new guy, race bike questions

[flynbulldog]

Hi Guys I want to introduce myself and ask an opinion of the collective Ducati singles experts.

I suppose I could be considered a Ducatista if you like that word but I wouldn't call myself that. I have a small collection of bikes that evolves over time and is a mixture of modern and vintage.
Two vintage bikes are 750 roundcases and on the modern front I have an MTS1200 and a Panigale is on order. There are a few others too and 2 aren't even Ducs!

Some of you may have seen my 750 sport special at events or on the web. My wife and I restored it over 3 years and did most of the work ourselves


The current project is a 250NC destined for vintage road racing this year and I have a couple of question for those of you experienced racing these bikes:
A couple of the guys I race with have these bike and they are running WM3 front and rear, I'm leaning towards a WM3 rear and a WM2 front. Whats the current wisdom on wheel selection?
I have a set of 35mm marzocchi forks from a widecase will these be a good choice or should I not waste the money to rebuild them and search for a set of Ceriani GP's?

Thanks for any input and I look forward to my experience on this site.

[LaceyDucati]

Hi
WM3 rear & WM2 front is the norm, but depends what tyres you intend to use.

The marzocchi 35mm widecase forks are fine, they have been used on some top racers over here in the UK both wide & narrowcase. The top guys tend to have them rebuilt by firms like Maxton, ie, revalved (or cartriges fitted) & change the springs etc. You will need to drop the legs through the yokes to get the trail right, how much will depend on the shock length you use. The GP yokes have to much offset & the legs are short (less of a problem on a narrowcase), wouldn't be my first choice.

Best Wishes Nigel

[flynbulldog]

Hi
WM3 rear & WM2 front is the norm, but depends what tyres you intend to use.

The marzocchi 35mm widecase forks are fine, they have been used on some top racers over here in the UK both wide & narrowcase. The top guys tend to have them rebuilt by firms like Maxton, ie, revalved (or cartriges fitted) & change the springs etc. You will need to drop the legs through the yokes to get the trail right, how much will depend on the shock length you use. The GP yokes have to much offset & the legs are short (less of a problem on a narrowcase), wouldn't be my first choice.

Best Wishes Nigel

Thanks Nigel,
I received some parts from you for this bike not too long ago.

So, you would prefer the Marzocchi forks over the Cerriani GP's?

Thanks for the lead on Maxton, I contacted them and we'll see what they have to offer (though my budget may not be in line with building such a top kitted bike)

[ericpritchard]

wm2 front and wm3 rear work just fine. I've been using the stock forks (revalved) for many years with no problems. I fit a longer swing arm pivot and weld two outrigger plates to the frame - this makes a big difference to the handling. I also use a tls front brake from a 350 Honda which works very well. I hesitate (in this forum of experts) to offer advice, but I have some info on my web page: http://www.rocler.qc.ca/ariane/DUCATI.htm
Good luck with your project
Eric Pritahcrd

[flynbulldog]

Eric I appreciate your advice. This forum may well be full of experts but it seems very few are willing to step forward and offer any help.
So any advice is gratefully accepted.

BTW; I got word back from Maxton in the UK. They are no longer willing to do business in the US or Canada because of the threat of our litigious society.
I'm not sure if there is a specific reason for that or if they have been fed this fear. Either way it's too bad.

[ericpritchard]

Many thanks.
Yep, this litigation thing, or whatever else it could be, is killing us. Gibson exhausts have refused to do business with North America as well. I also hear that the Pathers Owners Club Spares Scheme won't have anything to do with North America either.
I had to have an exhaust system delivered to my brother in law in France!
All the Best
Eric

[Eldert]

Maxton is not the only one offering a cartridge conversion . there is also Chris Cosentino

http://cosentinoengineering.com/index_files/Page450.htm

Eldert

[LaceyDucati]

I wouldn't get to hung up about expensive fork mods, especially if your budget is limited. You can get a long way using standard forks with just simple experimentation. You can use the std Narrowcase forks if they are in good shape, many good racers do very well on what might be "perceived" as very basic set ups.
I would concentrate on engine components, especially ones influencing reliability when it comes to spending money at an early stage. If you start with a basic spec bike and see how you go, it will soon become obvious when you start racing what you need to do to suit your needs. When I started with a 250, a W/C I used all Ducati original road parts in the engine & it was plenty quick enough at the time. It was ported, G/W cam, piston re machined, matching stub ,32mm carb home made race exhaust. Other than that it was in good mechanical condition, carefully built / blue printed, so you don't need to spend a fortune to get going.

It's good that people like Eric are kind enough to share information. Forums can appear to be like a lot of "experts", I hope I don't add to this! I only post to try and help based on my experiences. There's always different opinions & you are best to just take a consensus. One thing to remember in racing is, if you always follow others, that's probably what you will do on the track

Best Wishes Nigel

[flynbulldog]

Nigel, good advice.

It's hard not to think the bike needs a lot of help when you're used to riding a bike with ohlins front and rear, light weight wheels with huge grip performance tires and 160 hp.

But let's be honest here, I have no plans to race up front. I'm 50 years old and I've never raced before. I have some friends who also race, my reason for doing this is to build cool bike and have some fun with my buddies.

There's no doubt that I will be in the back of the pack on the track, that's where I want to be, chillin and enjoying the day. I'll let the gladiators fight it out up front.

In the end it's all about fun and friendship and nothing else for me. I have no ego to feed. So, yeah I'll be a follower

But I would like to build a neat bike and I do tend to have some ideas of my own as you can probably already tell.

I just want to be clear that your advice and everyone else's, expert or not, is appreciated.

[LaceyDucati]

Sound like a good plan to me, there's room for everyone in racing. Only one person wins & without all the "also runs" there's no race!

Reality is, most riders cannot use the potential of modern bikes regardless of all the bravado and chat! I'm always amazed how well classics perform against modern bikes on track days or open club races. Nothing better than upsetting guys on modern bikes with all the kit whilst riding an apparently spindly old nail
I'm sure there's plenty of good advice to be had on here. If I can be of any help drop me a email.

Nigel