Lightweight flywheel question

[Two dogs]

I have been reading about machined/lightened flywheels
producing performance increase through reducing rotational mass.

I would like to squeeze every bit out of my little 695 14T helped but I want more
After doing a track day at Oran park I was really impressed with how well the little bugger kept up with the 1 lt  bikes
and up until then was looking at upsizing
but maybe I can boost her some more to save the $$ loss of swapping bikes.

Q: Who has had it done and has it increased performance and in what way?
Q: How much has it cost you what is involved to do it and where did you get done?
Q: What are the down sides , can it damage your bike and or void manufactures warranty
or is it a waste of time on an entry level Monster.
thanks
Dez

[bigiain]

Brad Black has...

http://www.bikeboy.org/flywheelducati.html

big

[brad black]

that's a really old report.  sometimes i read the old stuff and just think it'd be easier to delete it than rewrite it.  especially now i have to pay for the posting / updating.

[dragonworld.]

Its still a timely bit of info on the "Ducati Performance " ally flywheel. 

Obviously not worth the Lire you pay for it! 

Its a good example of how these Forums can assist and help save us some Pesos on stuff that just aint up to scratch. 

[monsta]

I've heard of other ally flywheels flogging the spline out beside the DP one's...
flogging out the splines probably wouldn't be a problem on the 695 because its down on power, but it'd probably be cheaper to get a steel one machined anyway.

[loony888]

one notable downside to lightening a flywheel would be the extra weight masks the imbalance that can be present in a mass produced engine. if you like silky smooth engines a you may regret fitting a light flywheel due to the extra vibes you have to live with. that's what happened on my 888 and i had no alternative other than to tear it down and completely rebuild it including dynamically balancing the rotating mass, this included lighter rods and pistons and subsequently lightening the crank to match. it spins up very quickly now!!!


paul.
 

[brad black]

i find the late model bikes tend to feel smoother with the std flywheel machined down.  don't know why as they shouldn't really, but owners have commented on it too.

[dragonworld.]

one notable downside to lightening a flywheel would be the extra weight masks the imbalance that can be present in a mass produced engine. if you like silky smooth engines a you may regret fitting a light flywheel due to the extra vibes you have to live with. that's what happened on my 888 and i had no alternative other than to tear it down and completely rebuild it including dynamically balancing the rotating mass, this included lighter rods and pistons and subsequently lightening the crank to match. it spins up very quickly now!!!


paul.
 

Hoon!!   

[sydmonster]

Dez,
 On a slight off topic. Secret to track times, is proper training & tyres! I think you could gain more from your bike by doing the basics. IE exhaust, filter & ECU Tuning. Quality sports tyres & proper suspention set up/tuning by a pro.
Chris

[dragonworld.]

Dez,
 On a slight off topic. Secret to track times, is proper training & tyres! I think you could gain more from your bike by doing the basics. IE exhaust, filter & ECU Tuning. Quality sports tyres & proper suspention set up/tuning by a pro.
Chris

Zackly !! [moto]

Any Wally can twist the throttle but the cornering and stopping thereof and learning the suspension and how to get the best out of it and yourself is what will give you the "good" times on the track!! 

Just ask people who have been on the track either racing or track days, how many times they have experienced someone on an apparently "old and outdated" bike, wipe the arses of the clever dick's on the latest and greatest.   

[Two dogs]

Yea thanks for the input guys
funny as I have just been looking into that , getting a quote on suspension upgrade at the moment on both ends,
lots of $$ but cant think of anything better than spending the Kev cash on.

Sounds like the fly wheel stuff is a can of worms , its good to be kept grounded by the OZ section of  DMF the Nth Hemi section can get a little weird.

The track day was a the Advanced rider course 1 with Stay upright planning on doing #2 in May good day out .90% I already had a good grip on but I did learn some good stuff and found my weak areas to work on .

 How good is it to give it some  200 kph with out the worry of Mr plod,  oncoming P plate driving girls on there mobile  Pajero mums and power poles
loved it cant wait to get that back wheel sliding again eeuwwww!

[Dannog]

My S4RS has a Duc Perf. alloy flywheel.

I purchased it 2nd hand and had it for 2 months now - haven't had the opportunity to take it to the track yet.

I will tell you however that commuting is a real pain in the ass. It 'clunky' at low speeds and the throttle is really difficult to keep smooth. I've attributed this to the lack of momentum in the lightened flywheel.

When I do give it a handfull the bike just explodes and its fantastic 

If you do a lot of everyday riding I'd say let this mod go.

[desmoquattro]

I've got a machined stock flywheel on my 900SS and I love it. The corner entry is pure butter...just ask BigIan and Zee. They've both ridden it with the new flywheel and love it.

I'd recommend against an aftermarket flywheel. As others mentioned, some of them have a tendency to fail. So says my local independent Ducati shop, who serve the racing community and see a lot of them.

UPSIDES
The aforementioned butter-like corner entry
Slightly faster engine spool-up and smooth throttle response.
Massive wheelies in first gear

DOWNSIDES
The motor has to be really warm to hold idle well. It takes some getting used to.
Massive wheelies in first gear
You gotta tear down a lot of your motor to do it.

On net, I'm glad I did it. I had to replace all four valves anyway (long, sordid story) so an extra $150 USD for the machining wasn't too bad.