Some track day prep questions

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spooky said:
I seem to have hit a mental block.

Working on body position means I’ve gone from using 54° of lean to anywhere between 40 and 44° of lean.

Unfortunately, I seem to have a bit of an issue using the large amount of available lean that I have gained. I’m guessing that I’m not feeling secure on the bike for some reason. It’s not so bad on fast corners but on slow corners I’m having problems, going slower and I feel myself holding onto the bars, which is a really bad idea. It basically feels like I’m scared to lean the bike over even though I am leaning it over so much less…

It’s probably inaccurate to say I’m scared of leaning the bike because I know what it’s capable of and I have leaned over a lot more. Probably more to do with leaning myself over, if that makes sense.

I need to stick my knee out more – getting that down again would give me a point of reference and probably instill some confidence. Keeping my vision forward is probably another thing. My technique and body position have improved significantly and yet I seem to have lost confidence in the turns.

It’s more noticeable at Most than at Brno. Most is far more technical, with quite a lot of relatively slow and tight turns.

Preet much all in my head and infuriating.
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andyb said:
just.....
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Knew you’d say that. 😂 It’s progress though.

If the slide I had was because of a bit of oil on the tire then I’m not sure it’s worth the risk of going on track today. I’m going to have a look at the bike in a moment and make a decision. Next track event is in three weeks and the sooner I get the bike looked at the better.
 
I’ve just checked the oil level and it is barely visible in the viewing glass. Before that session it was just above the minimum. Clearly oil has been lost and I think it would be risky to go on track with it unfortunately.
 
Did you warm up the engine and let it cool off before checking ?

V4R oil level is supposed to be slightly above minimum not reaching the mid-level

I usually run it here

1724137989743.png



Top it up if you're overly worried.
 
panibadboy said:
Did you warm up the engine and let it cool off before checking ?

V4R oil level is supposed to be slightly above minimum not reaching the mid-level

I usually run it here

View attachment 56050


Top it up if you're overly worried.
Click to expand...

I was running it just over the minimum marker. I had done three days on track last week and it cooled down for a week and was at the same level. This morning it was barely visible at the bottom of the sight glass.

I’ve packed everything up and I’m taking it straight to a dealer.
 
andyb said:
😱 of all the dramas … I wasn’t expecting that!😂

Can you not wipe it properly clean and run it see if you can see what’s occurring?
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I wasn’t expecting it either! I sent pictures of it to my local dealer and the dealer in Germany where I bought it. Of course, only one replied immediately – the local dealer hasn’t even bothered replying.

I was advised to get it straight into them. When I was on track and had the slide they immediately after notified end of session and as I was coming in the pits, it felt very unstable. I didn’t want to risk it.

It’s a shame as it was a perfect day for more sessions.
 
spooky said:
I wasn’t expecting it either! I sent pictures of it to my local dealer and the dealer in Germany where I bought it. Of course, only one replied immediately – the local dealer hasn’t even bothered replying.

I was advised to get it straight into them. When I was on track and had the slide they immediately after notified end of session and as I was coming in the pits, it felt very unstable. I didn’t want to risk it.

It’s a shame as it was a perfect day for more sessions.
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From the photos that you posted there is absolutely nothing that can cause a slide on track. It's in your head, I was there.

But let's see what German dealer says
 
panibadboy said:
From the photos that you posted there is absolutely nothing that can cause a slide on track. It's in your head, I was there.

But let's see what German dealer says
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It is entirely possible that it didn’t cause a slide. It didn’t feel normal though and more concerning was that the bike felt unstable even turning into the pit lane. The short hugger in front of the rear wheel was quite oily though. There was also a light mist of oil on top of the swingarm.

If I had put €6000 into the bike instead of €60,000 I might have been more willing to risk it. At the same time, seeing how the oil level had dropped I would have hated to drop oil on the track and ruin someone else’s day.

Better safe than sorry I think.

It will be interesting to hear what the dealer says.
 
andyb said:
you need to unblock the resident sticker expert....... he will tell you how to make a claim against the warranty for loss of track time.....:eek::cool:
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The dealer took loads of pictures of the bike and saw the modifications, which I class as cosmetic for the most part. I asked if it would be covered by warranty and he said absolutely it would.

He actually made a point of asking when I am next on track and made a note of the dates to ensure it is done in time. The local dealer still hasn’t responded.

It’s disappointing to lose a day on track as I was looking forward to seeing if I could improve a bit, but it’s not the end of the world. I reckon there’s quite a few seconds remaining before I feel that I’m having to move my comfort zone a bit.

The laps that I had in the 2:29s happened while I was only concentrating on arm position to keep them relaxed and especially vision. When I did those two things I seemed to carry more speed through the turn without trying, probably because I was more relaxed on the bike and so I wasn’t holding the bars, plus not fixated on the apex…

I constantly have to remind myself that, at this stage, better laptimes come from technique and not from trying to go fast. I was also getting into fifth gear just before the bridge before turn three. Before this I had only got up to 4th gear. This was a result of getting the exit from term one better so I could get on the throttle sooner.

It definitely felt like I’m making progress.
 
I’ve got Most for three days in three weeks time and another three-day weekend at Brno after that. I think that will be the lot for the year unfortunately. So far I’ve put almost 3000 km on track this year.
 
Hope the last person that did the oil change was a Ducati tech… and hope you have the Akra tune on the bike and not an aftermarket one.

Also, didn’t you say you had to drain some oil out because you overfilled it recently? Did you check the drain bolt to see if it’s leaking. Could be something as simple as that.

Dealers don’t have any say into whether Ducati warranties things. The dealer just reports the problem and gives a possible cause. The regional customer service rep weighs these things and makes a decision.
 
spooky said:
The dealer took loads of pictures of the bike and saw the modifications, which I class as cosmetic for the most part. I asked if it would be covered by warranty and he said absolutely it would.

He actually made a point of asking when I am next on track and made a note of the dates to ensure it is done in time. The local dealer still hasn’t responded.

It’s disappointing to lose a day on track as I was looking forward to seeing if I could improve a bit, but it’s not the end of the world. I reckon there’s quite a few seconds remaining before I feel that I’m having to move my comfort zone a bit.

The laps that I had in the 2:29s happened while I was only concentrating on arm position to keep them relaxed and especially vision. When I did those two things I seemed to carry more speed through the turn without trying, probably because I was more relaxed on the bike and so I wasn’t holding the bars, plus not fixated on the apex…

I constantly have to remind myself that, at this stage, better laptimes come from technique and not from trying to go fast. I was also getting into fifth gear just before the bridge before turn three. Before this I had only got up to 4th gear. This was a result of getting the exit from term one better so I could get on the throttle sooner.

It definitely felt like I’m making progress.
Click to expand...

So what exactly is dealer going to do now?
 
spooky said:
The short hugger in front of the rear wheel was quite oily though. There was also a light mist of oil on top of the swingarm
Click to expand...

All normal for V4R, I had it many times too.

As long as there is no real leak, and by real leak I mean you see actual oil on pegs, boots, bottom of oil pan, in front in starter motor or on sides of engine - you're fine. Sprinkles is nothing, needs to be real oil.
 
panibadboy said:
All normal for V4R, I had it many times too.

As long as there is no real leak, and by real leak I mean you see actual oil on pegs, boots, bottom of oil pan, in front in starter motor or on sides of engine - you're fine. Sprinkles is nothing, needs to be real oil.
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The gasket was not looking normal and, with respect, it really shouldn’t be normal to throw oil toward the rear wheel. I am assuming that the gasket has failed, but it will be interesting to figure out why.

A guy in a group I am in who has taken apart a lot of these engines says that the stuff they use for the gasket can clog up the filters and cause this exact issue.
 

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