Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 998 / 996 / 916 / 748 > whats the lightest a 748 can get then?

[wilf]

Having gone as far as i can with getting power from my 748/853 i am now planning to get as much weight off it as possible for the start of the season.

done just about all i can think of, at the end of last season it weighed in at 182 kgs with fuel, transponder, lap timer etc etc (ie as it would be at the start of a race.)

with a few more mods i think it'll come down to just under 180 kgs (thats the number i'm aiming for!)

As you DSC guys tend to get carried away with these things has anyone got a lighter 748 / 996???

There's an AMA 996 RS factory in the showroom that is 170 kgs but its just not worth the thousands getting the last 10 kgs (carbon tank, mag yokes, no starter motor / tiny battery, tiny generator etc)

So, any tricks that dont cost the earth to getting rid of the weight sure i've missed something ???

oh and yes, i've been on a diet since xmas

[chris.p]

Do you have an ali subframe???



Chris.

[electricsheep]

what have you done already?

i would say lighter wheels, but i would think that you have done that

[Harv748]

I think you've summed it up yourself Wilf...these things tend to be the law of deminishing returns ...geting the first few pounds off is easy, but shifting those final few will cost you lots!

How much cash you got...titanium frame, bolts all around, mag cyclinder head/side covers, carbon panels, the list can go on but i'm sure you know that!

From what you see on the super dooper race bikes is that it is attention to detail...anything that can be minimalised/reduced in weight is done so without question. You can also compare this to road cyclists some of whom can become absolutely fixated with the weight of their bike and each and every component on it...weighing EVERY bolt/cable/screw/tape that is used in its construction....and then they finish mid pack in a race!

Also, although perhaps not that relevant to your circumstances with racing(?), but check out the weight of the tyres you use. Shazzam posted an excellent thread some time ago about how the Dunlop 207rr's where significantly heavier than the Pirelli equivalent (Diablos I think?)...and when you worked out the reduction in rotational mass, it was the equivalent of switching from stanadrd road wheels to Mags!!!

Not sure if the same theory can be applied to your race tyres?

If I'm honest I think the best way is to lose pounds from the rider! Take the money you would burn on bits for the bike, and join a gym/fitness class and aim to lose the extra 10Kg from you instead of the bike. Not only will you feel better for it, the bike will be faster and handle better, and you will last the race better also with your imporved fitness levels.

Everyones a winner!

[Edited on 8-3-2006 by Harv748]

[Felix]

Which showroom is that AMA bike in?

[phil_h]

Helium in the tyres


Interestingly, my road-going sps raised an eyebrow at the mot, as they thought it was the lightest 916-type they'd had in - I know the brake test scales arnt the best in the world, but they thought it was going on for 185kg.
Maybe it was the helium
I want to know what it really weighs now !

On a serious note - my velocette 350 racer had the centres drilled and dished from absolutely every bolt, and every metal bracket thet had a flat section had holes drilled in it. I think we worked out that it added up to about 2kg when I compared weights on the acu scales with another racer.
Note - no ti and lots of steel bolts, so it is the 'cheap' way of getting a steel bolt that weighs about what a ti bolt does.

[phil_h]

Hmm,
what do kevlar barake and oil lines and water hoses weigh compared to braided ?
with ti fittings ? (cos they are largish lumps of metal)

ti or carbon clipons ? (easy option - I have ti bars on my mountain bike, and there are loads of carbon mtb bars !)

[Felix]

In direct answer to your question, you can get down to 155kg without fuel. As already said, it would cost you a fortune and just about every component would be different. You'd be far better off buying an RS bike. You could always swap engines and sell the RS engine. Probably not what you wanted to hear, tough.

[wilf]

Originally posted by Harv748

If I'm honest I think the best way is to lose pounds from the rider! Take the money you would burn on bits for the bike, and join a gym/fitness class and aim to lose the extra 10Kg from you instead of the bike. Not only will you feel better for it, the bike will be faster and handle better, and you will last the race better also with your imporved fitness levels.

Everyones a winner!

[Edited on 8-3-2006 by Harv748]

Thanks, you are bang on there, Martin in the workshop is 30kgs lighter than me! so when he's on his road 998 and i'm on the 748 race bike the rider/bike combined is the same!

bring on the slimfast!

[beek]

or go on a diet yourself its the cheapest way to lost rider/bike weight.