Boulder Motor Sports

Easily the best Ducati shop I’ve ever seen this side of Borgo Panigale! I found these guys about a year ago when I went to the DMV to get plates for my new 1098. I lady there mentioned that there was a nice young fellow who came in a week before to register two 1098’s and they had a racing team. I thought she was nuts, but a week or so later I googled the situation and low and behold she was telling the truth. The head mechanic Brian Sharp is legendary with Ducati racing and his name has popped up more than once in Italy talking to people like Edo Vigna at EVR. I saw that they won Daytona in 2006 with the legendary Doug Pollen, and for 2007 they campaigned a 749R (848cc) with Australian Marty Craggill. If I’m not mistaken Marty had three podiums after a late start to the season. I met him at an open house this summer and he was a really an interesting guy. As a cyclist, I was really impressed with the fitness expertise he had. Can you believe these guys are anaerobic for the entire race? I don’t know how they do it.

This year they’re waiting to hear if they can run racing pistons in the 1098 to contend the SBK series or whether they’ll be running the new 848.

Best mechanics I’ve met, and they’re local! I’ve been know to hang around there place looking at nuggets of Ducati eye candy. Friday they had a 916 SPS and one of the most impressive 1098 SBK bikes I’ve seen complete with an SBK front fork. I can’t wait to hear what kind of hp Brian is getting out that bike. Don’t hesitate to check these guys out if you need something serious done to your Ducati.

www.bouldermotorsports.com

ducati 1098R Specs

These pics are from the EICMA show in Milan (November), which is the largest motorcycle show in the world. I was also lucky enough to see the R at Ducati’s production facilities in November as well. I’m always amazed at the art these guys create. Why don’t I ever get tired of looking at these bikes?

It’s not immediately noticeable, but this bike has a ton of carbon fiber on it. I had to battle through a crowd of excited Italians so that I could get a few pictures, and take a peek inside the fairings where I saw more carbon fiber!

I cannot wait for the SBK races this year, go Bayliss!

EVR Slipper Clutch

EVR Slipper Clutch – MUST SEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I went to EICMA with a goal of finding the best slipper clutch for my 1098 and to see the new 848 and 1098R. Some of you may have seen my thread asking about slippers already.Within the first hour I saw a slipper clutch that blew me away, and looked different than the others I had seen, and this is when I met Edo Vigna, who is the inventor of the slipper clutch! Like an idiot I had no idea who he was, but proceeded to ask him 100 questions and he was nice enough to show me the STM/Bucci designs he invented and compared them to his EVR slipper. I was blown away and this is what I found out:Who is Edo?:

Edo Vigna was Ducati engineer for their SBK race team about 15 years ago and is the inventor of the slipper clutch! He also developed the clutch for STM and Ducati’s Bucci. He also has a superstock team in Italy.

The EVR Slipper Clutch (I hope I explain this correctly, if you see something questionable please let me know):

According to Edo his new patented slipper is the next evolution of the slipper clutch. The old style slipper clutches (STM, Bucci, etc.), have a moving central hub that puts pressure on the ramps at different angles and cause friction between the clutch plates and the clutch drum causing excess friction and wear on the discs. The other issue he explained is that the bearings of the old style are made from steel and aluminum, which creates a mismatch in metals both from a fatigue standpoint and the simple fact that the two metals don’t work well together. (old clutch in pics)

This problem doesn’t happen with EVR slipper clutch because the clutch drum doesn’t move up and down, but is fixed. Only the cover of the hub moves. Also, there are no ball bearings or different metals coming into contact with each other.

Rather than relying on ramp angles, the control of the torque/slippage system can be adjusted by replacing the spring weights and/or adding and subtracting springs.

The CTS model for Ducati’s with a dry clutch includes all parts and mounting hardware for the slipper clutch system including the 1) inner clutch and steel sintered clutch plates (most kits force you to buy new plates!!), 2) the housing clutch with 48 hemispherical grooves, and 3) ventilated pressure plates (multiple colors), which also lower the function temperature by about 10%. I believe the only piece not provided is the larger diameter washer required for the 1098, but this is included for all other Ducati’s.Anyone have any experience with these? I spoke with a local mechanic with experience racing and he said they work great on the track, however the first versions were difficult when launching at the start. From what I understand this has been addressed by EVR with their new version.

Ducati MotoGP & SBK dashboards

DUCATI GP7 & 1098 F08 DASHBOARDS

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La Gazetta dello Sport had this in their weekly magazine Sportweek yesterday and I thought it was really interesting. Here’s the translation going clockwise on the pic.

DASHBOARD:

• ANTISPIN (Traction Control): Marked as AS to block the traction control funtion of the rear wheel.
• MOTORE SPENTO (STOP Engine): Normal stop engine botton.
• SCELTA MAPPATURA (Engine Mapping): Can select 1 of 3 maps available. One choice is specifically for starts.
• VELOCITA BOX (Pit speed regulator): Limits the speed in the paddock/pit lane, limited at 80 Km/h.
• STRATEGIA DI RISERVA (Reserve strategy): Free switch. Can change between the functions of the other 2 buttons.
• Per Il Cambio (Gear Change): Gear switch, can block electronic shifting, and the possibility to go up gears without the clutch.

PER IL PILOTA POCHE DISTRAZIONI (For the rider little distractions): “It’s a question of habbit” says Stoner to explain how it’s not difficult to use during a race. “The information you use are lap times and engine mapping, and logically the engine danger light.”

LOWER LEFT OF PAGE:

• PERICOLO! (DANGER): signals if something bad has happened to the engine. Should stop the bike.
• PER CAMBIARE (TO CHANGE): gear changing lights (redline)
• LIMITAZIONI (LIMITS): When the pit lane speed regulator is on all 3 lights are green.
• ATTENZIONE (ATTENTION): Signals a problem with one of the functions. Usually not a bad problem.
• SOSPENSIONI (SUSPENSION): Signals 0 when recalibrating the suspension.
• STRATEGIE (STRATEGIES): flashing light to signal wether traction control is activated.

UN “MONITOR” PER TRE SITUAZIONI (A MONITOR FOR 3 SITUATIONS): The display offers three modes (to be changed only in the pit box), the display on the right is used when warming up the bike in the pits.

• PAGINA PROVE (TEST SCREEN: From the left: gear, water pressure (bar), water temperature. In the middle, position of the butterflies and the reading of the lambda sensor (probe).
• PAGINA GARA (RACE SCREEN): From the left: water temp., lap time (“A”), the gear, engine map (small letter).
• RESCALDAMENTO (WARM-UP): From the left: oil pressure and temp., middle – gas pressure, right: water temp, above: battery tension

Rossi Cartoon

Rossi Cartoon from Italy

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Scene #1: At an Alcoholic’s Anonymous meeting “I haven’t drank for 2 years”Scene #2: At a Motorcycle Anomoli meeting Rossi says “I haven’t won in 2 years”

Ducati 848 released

I opened the “La Gazzetta Dello Sport” here in Italy this morning and saw the first review of the 848 (see attached) and I will translate the more important points.

DUCATI 848 A SMALLER SUPERBIKE!

YES (Si) *performance of the new motor like the 1098 *High level of performance superior to a 600 Japanese bike *Advantages: the 848 is very fast and easy to ride, also for those that aren’t experts *Potent brakes, but more manable than those on the 1098, also good for those who ride the bike on the streets

NO (Non) *the pesonality of one of the top bikes, very efficient but with less emotion compared to the 1098 *the saddle is a bit slippery on the track *the price while normal for a Ducati is around $3k more than current 600’s!

OTHER KEY POINTS OF THE ARTICLE:

*The sister of the 1098 costs a little bit less, around euro 14k, but offers always great sensations when riding it

*850 cc motor that is very refined and totally new with the objective of beating the Japanese 600’s on their ground, the track

*this is just a smaller version of a Ducati superback and lacks nothing, offers superior performace associated with the Ducati name, which is already worth something more than the Japanese bikes (that’s what it says!)

*very balanced, powerful with 134 hp at 10k rpm, you won’t find any 600 rivals that can compare to 9.8 kgm at 8,250 rpm

*an “entry” level bike with the best parts, Ducati didn’t try to scimp to keep the price down basically

*no mono block Brembo’s on the front, but normal radial mounts with 320 mm discs, they don’t have the force to stop based on just a thought like the 1098’s, but this is better for a motorcycle of this level with more modulation possible – and great on the street as well.

*Apart from the front brakes it’s equal to it’s big sister the 1098 with light wheels and refined suspension.

*Ducati did not try to save money on this little motor! The little Testastretta Evolution was engineered with the same attention as the 1098’s. The motor is very very refined with the monoelyptical butterflies as seen on the 1098 and Moto GP bikes, and the desmodromica distributin is the latest generation.

*A new arrival is the wet clutch from Carter, allowing for a much lighter motor than before. The motorcycle weighs only 168 Kg, a good 20 Kg lighter then the 749 with 24 hp more!

*RIDING: on board you fill the same sensations as the 1098. Measurments and position of the seat are exactly the same. *You find your comfort zone immediately because the motor is a monster than spins strongly throughout all levels of the rpm, and is neve in trouble. Provides a little less emotion than it’s big sister but is very efficient and you can above all value from every last hp generated.

*Agile just like the 1098’s excellence, great in the curves, only a 600 can change directions like the 848.

That’s the translation, anything I didn’t know I made up! Just joking!

Giudici Racing Leathers!

I recently came across a brand of leathers in Italy called Giudici that I had never heard of before. Giudici currently sponsors SBK rider Roby Rolfo (Hannspree) and already have a world championship to their credit. Who would have thunk it even the great Freddy Spencer wore their leathers!

I’ve always been somewhat of a Dianese snob, but I’ve got to tell you the Giudici suits had softer leather and were more form fitting when I tried on a one-piece (they also have 2 piece suits and jackets too). Stefano Giudici, the owner, also explained to me that they can do custom suits, and kangaroo hide. I have a one piece on order, so I’ll let you know what I think once it’s here and I’ve had some time with it.

The leathers look very durable as well. While I was there I saw an MV Augusta suite that had obviously been in some sort of crash, so I asked Stefano what the story was. He said that that suite belonged to and SBK rider who went down at about 150 mph and was uninjured, but was later fired because he’s always crashing!

Review coming up…. If I like them I may import them into the US, so stay tuned.