Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > Desmo Due racing 2005

[Desmondo]

Ah man, you guys are getting too complex for me already
Get a shitty old monster, chuck on some Rennsports/Supercorsa's, race it. I can't be bothered with spare wheels, wets, mod this, mod that.

[ali]

Originally posted by tp-996
What are the thoughts on injected versus carbed models?

£4k vs £1k!

Just received Level 1 Clearance from the missus.

Budget for the bike/entry going to be about £2k, so it'll be a bog standard 600SS with Diablo Corsas and a bit of a diet (much like myself!).

Any chance we could make it a combined rider/bike weight limit?? Not convinced I can loose 50kg without surgery.....

Ali

[dickieducati]

Originally posted by Monty
I have had a long chat with Chris this morning about the provisional rules, reading what a lot of you have said, and since the basic idea is to avoid 'cheque book' racing ( and Ray's scenario) there may be some changes made.
This is for discussion so please don't all jump down my throat.

Wheels-we may alter to be 'standard Ducati wheels applicable to the model'-that'll fix the carbon/marchesini brigade.....
I have even suggested that we set the rules to be for 600 carbed engines only rather than allowing the 620ie versions. The 620ie's weren't released until late 2003 so will be much more expensive to buy, they also make about 10bhp more than a 600 and rev 1500 rpm higher-I have seen them down at about £3000 but no lower, whereas you can pick up a 600 monster/SS from about £1500.
We have also discussed using a 'control' tyre to keep cost's down.
At the end of the day it will be YOUR race series so the rules will be what the majority want.

What do you all think?

John

buy 25 of whatever model is decided, competitors pay whatever is cost for the equpment for the year and when you turn up at the race meeting you are allocated one of the bikes then off you go.

[ali]

I think the idea of keeping it to 600 carby models is pretty much a must, otherwise it's likely to shift into two classes

Those with the money to buy a 620 are also going to have the money for bolt on goodies, wets. etc, etc, etc.

[antonye]

Originally posted by dickieducati
buy 25 of whatever model is decided, competitors pay whatever is cost for the equpment for the year and when you turn up at the race meeting you are allocated one of the bikes then off you go.

Bikes are drawn at random for each race - keys in the middle style.

All bikes are prepped and maintained by one team of mechanics.

The only problem is where to buy 25 identical machines!

I've already found myself a 600SS for £650....

[JasonBoswell]

Here, here, John. All the talk of wets, 620's and so on was starting to put me off the whole idea. I have a very limted budget, and frankly theres little point if at the end of the day the rider with the biggest wallet/smallest family is going to take the laurels every time.... i think most of the people who enter would like to think that they stood at least some chance of scoring a point or two.

i would support all efforts to rule that the bikes on the grid are as simialr as possible - but of course if some spanner-head has the wherewithall to spend long winter evenings tinkering ad tuning then good luck to 'em...

[Monty]

"but of course if some spanner-head has the wherewithall to spend long winter evenings tinkering ad tuning then good luck to 'em"-errr that'll be me then.
Mind you I already have a little lady that demands much attention and only the finest things in life-like Avgas-at £1.20 a litre and castrol A747-at £17.00 a litre, and that's before we get onto new pistons and rings at 300 miles etc etc. If I go monster racing it will be lucky to get a wipe over with an oily rag and few litres of unleaded.............

John

[Albie]

Originally posted by tp-996
I'm going to get a Monster because it would be good for Ange as well - she has renewed motivation to get her license now.

What are the thoughts on injected versus carbed models?

The injected really is so much smoother. My 900 carb is very lurchy and after riding CK 1000ie it was a different bike

[lizzie]

I disagree with you 100% on that Weeksy - the club is a Ducati club not a Monster club (otherwise we might as well suggest the UKMOC do this) and the idea is that that bikes of a similar engine size compete so all models with that engine should be allowed (Multistrada 620 anyone?).

Also Monty, the 620 engine was introduced for the 2002 model year, so available late 2001. I think you are overestimating the cost - I know of a mate who bought a 620 Monster (not the S version) last year on an 02 plate which cost £2,500 (and that was without haggling and with six month's warranty left) and it was perfect, so if you shop around a year later, should be easy enough to find one for that sort of price. Maybe keep an eye on the UKMOC for sale section...

[AndyVR6]

Very interesting plans!

Which club(s) are being approached to guest the series?

A pal of mine is co-founder of the Bemsee Minitwins series, and I remember the many iterations their rules went through to get something workable. Policing low-cost regulations is tricky - minitwins for example have a bhp limit which was widely critisised at first, but I think they've stuck to it and actually dyno-test the podium-finishers.

Compression ratio - yup, I guess you can check that easily enough.

Standard engine internals - whilst well-meaning, this is impractical to check.

Non-standard wheels - this potentially bumps the cost up by allowing mags; why not restrict to standard? Brakes too, although perhaps a little less to be gained in swapping those

Road-legal tyres + wets = can get by with 2 sets of wheels. IMO this is preferable to moulded-only (=1 set of wheels, as in the Yam past masters class) which is really difficult in the wet.

Addition but not removal of frame material - not sure of the logic here, as you'd have difficulty making any weight saving without compromising integrity here, on the other hand getting rid of a few lugs can be useful when fitting alternative bodywork.

Non-standard induction - whilst this may allow older tackle to be made competitive, surely it opens the door for expensive extra power on later models. This is one thing that _can_ be checked easily, unlike engine internals.

I know it sounds depressingly legalistic, and keeping within the spirit (as well as the letter) of the regs _should_ be the important thing here ... but it's important to have something clear and workable to avoid arguments later on.

One useful thing to consider is granting special dispensation to run a particular machine eg. if the regs said standard induction but someone wanted to run a non-standard older model, that could maybe be allowed on a case-by-case basis if deemed within the spirit of the regs and not unfairly advantaged.

cheers
Andy