Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > Ok... here we go!! Bike questions!!!!

[TheDuke]

Sorry in advance for this one, as i know it could cause a few b**ch fights!!!
but.....

I'm looking to keep a daytime m.o.t. on any bike i buy(cheaper carparking in the summer!!) but which one to buy??

I think i'm gonna go into the 583's but wot 1 to get??

can i buy a 750 monster and just put in a 600cc motor??(twin disks you see!!)
or has this never been discussed??(i dunno!!)

and then wots better? an SS or a monster??, Cash is a rarity!! so this is a huge factor!, but twin disks or not, and how about the suspention!!

recon, standard, or splash the cash on top thin-gies!!

as you can tell, i'm flappin already!!! lol but i just want an idea of costs and stuff,

I've already read other blogs and that but just want some other opinions....

so in summary.... lol! help!!!

[Scooter916]

Kye Runs a stock Braked, suspended, 600ss and would have been on 583 pole this weekend had he not been a reserve..... So you dont need to spend a lot.
Monny or ss, that is the question... your choice i think.
If you want to run it as a road bike i would say monnie as lin did this last year I belive putting it back to road spec after each meeting.
Lastly welcome
Glyn

[NBs996]

A daytime MOT doesn't make your bike road legal. It's been discussed loads and that's the outcome every time!

Don't think you can buy use a 750 with a 600 engine... I'm sure someone else was denied that request previously, but could be wrong.

SS or Monster? Dunno!
Twin discs? Single worked ok for me but went with the twin setup because it just felt better for me.
Suspension. Spend more money on this than sorting out power... I'm of the opinion that corner speed gains you more time than power on most uk tracks.

Splash the cash on practicing, not many people are better than their bike!

Where are you based?

[phil_h]

What do you like riding ?
The SS has more 'stable' steering compared to the monster, which can feel nervous. If you want to set up a monster to turn quicker its fairly easy, but more fiddly or expensive (ohlins) on the ss.
If you are tall, the ss is easier to fit more set-back rearsets onto.

The monster suspension is more sophisticated, with a rising rate linkage compared to the ss direct cantilever ... but I think that is in fact a negative, cos it means the first bit of the rear suspension action is too soft.
Most people are fitting single-rate springs in their forks after all.

I have been racing a 620 monster with twin discs and a 583 ss with a single disc.
I have never found that the single disc was not powerful enough, and in fact prefer the feel to the awesomely fast (easier to snatch !) braking action of the twin disc.

[Zimbo16]

SS or monster is a personal choice, they handle differently, either would do though! See what you can find cheap.
Twin discs are not necessary provided you run decent pads, i recommend Performance Friction, i ran a single disc for 3 meetings and had no brake problems at all. You can add a second disc providid you have the caliper mount on the fork leg if you prefer.
Suspension - not much wrong with standard provided it's in reasonable condition, just set the shock up correctly.
If you go for a monster you'll need high level cans and rearsets, you can make do better with standard bits on an SS.
Spend the money on trackdays!

As for costs, realistically £3K all in, includes buying the bike and prepping it, cheap leathers, entries, couple of trackdays, tyres etc. You can spend more of course!!!

[TheDuke]

Im based in nottingham.... Big up the donny!!! but,

I have never ridden either of them, the ss or monster i mean, are they really that different to each other??

Only ever owned a gsxr600 k3 and an nc30, but trackdayed them both quite a bit,

Must say thanks for the quick replies though!! stunned!!

[chicken]

I've got two SS's (900's) and used to have a 600SS so I may be slightly biased but I have ridden a 600 (583) monster (that was bought for a friend) and they really are night and day.

An equivalent aged SS will generally have lower mileage and be in better condition as monsters tend to be ridden all year round. Good history and a sympathetic owner are infinitely more important than age or mileage though.

Handling-wise, if you are used to sportsbikes you will be more at home on the SS than the monster. The SS has very slow steering (and attrocious steering lock) so won't be as good around town but it's great when you get to a corner you can commit to. The monster position I found too upright.

Even though the monster frame is derived from the 888, I've not found the SS lacking. A monster can be made to handle well - just witness the number of them on the DD grid - but I found it very squidgy as standard. Note that most of the monsters on the race grid have clipons, rearsets, tweaked suspension and higher exhausts.

I found the single disc on the 600 to be decent but lacking relative if you've tried twin discs. It's personal preference though as some don't like the extra unsprung weight. It's probably easier to switch to twin discs than to swap an engine though!

Hope this helps and good luck with your search!

[Iconic944ss]

Originally Posted by TheDuke

Im based in nottingham.... Big up the donny!!! but,

I have never ridden either of them, the ss or monster i mean, are they really that different to each other??

Only ever owned a gsxr600 k3 and an nc30, but trackdayed them both quite a bit,

Must say thanks for the quick replies though!! stunned!!

No problem - welcome on board.

If you are in Nottingham then you have the font of all knowledge on your doorstep and only need to spend a few coffee mornings with Neil.....

http://www.cornerspeed.co.uk/pages/contact.html

Cheers - Frank
DSC Webteam

[NBs996]

If you're in nottingham then have a word with couchcommando, he's bought/build/sold hundreds of dd bikes!

I've ridden a 620 monster for 2 seasons, and had a go on a 583ss on a track day, so can't claim to be a voice of experience on a comparison. Have to say the little ss felt like it handled better but that might just be the way it was set up. If I had to make the choice now then it'd just be down to which one was available at the right price!

Thinking more about the brakes:
Think of the effort it takes to haul the brakes on, then multiply that by how many corners and how many laps in a race. The very last corner of the race you'll still need the strength to be able to brake 100% without screaming in pain from your wrists wanting to be doing something else!
But Phil_h is right, you've got to be careful of the twin setup being a lot easier to lock up, as I've found on 2 occassions

[phillc]

I have a twin disk setup on my 900ss that I ride to work each day. Around town this is fanastic. I really like the bite and it means in traffic I can stop on a sixpence when a pedestrian steps out from infront of a bus. But generally, I'm not going that quickly around town either. Although I do a fair bit of touring on this bike, it's not like the hectic scramble that racing can be, plus I'm usually two-up and need the extra braking power.

My DD 600ss has only the single disk, standard caliper, standard master cylinder and Goodridge braded lines. I had Bendix pads in, but changed to Performance Friction this last round at Cadwell. The Bendix pads were shagged before Snett and I really should have changed them earlier. Next season I'm planning on uprating the caliper and master cylinder, but staying single disk. I quite like the way the brakes ease on with the single disk (as phil_h explained above). I find that it's no drama to overtake underbrakes this way - I got past a good few into Park and the Chicane at Cadwell this weekend. I think with extra super bitey brakes I wouldn't be as confident to do this.