Ducati Monster Forum

Well, I had my very first trackday on Friday. Got to go backwards on streets of Willow. I have to say I had a blast. It really got good after I got past the fear of dropping my baby. I really got a great feel of the bike and how it handles. I also had a Ohlins guy setup my suspension, and I have to say it made all the difference in the world. saw the Doug Pollen guys out there. Felt good to really open the bike up.

One thing, how many of you have a "track bike" I think that if you make a habit of this track thing, it might be the way to go?

A couple pics:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j9_bS1NavEU/TWF7qna7TSI/AAAAAAAADj8/BprDXw_Fwd4/s800/Feb-18-Motoyard%20Group%20C%201245pm%20CLI_2825.JPG)


(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_j9_bS1NavEU/TWHSbbWai8I/AAAAAAAADkk/obE_nCZrm0k/s800/Feb-18-Motoyard%20Group%20C%201145am%20CLI_1793.JPG)


(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_j9_bS1NavEU/TWHSbLyBEFI/AAAAAAAADkg/VaUhGb6cI1Y/s800/Feb-18-Motoyard%20z_Pits-Etc%20IMG_9910.JPG)


(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_j9_bS1NavEU/TWF7qUDtunI/AAAAAAAADj4/wSKxHnt8rxY/s800/Feb-18-Motoyard%20z_Pits-Etc%20IMG_9911.JPG)

Nice pics! glad you had fun!

I did 3TDs last year with my Monster S2R1000.

The monster sucks as a trackbike. You really reach the lean limits of the bike real soon. In the end its about waht you want out of it.

You can ride the snot out of the monster on the track and if you have fun thats all that matters, but you will never really progress without really modifying the bike, or getting a more sport oriented bike. But again it just depends on what you want out of the experience.

I had a blast, but i will not bring my monster to the track ever again bcause you will crash eventually as you learn to push the limits more and more (mistakes, bravery whatever you want to call it), and it will suck if your mosnter is your street bike.

Track days are fun! love using my monster on track,that's the best way to get use to your ride and apply everything you need to learn for the streets safely.Nice pics and nice new suit  [thumbsup]

Cool pics. Motoyard also offers classes there. I think there's a section in the racing and trackdays where you can post future stuff and see others experiences with it the whole track thing.

My track bike (if it ever gets dine) is my first Duck...1999 900 monster. I seriously can't wait to flog the snot out of her!!!!!

Monsters ( S4Rs) ARE easy to crash.....

Don't ask me how I know that !

Dolph      :-[

Track bikes are good things. Much more freedom to ride the way you want.

Also, there's a sweet 900ss in the f/s section ;D

Howdy folks,

Would you please expand on the reasons Monsters are not good track bikes.

...and why not S4Rs?  I'm wondering because I have an S4R, and I assumed it was considered a good choice for the track. It is pretty fast-

Is it frame geometry and riding position?  And why are S4Rs considered easy to crash?

...just wondering...

Thanks-

Eric M.

well....the Monster's in general don't have the greatest ground clearance...when you start going faster, that will reveal itself moreso when you start scraping hard parts...

BTW...looks like you had fun...maybe next time you might want to think about getting some instruction so you can get that body position better since it looks like your butt is glued to the seat....

Too true, I suck. Being my first day, I just took my time and started to get more comfortable as the day went on. I really dont have plans to do much more tracking on the Monster. Its my Ortega cruiser. I just wanted to get a better feel for it when I open her up.


 I think now I am ready to take the next leap and get more of a sportbike/trackbike, and lessons. I did take out my buddies 600, and felt a lot faster on that. Ill look for a older jap bike, you can pick those up for a song.

Thanks for all the comments, I really did have a great time, and the S4RS was a hit!

Its fast in a straight line and can definately be hustled through twisties, but yes riding position and geometry are reasons.  The monster line tends to start dragging parts earlier than a superbike would.  The wide bars, tank, and upright position make it more difficult to get your body in good position.... its just more work.  They just aren't designed to set the track on fire.  I'm not saying you can't keep up with a lot of people on a monster, because you can, its just more difficult and at some point you will want more.

what he ^ said.  a monster is a 'city' bike, not a track bike.

+2

It's great when you're the occasional track guy. I does also help you to find the limits of what you ride on the day to day. But simply getting your weight forwards it's 10 times harder than a regular sportbike. Hence the limitted feedback and grip of the front tire. I bought and rode my buddy's 900 SS and immediately noticed the difference, even with the suspension not even close to what I should be using.

Definitely not a track bike,but still fun though  [thumbsup]

congrats on the first day.

It'll turn into the second, and the third....


I have a lot of fun with my rs at the track too... but I've had just as much fun on other bikes and after sliding it into the gravel trap I do wish I had bought a track bike juuuust a little bit sooner.   ;D

(http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd110/grumpylawyer/VIRducatijuly09002.jpg)

^^^^^^thats great positioning on that S4RS. Did you do alot of damage to your bike when you dropped it?

Good plan.  That said, you might want to up your budget a bit and look for a former race bike that is already set up for the track and something a little more recent.  Don't get, or don't pay anything more for, a bike that has a built engine or engine work or that runs on race gas (unless you want to budget extra $ to get it remapped for regular gas).  That's pointless for a track bike.  However, get something that comes with suspension work and a steering damper.  Oh, and budget extra for suspension work.  That said, don't discount the stock suspension on modern supersport bikes.  It's pretty damn good out of the box.   

Here's the thing.  It's easy to pay $3k or less for an older 600, and have it be a fine track bike.  But then you eventually start doing maintenance and adding suspension bits and rework the suspension and get a tune-up and etc, etc. and it can add up for $5 or 6k pretty quickly.  That same $5-6K will get you a fully set up race bike that is pretty new.  If you can find one sprung for your weight and that comes with spare parts, you're GOLDEN.   [thumbsup]   

 [thumbsup] [thumbsup]

...except for the part about stock suspension being pretty good out of the box.  nonsense!  =)

So...

just like a Duc? ;D

sent you a PM.

Ive been knocking around getting an older 749, or maybe a 999R.

Or maybe something like this:

its on Craigslist, the guy wants 6 grand
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/mcy/2235949160.html (http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/mcy/2235949160.html)

I have sitting in my garage a perfect specimen of Ducati's most famous superbike. I own a monster and bought this looking for a little step up and honestly, the ride is just not what I am into. This bike has had one owner since new (not including the 200 miles I put on it) and is absolutely flawless in performance and aesthetics. 16,xxx on the odo, billet levers, billet clutch plate, springs, retainers and cover, Ducati Performance steering damper, Ducati Performance front and rear stands. All records from Pro Italia. This is a perfect 996 Biposto. Thanks for looking - if you email me with a phone number I will call you back and I will not respond to emails with ridiculous offers of half the selling price
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5254/5439404519_a21d4069a2_b.jpg)

heavy


REALLY heavy


bigger fans may give you different advice but, IMO, unless you're rich and patient, it makes no sense to have a duc for a track bike.  ..unless someone is paying you to ride it, of course.

got a thing for twins?  get an sv.

What about an RC-51. Yeah, I have a thing for twins :)

Ducs make sense as trackbikes if your goal is to ride a Duc at a track.  And that desire shouldn't be discounted.  You'll pay for it up front and then again in maintenance and parts, but that's part of the deal.   But if you don't have that specific desire, get something more conventional.

An RC-51 weighs as much as a 999R that ate a 749 and an SV.  If you like twins, get one of the new Duc superbikes ($$$$) or a race-prepped SV (my next trackbike).

I have a Duc as a trackbike. It's a 2002 748s ex race bike. I paid $4K for it a couple years ago, and it was fully set up, including a slipper clutch.  It isn't too expensive to run, and I've even lowsided it once. No real damage other than needing a new clutch cover and I had to do some fiberglass work on the fairings. It isn't the fastest bike out there, but it is plenty fast enough...and I'm not the fastest anyway. I've never really noticed the lack of power except when exiting corners and trying to chase friends on 1098s or other liter bikes.

It even handles well after I got some OZ wheels for it (cost 1/2 as much as the bike  :P). It was a truck before that. This winter it got the valves checked (private mechanic), a Brembo radial master, and new suspension internals...about $1600 total. Not any more expensive than any other model for the same work...and the sound is sweet.  ;D It weighs 400# with about 1/2 tank of gas.

The weird thing is it runs better than any Ducati I've ever owned. Of all the ones I've owned, it's the only one that doesn't pregnant dog at me every time I try to start it...just fires right up.  [thumbsup]


(http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n258/JJGeo/IMG_1431.jpg)

how much you want for it?   ;D

oh... and DIBS.

Guy, don't discount a sweet 900ss.

Easy to work on, cheap to maintain...

Its made by Ducati, did i mention that?

;D

Now thats what I call thread jacking :)

How much?......

To all the naysayers...

I like my 996.

I don't like it's penchant for tires and rocker arms. ;D

you haven't gotten them all switched over to Megacycle ones yet?

I'm not a believer.

you mean....even though you read it on the interwebs, it doesn't ring as being true to you?...LOL

strat10...back on subject for a moment...

though I would love to have this bike right now myself-this is an incredibly smart and purposeful track machine worthy of considering

http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=45776.0 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=45776.0)

but if you must have a SBK- there is also this one offered by a member here as well

http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=46369.0 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=46369.0)

I am also going to have access to going over a 996 SPS in a week or 2 for a widow of a friend for to look over and check over and take pictures of  for to make ready for sale...

dude get a middle weight thats like 5-6 years old.  like a 1st or 2nd gen R6, gsx-r, or cbr.  they are soooo bulletproof for the track and can be had for about 2-3g allready nicely set up.  parts are easy to find as are spares and they have plenty of power for a 1st trackbike.  also anything that takes 180+ rears make it easy to find tire deals and eiser to find takeoff's from racers.  SV's, Ducati's, rc-51's may sound nice but alot more goes into racing one than a stock 6 year old big 4.  if you're spending money on trackdays only and not looking for a racebike to fit in a class its easy to find a bike.  I teach at both a race school and track school and people ask all the time what they should look for in a track bike and i always say 1st or 2nd gen R6.  I got 30,000 miles out of mine, 1/2 of them track miles, and its still at every trackday that i work passing newer 600's. If you're racing its a different story, then build a bike for the class you want to race, win the class on that bike, sell it, start process over[bacon]

I still need to crash it a few more times!  ;D

Awesome advice from everyone here. I think I am back to buying a 600 or 750 japanese bike. I just think it will suit my pocket book better. I'm not what you would call mechanically saavy.

look for an 04/05 SV650 then!...maybe an 03 SV1000

Personally, I wouldn't pay any extra for a 750, and would prefer a 600.  But if one comes along at the right price, go for it.  Oh, and no matter how good the price, don't get a literbike as a first trackbike.  They're a lot harder to learn on.

You're in LA?  Watch the WERA board and BARF for good deals.

and WSMC, RRW, AFM

I agree.  the performance difference is little esp for a trackday/non race sted. wera has crazy deals.  right now there are 2 ss ducs that are insanely nice bikes also there are plenty of 600's on there for cheep[bacon]

Checking out WERA

wera bikes; that 900ss with the bst's for 6500 is f'n sick as is the 100hp sv for 10g on there. [bacon]

While stock SVs are practically bullet-proof, high HP SVs are notorious for breaking cranks.

bullet-proof and race bike are words that should never be in the same sentence. I've seen plenty of stock sv's pop too[bacon]