Ducati Monster Forum

After months of planning, it's finally happening this coming weekend.  13 / 14 November will see my racing debut at Eastern Creek.  I'll be racing in the BEARS F5 category - effectively the lowest class.

The Monster has come together very well. Race paint was done locally, engine covers made by Brian Rosser in SA, Performance Tech levers, Metaltech folding rearsets and QuatD Ex Box supplied by Carbon Imports Australia.

Now the goal is to get out there, have fun, and hopefully, don't come last!

I took a few photos today...

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/PreRacing/DSC_3364.jpg)

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/PreRacing/DSC_3366.jpg)

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/PreRacing/DSC_3367.jpg)

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/PreRacing/DSC_3371.jpg)

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/PreRacing/DSC_3375.jpg)

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/PreRacing/DSC_3378.jpg)

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/PreRacing/DSC_3379.jpg)

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/PreRacing/DSC_3382.jpg)

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/PreRacing/DSC_3384.jpg)


If you're near Eastern Creek on the weekend, feel free to come out for a laugh! :o :D

Very nice Spotcom.  Good luck with the racing.  [thumbsup]

Yeah good luck ... bike looks good.

I have never had reason to notice/look before but the rear shock on the 'new' Monster is very left wing.

Looks great!!

I'm just curious, what make/cc bikes are you competing with?

If there are 600cc 4's in the mix do you stand a chance against them?

the fun element is directly driven by the throttle position in the corner ......NOT the position in the race .......good luck and the bike looks great ......we will see you out there im sure one day

I wish it was me [thumbsup]

Why not clip ons?
Did you work on the suspension?

Thanks guys!  Yeah, I'm a little excited and hope I actually get some sleep on Friday night.


Thankfully the F5 grade in BEARS rules out the 600 fours. Firstly being a BEARS grade, there are only British, European and American bikes (no Jappers). Secondly, the F5 grade is for air-cooled naked bikes below a certain engine size - is it 900cc? Finally, you can't run slicks in that grade. 

That's why I picked the 696 - it's got the high-lift valves, lightweight, and sweet to ride with the stock slipper clutch.

So hopefully, there'll be a few other baby monsters in the class as well. Not having raced before, I'm not really sure who/what turns up to these things.

Awesome, in this case you might do damn well!

Like stopintime asked, any changes to the suspension. The 696 is not an easy base to start with for suspension modifications.

Forks look stock, and the lack of proper rebuild kits for the 696 forks leads me believe they are.

Rear shock stock as well?

*Edit

Just curious, how did you attach the rear seat at the back? Used the stock locking mechanism? where have you hidden the key lock?

Just curious, how "good" do you have to be to race, it would definetly be something id be keen on doing in the future........

The only changes to the suspension have been minor tweaks at the rear. Slightly more in the way of compression and a tweak to rebound.  Also, the front forks have been dropped through about 1cm.

Like you say, there's not a lot of adjustment available.

The plan at this stage is to get out there and ride my clacker off.  Once I'm used to the bike and am feeling that the bike's holding me back (instead of the other way around), I'll spend some money on the bouncy bits.

I haven't had a lot of track time on this bike yet - probably all up about six sessions over three track days due to weather and mechanicals.  Sure, it's not as fast as the 848, but it seems to go around corners okay.

Oh, and I may end up going with clip-ons at some stage. I had originally flipped these bars upside down, but I think that this config will work better. As Dockstrada said - probably best to ride these things like a dirt bike!

Do you have a motorcycle license?   [thumbsup]

First step is to get a Motorcycling Australia license.  That consists of a practical test and a theory test. Re the practical - if you have a motorcycle license, you're deemed to have passed the practical test. Re the theory - they give you all the answers in their documentation.

It would help if you've done a track day or two.  If you have (so I'm told), you'll be good enough!

Apart from that - there are a helluva lot of people like you & me who've been thinking, "Gee, I'd love to give it a go one day."  Sometimes all you need is a little nudge.  That's what I needed! :D

The rearsets just attach on to the standard mounting points - all pretty easy really.  The only thing I had to do was make a slight modifcation to the rear brake reservoir mounting - it needed to be lifted a tad.

The key lock?  I removed it, along with anything else that didn't look like it needed to be there.  8)   The cable to the rear lock is still in place - just tug on the end of it and the seat pops up.  [thumbsup]

I think you confused "rear seat" with "rear set"  ;D

Still answered the question though, thanks!!

I think it might be something i should do sooner rather then later before all my man courage wears thin........ For instance at Eastern Creek, on my S4R, i go down the straight flat out but going in to turn one, ive backed off 3/4 of the way down the grandstand (man courage wearing thin) and coasting in at about 150-160km....... Most fellas out on a race meet i would have thought would be going flat out through there....... Its only an example but sums up my point in my head to whether i could or couldnt do it.......

This is something that I have always wanted to do but funding and time was always an issue.

Now that the kids are pretty well taken care of and now I have some coin in the bank maybe I should start looking at the options. [moto] [thumbsup] [moto]

I know one thing is once you get a taste you can't go back.

I was thinking of going bucket racing as it is quite affordable. [thumbsup]

This is something that interests me too. Check out this link for the info... http://www.ozbearsracing.com/2010/10_BEARS_CHALLENGE.pdf (http://www.ozbearsracing.com/2010/10_BEARS_CHALLENGE.pdf)

Spotcom, Have fun mate, sounds like it will be a real blast! Your doing something most of us would have dreamed of at some stage... I am jealous.

P.S. Dont look at your speedo.. I find it slows you down and breaks your concentration  [thumbsup].
In the new year we should hook up for a track day, I will be looking at squeezing in some weekday meetings. I recall weekdays suit you  ???. I am booked for Mon 22nd Nov but I think that is waiting list only now.

I get the feeling another OZMo Track day is brewing.... woohoo!

Hey tricolore I would definitely be 100% keen for that!

The BEARS idea is what originally got me thinking about racing. The only problem with BEARS as I see it is that for a club that is largely based in NSW, they do very little racing in this state!  5 rounds in 2010, 2 in Victoria, 1 in SA, 1 in Qld, and 1 in NSW.

I'm thinking that the Formula Extreme racing may well be the go next year. http://www.formula-xtreme.com.au/xtremema.nsf/1-FrontNewsPage (http://www.formula-xtreme.com.au/xtremema.nsf/1-FrontNewsPage)

Just got my race pack in the mail today.  Here's what I'm up against (some of the abbreviations are a little ambiguous):

• DUCMON ???
• SMR450
• HUS510
• KTM690
• DUC696 (moi)
• DUC900
• KTM654

They're all in F5. Seems like there'll be some motard action!

In the same race will be the F3 grade, consisting of:

• TRI900
• DUC748
• TRI600
• MOKO360 ???
• BIM780
• TRI595
• DUCSS
• BEU1200

I'll have my work cut out for me!  [moto]

Spotcom if you look at the point score from the previous rounds the second position is a Monster 600.

All you have to worry about is how far you can push yourself and race craft.

Good luck on the first go.

Rob

Ps. I wonder who goes by the name of "DUCMON"?

I don't think they're stealing your user name ... I think it's the bike.  The rider is a "Linden Roth".  ;)

Looking at your direct competitors, you have a good chance at 1st if you can "ride your ass off."

Best of luck!

That is an awesome looking bike Spotcom - great work! So jealous!  Hope you have fun and stay upright.  Best of luck racing.  ;D [thumbsup] [moto]

I think it's actually a 600 with a 800 engine in it. This is from Bears TV. 09 Broadford Race 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9manRvphGkg#normal)

I  will keep you posted!

So......

How did you go??

Lots of fun, lots of nerves, wanting to go pee when on the grid for the first time, shit yourself in the first corner, telling your self that these bastards are all crazy then you got in a groove and thought you were in heaven.

C'mon, tell us!!





                                      Mmick

G'day

I had a ball!

5 races, 5 places, including 1 2nd and 4 3rds.  I ended up with a barrow-load of trophies at the end of the 2nd day: 3rd in BEARS F5, 3rd in DOCNSW F3, Best Novice Rider and 1st in the St George Handicap race.

I ran the first practice session and still felt the bike was a little spongy in the rear, so came back in and put some more preload on. This improved things, and I qualified in 11th out of a total of 15 riders (there were 8 in F3 and 7 in F5).

The first race then came around almost before I was ready. Then came the start - something I struggled with all day. Essentially the 696 clutch engages almost at the end of the lever throw, compared with other bikes I have that engage much earlier.

So, in the first race, like many of the others, I found myself having to scrap my way up through the field, which was fun in itself.  I finished in 8th overall in the first race, which meant that my grid position for the 2nd race improved to 8th as well.

Michael from Carbon Imports popped over the next day with a much needed part - I'd lost a bar end at some point on day 1.  We joked about the bar end being very aerodynamic or being filled with nitro or something, because the first race with it on was my best - I managed 6th overall, and 2nd in F5.

All up it was a dream start to a racing career. Sure, I won't be quitting the day job, but the weekends may be a little busier now!

I enjoyed the experience so much that today I've entered my second race meet: I'm going to Phillip Island on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of December to race in the support races for the 6 Hour that's being held there.  That will be a much tougher event because BEARS will have about 48 bikes on the grid, all the way from the storming 1198s to Triumph 675s, Buells, BMWs, etc.  I'd best get used to being lapped!

Thanks needs to go to Aunty Mal for all his advice and encouragement. Also to "Loopy" Darren Lewis from Frasers Newcastle, who shared his pit and his espresso machine with me.  Michael from Carbon Imports Australia has also been very generous with his time, advice and goodies (including those bar ends - please, do yourself a favour and get some if you want to go quicker!  [laugh]). 

Thanks should also go to St George for putting on the event, and to the officials who donated their time to get this up and going.

I'm still tracking down where the official photos are - there were photographers out there, but I don't know who to contact just yet.  Will post photos when I get them!

Bring on Phillip Island!  [thumbsup]

Well done, glad to hear all went well [clap]

can't wait for the Phillip Island report

awesome work spotcom!  [thumbsup] [moto]

thanks for the update!  :)

Well done mate, Man I am so jealous!

That is absouletly AWSOME! You must have serious untapped talent to finish with those results on your FIRST race meet! Well done.

Like Tricolore, i am very very jealous too!

Well done, and keep getting those places on the podium!

I found a photo or two.

These are from the pits (I shared with Darren Lewis - he raced an 1198 and also has an 848 set up with wet tyres).

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/1st%20Race%20EC%2013%2014%20Dec%202010/P1010952.jpg)

More of Darren's bikes.

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/1st%20Race%20EC%2013%2014%20Dec%202010/P1010955.jpg)

My baby.

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/1st%20Race%20EC%2013%2014%20Dec%202010/P1010953.jpg)

... and In Action!

(http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll133/spotcom/Ducati%20Monster%20696/1st%20Race%20EC%2013%2014%20Dec%202010/55504_177785485568286_100000105075640_677621_5985963_o.jpg)
The last photo here was taken by Ray Oxford.  [clap]

Great photos! Thats a great action shot to put on your wall for your first race!

+1.  Great photos and great results [clap]

Well done.

Noice, very very Noice  [bow_down]








                                   Mmick