks sooo nicely. Less nose dive and takes the bumps smoothly.

With the zip-tie on the fork to see total travel, I took note that the fork is about 1.5 inches from the bottom travel. So I’m using most of my fork. I was anticipating less travel but it seems like I’m using (almost) the same amount as before. That’s a good thing!

Best $120 bucks spent.

I’m excited to take it to the track and have some fun!

AAA Speedway

Wow. It’s been soooo long since I posted here. I haven’t been riding much except for trackdays and on sunny Fridays to work.

So on Jan 7th, took a Friday off to take a spin around AAA Speedway in Fontana. I definitely improved over the years. I was effortlessly motoring around that day.

I’ve been going to the gym a lot and it has helped me tremendously.  I went solo on this one and met a couple people there.

I’ll be going again on April 22 and June 8, 2011. Can’t wait!

Willow Spring Raceway

That’s Big Willow to you, sir.

Everything moved like clockwork.  Got up, attached the pre-loaded trailer to the truck and off I went to Rosamond.  Skies we perfectly clear and zero wind.  Temperature peaked in the low 80′s which made for perfect track conditions.  I got there before the crowd and tech’d the bike in 2 minutes.  TrackDaz were the hosts.

I watched a couple of YouTube videos of Willow Springs to memorize the track and lines better but what I didn’t anticipate was Turn 6.  Holy cow.  It felt like you were racing down a steep diagonal  – while leaning hard – while short shifting up – at full throttle – all while the outside of the turn looks like an infinity pool!  If you’re not focused, you are going off the track and into an event horizon.

Then there was Turn 8 and Turn 9, collectively called The Sweeper.  You were wondering if it was ever going to end.

We did encounter many delays because people were crashing out a lot. The two ambulances could not keep up with taking people to the hospital. (yikes)  All of the crashes were occurring within the first 1/2 lap of a given session.  This means that the yahoos didn’t allow the tires to warm up, thus crashing out. (tisk tisk)

After Darwin weeded out the hooligans in the morning, we were able to enjoy an uninterrupted track day all the way ’till 5pm.

I was also able to finally track-test my Brembo Goldline front caliper conversion with sintered EBC pads.  They performed beautifully.  Excellent braking.

I’ve got tons of photos from a photographer friend (Ron Sinoy) and from the track’s CaliPhotography.

Willow Springs is very different from many other tracks.  It’s layout facilitates very high speeds where others have many turns and odd corners.

It is definitely deserves the title of the “Fastest Road in the West“.

That  -  was  -  fun.

Trackday Update

Streets of Willow May 3rd cancelled.

May 14 – Big Willow is ON.

New NGK spark plugs

Just installed a fresh new set of plugs.  The old ones look good.  They had the slight burnt-orange / light black look on the electrode.

Now that I am using the Sta-Bil Marine fuel additive, I’m going to keep an eye on the way the fuel burns.

*Track day coming May 3rd at Willow Springs. I’ll look at the plugs there, too.

Fuel Stabilizer (update)

So far, it’s working. I rode around and didn’t notice any loss of performance.

Along my ride, I stopped by SoCal Ducati’s 10th Anniversary Open House where I met up with JC of JC PakBikes.  He showed me how he was able to remove the tank and have the inside of the tank lined with a special coating that protected the tank from spreading.  Cool stuff!

Fuel Stabilizer

The biggest known issue with the SportClassic line of Ducati motorcycles is the “spreading tank”. This is where the fuel tank, made of a plastic/fiberglass material, starts to slightly get larger when ethanol is present in gasoline. California has been using ethanol in your regular gas station fuel in order to curb vehicle emissions. However, this wrecks havoc to non-metallic fuel components like plastic or fiberglass.

The boating and marine industry has been battling to maintain the reliability of their boats by adding fuel additives in order to stop the effects of ethanol on marine fuels systems.

So I thought – why don’t I use it, too?

STA-BIL 22239 Marine Fuel Stabilizer

So far, it’s working.  It has been two days in the tank and so far. The tank has stopped spreading and is going back to its original shape, little by little. The front rubber snubs are starting to seat into the mounting cups.

Engine performance has not suffered.

‘ll be riding out in the sun over the weekend and I’ll report back on how the SoCal sun and heat affects the tank and fuel stabilizer.

Hopefully positive results.

Fun with helmet

Instead of a ride report, I have a full-face helmet report with a bit of fun mixed in.

AGV K3 helmet

I’ve always been impressed with AGV’s line of helmets but never could bring myself to own a second high-end Italian helmet since I already own a Suomy Spec 1R Extreme – Anthracite Flowers. I have a small entourage of Scorpion EXO-400 and EXO-700 helmets that are really nice however I’ve always been craving AGVs. So I decided to go with AGV’s K3 line of helmets.

Just because this is AGV’s second-tier line of helmets, don’t let that fool you. The finish and fit of the helmet is far superior and at the same price-break as Scorpion and HJC.  Look out Scorpion and HJC – AGV is has it’s crosshairs on the $200 and lower market.

Again, the quality, fit, and finish is excellent.  Ventilation is excellent as expected from AGV.  One thing I noted was the smaller-than-usual neck roll at the back. It seems like this helmet was designed for the sportbike rider in mind. With my Ducati’s hyper-prone racing position (aka The Torture Rack), this helmet left me tons of room at the back of my neck to get into a proper racing position just like AGV’s Ti-Tech. That is a big plus!

Now that I have this excellent helmet, why would I want more? Well, the cafe racer in me was tapping on my shoulder saying “Psst. It needs a bit of flair”.

So with some checkered gas tank decals  that I had laying around, I took the stock black AGV K3 and had a little fun.

STOCK:

AND MADE THIS:

… just a litte fun while I was bored.