New to Thunderbike

[smokey999]

Hello everyone!
 
I am working on going racing in 2012 with a motorcycle. While i'm new to the Motorcycle racing gig, I am not new to Racing. I am currently Track daying a 2004 Ducati 749 in an effort to learn how to ride smoother and faster. I'll be competeing in the South East Region as I am based out of Charlotte, NC. My question is this, is the 749 competitive enough to run in the classes it fits? I've looked over results and what not and dont see all that many XX9 bikes running. Is the cost of the bike just too much? Are they not fast enough? Are they too difficult to ride quickly? I'll take any answers. I'm a little of the opinion in the Club racing arena, its more the rider than the bike. I don't know. I'm looking to get about one or two races in next year with the 2013 season being my run at any championships that are open. And also I have no dreams of that Moto GP ride. I know how much work goes into a successful rider and bike as I've learned from racing Cup cars for the past 5 years.
 
Thanks,
Thomas

[pdoughduc]

Most competitive class will definitely be Thunderbike. If you're fast you shouldn't have a problem walking tuned SV's or or breathed on 2v Duc's. Not sure what the talent looks like in SE as I'm primarily a MA rider. I've seen a few guys on 749's racing in the MW ranks but most if not all the Duc's you see in MW are gonna be 848's.

[majicMARKer]

the 749 is a magnificent bike for the Thunderbike class. Depending on your build you will have a lot more power than the SV and as much as a built DS. I am currently riding and developing a Ducati 748.

I am in the Florida Region and many times I race in a combined race of the Florida and Southeast. The southeast seems to be a small group of racers but they are joined by other regions in many of their rounds. Even though I race primarily with the florida region I am(at least before VIR) leading the LW F40 class in the Southeast even though I haven't attended every round of the southeast.

It seems everyone wants to be at the front, but I suggest to you race because you want to not just because you will be competitive. I often race my Ducati 800 in GT lights and the LW F40 which I have been currently leading.

Mark

[smokey999]

Thanks for advice. I am here to race and to work on becoming competitive. I agree doing something just on the basis of being fast out of the box is a little hard to acheive. But i know it will take a lot of work and I just hope to not be beating a dead horse. Any help on what to work on as far as the bike is concerned? Where should i focus my budget and time?

[pdoughduc]

Suspension set up will be the most beneficial. That and figuring out which tires you like/can go fast on. Start throwing money at suspension and suspension tuning first though for sure.

[majicMARKer]

Everything in my mind depends on the budget. Ebay has ben my friend and findings other enthusiasts of the 748 has been the best thing. There is still a small but loyal following that still race the 748/749. The 749 is a better motor and maybe the 748 is the better chassis.

With the 749 the addage of "spend your money in the suspension" couldn't be more true. Only because the motor is that good. Decide what your budget is and spend accordingly on the upgrades to your bike. For me I weighed the cost of upgrading the stock 748 fork with aftermarket internals compared to purchasing an RS fork. I went the RS route and spent $900. With that I spent another $300 for the RS specific brake rotor which is also lighter.

I say with your suspension set-up the choice of tire can be quite crucial as to the way your bike is set-up. Spend some time on whatever choice of tire and learn starting pressures, to rise in pressures when hot off the track and your subjective feedback compared to the objective(lap time). I find that the more comfortable/confident I am the better I can go in a race.

Mark

[smokey999]

So with the last couple of track days at the end of this year, i have figured out that the michelin pilot power 2cts just are not up to keeping up with damn near every other tire on the track. My biggest concern right now is figuring out which tire would be best suited for Thunderbike. Its not like the stock car racing i've done in the past where there is only one tire. THere is such a variety and the cost of testing each tire just is out of the question. Now the last Track day i did where Jason Disalvo was doing some instructing showed me the difference of both a world class rider and probably a little bit better suited tire for what i am trying do. He was running those Dunlop GPAs. I wouldn't mind to run those but aren't really sure what everyone else in the paddock has. Also this winter is gonna see some serious work done to the 749 with getting rid of the old street body work and other street stuff and focus on some suspension work.

[twilkinson3]

Michelin Power One Street or Competion versions, or a pirelli are generally the 2 I see the most on the lightweight(ish) bikes

[majicMARKer]

On the club level I have observed in order of preference. Dunlop, Pirelli, Michelin, Bridgestone or Continental.

I currently use the Michelin Power One V front and B rear on the Ducati 748. For the past 6 years of racing out of the 8 years that I have been competing has been on the Bridgestone with the last two on Michelin. My lap times are pretty close for the two brands with the Michelin giving the better feel and confidence. I have yet to try the Dunlop or the Pirelli and wonder how much better they are.

I am told that the Dunlop Ntec from the UK is the better tire to go with due to observed performance in grip and longevity.

The Michelin I use on the Ducati 748 has proven to be a good tire with the B rear giving the best compromise between traction and longevity. I get about 100 laps on the rear with less than one second between the fastest and slowest laps throughout the range of life.

Racing for me is all about the budget. A lot of my decision is based upon cost but the first choice has always been about safety. I get the best I can afford to make the bike as safe as I can. The Michelin has a cost of about $400 per set with the Pirelli a little more and the Dunlop even more. The Dunlop GPA is on par as far as cost but I think performance may be lacking at least based on observations of my other racer friends using the Dunlop.

Hope this helps.

Mark

[SoudersD]

SV650 vs. 749 @ Summit Main

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m5YTTwdZnM

[majicMARKer]

Dave- Great racing. Seems as though you capitalized on the assets of the SV with the nimble handling and lighter weight. Your only chance was to keep the 749 behind you which you accomplished for a few laps. Once he finally got by you though it seems you slowed. You certainly were a kind racer giving the other rider plenty of room to get back by you.

Some of my personal observation: The Ducati 74X is a heavy beast and certainly outweighs the SV by many pounds. The braking department is the opposite where the Ducati will have the edge providing great feel and strong brakes.

[SoudersD]

Dave- Great racing. Seems as though you capitalized on the assets of the SV with the nimble handling and lighter weight. Your only chance was to keep the 749 behind you which you accomplished for a few laps. Once he finally got by you though it seems you slowed. You certainly were a kind racer giving the other rider plenty of room to get back by you.

Some of my personal observation: The Ducati 74X is a heavy beast and certainly outweighs the SV by many pounds. The braking department is the opposite where the Ducati will have the edge providing great feel and strong brakes.

Thanks, although my SV isn't as nimble as I'd like. I have an '04 GSX-R600 front end on it and it's been a struggle to get the bike to turn in since I did the conversion. I was just starting to get it to feel right when I crashed out of the CCS Thunderbike race with a stuck throttle tube at NJMP in July. I haven't been able to get back on track since.

[majicMARKer]

Dave-The GSXR front is still an improvement over the stock SV forks or the modified stock forks for that matter. I always wondered about the numbers of the GSXR fork and seems you may be feeling the effects. I guess the only adjustable choice you have is the ride height which in turn can change some of your geometry.

Thunderbike to me has been a good mix of bikes with some old bikes competing against some of the current bikes. I've found that I am just as quick on my Ducati 800 compared to my '91 FZR600. I can;t fathom my Ducati 748 being allowed in the same middleweight class as the FZR600 because it is just that much better.

[apriliaman]

A good front suspension on a SV if you want to upgrade is the R6S front end, R6 1999-2004 or the S of today.They are the same length as the SV forks also.
I use Pirelli on my bikes,they will give you a smoother ride and i can get 300mi out of a SC2 front slick and 200mi on the rear.Dunlop is a hard feeling tire and your suspension setting will be very different between the too.So ride what you feel that you like.Pirelli set that I use is $385.For me dot or slicks give me the same lap time,just the slicks last longer.On my Sv I use dot and use  them for 5 weekends,that is 2 practice and 2 races each.Thats alot of miles.

[apriliaman]

The 749 is a great bike for thunderbike and is very fast if you can get the most out of it.