I promised I would give some insight on the people I get my info from and to why I give them high credibility. As stated, I am no engineer myself, have no mechanical background and have not been riding from 1997 to 2011. My track experience before getting back on a superbike probably was not more than 120 laps, 85% of them at Zolder. To be confident enough to do all this, I had to be absolutely certain of the people I'm doing this with and who are, in fact, building, developing upgrading and maintaining the bike and are coaching me with the prepping and riding of track events. All in the spirit to do things as well as possible and to do the bike a bit of justice So ride it to the very best of my abilities within a safe environment. I was willing to commit serious means but also dedication, time to learn and to improve my physical condition to cope. From my side I would liaise internationally and invest in development when needed. I also offered to put some logistical support to the endeavour. Getting a van big enough and equipment to carry 4 bikes and gear so it's easier for people to get to far away tracks such as Valencia and Aragon. And avoiding ridiculous cost. Such projects carry huge potential to buy wisely or stupidly. And that difference is what leads to costly or just plain stupid.
Therefore I'm extremely happy that these people have taken me on board and are willing to share their quit rare knowledge of all major aspects needed to make this project possible. It all started as so many things start: getting talking on one night in the Ducati Club. Ideas started flowing from there. The two main people are Luc and Stef. Both have been Ducati addicts for decades and have been assembling some of the top garages one can come across that cover the whole of modern Ducati superbike history and specials. One of them is happy to share a pic of his garage here. What sets them both apart is that they build and ride their own bike themselves, bar the things needing a dealer to keep warranty going. And when they ride, they do this well, having gone off only twice in twenty years while riding in the top 8% of participants anytime everywhere. They are very close to Motorsportschool (
Motorsportschool Zolder) one of the major tracking events companies in Holland and Belgium having access to tracks like Spa, Assen and organizing stints at many international GP venues. They are also instructors at this company that organizes brand track tests for ducati (pani) and Bmw "˜(1000RR) . Luc is also the Pirelli tire specialist for racing tires. Part of this company is also the base for Werner Damen's Van ZON IDM BMW Factory race team. Werner still holds the Superbike record of Spa. Belgium is a small country and does have some very knowledgable teams. Alstare is probably the most topnotch outfit. The heads on the 999R I did were flowed by the guy who now builds Checa's engines. Small means everyone pretty much knows everyone and so we do catch some vibes from within from time to time.
For set up and suspension I'm happy to be able to rely on Steven from EMC37 (
What does EMC37 do ? Bike Setup ) , former factory race and development rider for MV Augusta and now owns Ohlins shop and maintenance centre, setup and data analysis expert for several teams active in the world endurance championship. He's also the author of 2 major books on setup and suspension "˜de chrono liegt niet 1 &2' (
De Chrono Liegt Niet 2). A book that unfortunately hasn't been translated in English yet.
And when it comes to tuning "˜from scratch' I guess there is no one who travelled so many miles that Steve Moore, owner , manager and chief developer of Moto Rapido. (
https://www.facebook.com/DucatiRacing?ref=ts&fref=ts ). MR is the only team that has been riding the Pani in the toughest SBK series apart from WSBK, that is BSB. Running RS's and superstocks. Especially good to know is that BSB has Motec control systems that come in a box empty and need full development, including designing and making all wiring and looms. And the has to be filled with the setup parameters. So Steve has been developing the Pani perhaps as much as Corse. As what Magnetti Marelli did for Corse and Alstare, Steve has to do for himself. And has done so successfully. MR rider this year is MATTEO BAIOCCO, Ducati factory development rider. Steve truly is a top notch guy and I'm hounored to have him answer emails. 15 minutes with him is enough to get some definite answers on complex issues. A pic of Steve looking into the brain of the bike.
Without these guys never ever would I have been able to mount this project. Especially within this time frame - the bike was 90% ready in 45 days after delivery - and get where we are. Which is still quit a way to go. Special thanks goes out to Luc who has a in depth knowledge of all Ducati models that defies belief. His will to share things matches this knowhow. Apart from all this they're also sheer fun to hang out with! Not wanting to be just the money man , I committed to get in shape so I lost 20 kgs of weight. Which is a blessing. As to riding, I seem to get as close to 1 second per kilometre from them which makes me pretty happy and is way beyond anything I expected. So if some people make a crusade of telling me I know .... on engines, they have reached Jerusalem as I know I don't now ..... Reached. But I made damn sure I'm in the middle of some people who do know an awful lot. Even all there is to know. Even so much I ve never encountered anyone who knows more. So I "˜ve got a very good idea of who knows and doesn't know.
These is the background I get facts, ideas and analysis from. I guess it should make it more than reliable enough for comfort. Again, these people take this serious and I take this serious as it is too ....... dangerous just to be mucking about. The Pani as a bike in general is a work in progress and still has a lot of development to be done to it. And development carries risk of breakage. I don't want to be the one telling you to just bolt on things and then have you spit a bucket of oil on your tires and in front of some fellow riders. Bold should not become reckless.
In the meantime we did SPA, Valencia, Aragon, Brands Hatch indy , Donington, Assen, Mettet. By the end of the year we will have done Zolder, Le Mans, Brands GP, Spa and Assen again and we hope to close the season off with Mugello. And it's been all I ever hoped it would be. A great undertaking with some top crew and just plain good company.
, pulse tuning attempts to "tune" the pulses from the cylinders as they fire in order to promote scavenging out of the cylinders and though the exhaust system, in order, without a drop in velocity. There is also a negative return pulse, and reversion, so things can get very tricky. There are many factors that will influence the "tune" in the exhaust that will directly effect what is happening in the cylinder and thereby "tell" the ecu through sensors where to compensate in its maps. 
