899 Track Bike

Rake angle kit is in the freezer as the old one has been taken off the bike! Il keep u posted on install tomorrow

jarelj said:

The effect is I have to spend more money to get really nothing better. I already have the Brembo racing 19x20 master cyclinder, which works with any of the 34mm-36mm piston size calipers, so it would make a lot more sense to get a set of 1198 Monoblocs or just spring for the full Brembo billet racing calipers. That's IF I feel like I need more brakes, which I haven't thought I did so far. We'll see now that I have the fork cartridges installed, since I should be able to brake later and harder, and I might find the stock calipers are not up to the task.

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Thank you.

Got the 899 SL back together for the weekend track days, since last time out it now has Ohlins TTX25 fork cartridge inserts, Termi full system headers and new map, BST carbon wheels, AFAM Superlite rear sprocket, Brembo HP rotors, some additional carbon doodads, AiM Solo-DL Lap Timer/Data Logger, and the DP racing seat. Weighed it off the bench, still has a splash of fuel in but less than a gallon, 360.6 lbs. (190.3 front/170.3 rear). Not too shabby! Definitely going to put on a lightweight rear rotor to get it under 360 just as a matter of principle! Tomorrow is cleanup and "sticker tuning" before loading in the trailer bound for Motorsports Park Hastings.

Great! Did you already post dyno numbers to date? Data from the same dyno with an 1199's numbers would be much appreciated also.

JeffD said:

Great! Did you already post dyno numbers to date? Data from the same dyno with an 1199's numbers would be much appreciated also.

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Nope no dyno, dynos are for posers! Ha ha!

I searched high and low for a pre owned 899 before I just got my new track toy ... no lick at all. So I settled on a 210hp GSXR. Next seaon I will hunt again. I love this thread

MrKO said:

I searched high and low for a pre owned 899 before I just got my new track toy ... no lick at all. So I settled on a 210hp GSXR. Next seaon I will hunt again. I love this thread

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Call me next time!

You could remove the bar ends! That should save you some cost free weight.

EvoL said:

You could remove the bar ends! That should save you some cost free weight.

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It actually would drop weight, but I have bar end sliders so they're providing some crash protection so still worth keeping them. I ditched the heavy stock ones, these R&G bar end sliders are lighter.

360.6lbs is AWESOME! If only you could run the lightweight front subframe from the SL and have an engine made out of the same lightweight components with a CF swing arm :drool:

Side note: I do wish the 899 revved quicker, did yours improve quite allot with the light weight components you installed like the flywheel and stator kit etc?

Those BST wheels look REALLY good!

92GTA said:

360.6lbs is AWESOME! If only you could run the lightweight front subframe from the SL and have an engine made out of the same lightweight components with a CF swing arm :drool:

Side note: I do wish the 899 revved quicker, did yours improve quite allot with the light weight components you installed like the flywheel and stator kit etc?

Those BST wheels look REALLY good!

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Yes, with the lightweight stator kit it revs noticeably quicker.

Rake angle kit installed with robby moto triples, thanks jarel!

Just back from track weekend at Motorsports Park Hastings on the 899SL, couple quick updates:

* The Ohlins TTX25 cartridge inserts are insanely good, I was blown away. Didn't think they could be that much better, but they are, which is why I guess they cost so much.
* The BST wheels completely screwed up my rear suspension settings, the rear wheel is so much lighter (11.5 lbs) that I had to start over setting up the rear suspension and still never got it completely dialed in, it was either harsh or too bouncy, but I'm putting a different shock on next week anyway so didn't bother messing with it too much, I just left it a little softer than ideal and rode around it.
* I almost hit the inside guard rail on the pit entry lane the first time heading out onto the track because it steers so much quicker with those wheels, no joke, I literally rubbed my elbow against the guard rail!
* It pulls REALLY hard now with the full Termi headers and new map. It's way faster than you would imagine, following my buddy on his 1199 who was running 1 sec/lap faster than me he couldn't pull anything on the straights on this track, I was right on his ass the whole time, he only pulled a little gap mid-corner in a couple spots where I'm not willing to carry as much corner speed as he is due to flashbacks in my brain to past tumblings off into the grass, just mental block that I haven't worked through yet.
* I only rode on Sunday so I didn't get as much track time as I was hoping, was busy Saturday dealing with timing system technical issues and administering our endurance race series so never even suited up. In 3 sessions on Sunday, fiddling with suspension settings on and off, and first time on that track this year, I was 1 sec/lap slower (1:39.3) than I ever went on my 1199 at that track (1:38.3). So pretty encouraging, I know I have 3-4 secs just lying there after I get the rear suspension sorted and get a little more seat time. For reference I ran a 1:35.4 at that track back in 2010 on my old 848 race bike, right before the bike was destroyed in a horrific oil-induced 80mph high side. The fastest lap anyone ran this weekend at that track was 1:33, which is an expert race pace.

This is awesome to hear! Sounds like BSTs are a must with the heavy ass wheels the 899 comes with for sure!

Jarel thank you again for your updates.

I have a question regarding the 899 and 1199.

As far as when you damage the bike (track), I believe replacement parts cost are the same so what are the attractiveness to get the 899 vs 1199 track bike? Other than the 899 vs 1199 spec wise. I guess I am talking more of 899 vs 1199 base.

youngR said:

Jarel thank you again for your updates.

I have a question regarding the 899 and 1199.

As far as when you damage the bike (track), I believe replacement parts cost are the same so what are the attractiveness to get the 899 vs 1199 track bike? Other than the 899 vs 1199 spec wise. I guess I am talking more of 899 vs 1199 base.

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I'll just copy/paste what I had stated in a prior thread earlier this year, I think this sums up my thinking:

"Here's my take: For Ducati Superbike track bikes the past 9 years I've had a 749R, 1098, 848, 1198S, another 848, and an 1199. For my riding style/preferences the 749R and 848's both had something that the 1098/1198S and 1199 did not have. It's not based upon dollars and cents per cubic centimeter, it's about balance and usable power versus being overpowered. If you weren't going to push the bike to the limit on the track it may not be as obvious/important, but having a bike that you can use all of the power on gives you something that you don't get when you're riding around at 1/4 to 1/2 throttle most of the time. Example: I had the data acquisition system hooked up to my 1199 one weekend at Motorsports Park Hastings, and reviewing the data afterward there was less than 2 seconds total in an entire lap where the throttle was wide open. It's easy to think that you can "modulate" the power on the higher-HP bike to achieve the same result as using the full power output of the smaller bike, but in practice it's not that easy at all, at least for us non-professional riders. Having a bike that you can get to full-throttle on and focus on the other aspects of your riding rather than spending such a big portion of your attention in modulating the throttle has big benefits for many riders and they'll go around the track with a quicker lap time on the smaller bike. I also have a Ninja 300 track bike, and on that bike you never even think about the throttle, it's either wide-open or you're on the brakes, there's nothing in between, so you focus all your attention on cornering and you can really rail on it in a way that you could never do on a big bike. Hopefully the 899 has that same "magical" balance that I always found on the other mid-sized Ducati Superbikes. We'll find out, but it's going to be a long 3 1/2 months until our track season starts back up! "

+1

that's why i started racing on a SV650 and not on my 1199.

helps me learn to focus on what's important on the track vs. holding on to the bars and catching breath after breathing fire doing 180 miles an hour...

great to read about how this project evolves, Jarel!

Phl said:

+1

that's why i started racing on a SV650 and not on my 1199.

helps me learn to focus on what's important on the track vs. holding on to the bars and catching breath after breathing fire doing 180 miles an hour...

great to read about how this project evolves, Jarel!

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That's great, I started racing on an SV650 about 10 years ago and never looked back! I think that's a wise choice to get into racing on the lightweight class bikes, you'll be a way better rider after a season or two on that.

OH I'M SO EXCITED!!!! WHO WANTS AN 899 TRACK BIKE?????

Well, I'm not excited that someone went ditch-diving an 899, but I'm excited that he didn't get hurt, I'm excited that he got a great buy-back on it from his insurance company after it was totalled due to a bent fork, broken triple clamp and scuffed bodywork, and I'm REALLY excited that we got it from him now and are ready to turn it into a sweet track bike!!! I have a complete fresh new front end ready to put on it and you could pick your upgrades for the track, we can build it and deliver it ready to ride. PM me if you're interested.

'Nother update on the 899 track bike project -

Getting ready for track weekend at Mid-America Motorplex this weekend, couple new things installed: Ohlins TTXGP rear shock, DesmoVeloce ride height adjuster, and the AiM SmaryCam GP HD camera system to integrate with my AiM Solo-DL data logger. The DesmoVeloce ride height adjuster is REALLY nice, it's funny how a component like that you can really tell the difference on something that is a racing-quality part vs. mass-production aftermarket stuff. I does the same function as the one I had on there before but it just makes me smile knowing it's on there! I'll be installing the DesmoVeloce forward shock mount also as soon as I get the Ohlins hydraulic preload adjuster for the shock.

Really looking forward to trying out the camera system, I got it to use for making instructional videos for the track.