998 - Seeking Inspiration
 

My 998 is going to JHP for a service/cam belts in the Spring 2006.

Whilst it's in there, I'm hoping to spend an additional £500 - £700 on some performance tuning work.

However, I'm not sure what offers the best bang-per buck with the amount of money I've got available.

So, I'd be very grateful to receive your suggestions as to what work to have done.

The current status of the bike is as follows:

998Bip with -
DP upgrade S-R cams/996R ICU/45-50mm pipe
Slipper clutch
14 tooth front sprocket
Evoluzione clutch slave cylinder

Over the winter I will install a PC111USB to run a base map for the bike with the DP upgrade kit. JHP will prepare custom maps to suit when it goes in for the service.

So, what do you guys reckon? Nitrous and a 'Busa fairing? Up the compression and run it on diesel?

BTW - already got l/w wheels and P34 brakes.

All suggestions greatfully received.

Regards,

Spinoli

Cam Timing

Suspension !
998bp has Showas up front , re-valve with Ohlins or K -tech em , massive difference in confidance for me anyway

No point going faster if you cant keep the wheels on the ground :D

Then riding school with whats left over :D

My 998 Hybrid has the following so far
DP upgrade 50mm-54mm pipe fitted on 50mm 998S modified downpipes
JHP Slipper clutch
14 tooth front sprocket
Brembo Radial master cylinder
P34 Callipers
Ohlins Forks
Ohlins 46PRXB shock
Mag Corse swingarm
Mag wheels
Spondon Discs
Harris rearsets
Alloy subframe
Carbon undertray
Renthal rear carrier & sprocket
SPS seat unit
FBF bars

I can highly recommend the Bremo master cylinder and the rearsets as a good next step for yours

Consider an FIM ECU rather than a power commander, the lastest generation are now out that work very well in the 998. adustable fuel map, ignition, cylinder offset..

AND (the advantage over the power commander).. Fully adjustable rev limit, you can switch off the side stand cut out and/or the immobilsor, and it is completely re-programmable, so you can put it on any ducati with that fitment. You can also adjust how the fueling changes when the motor is hot/cold so you can cure any tick over problems.

Sigma now import these and we have been playing with them on the dyno. getting some very good results.

cost £450+vat and the same dyno time as a power commander to set up.

see www.sigmaperformance.com for more info.

light flywheel is pretty good fun too, and wont cost much to get put on during a service.

[Edited on 26-8-2005 by wilf]

See if JHP has some 50mm headers kicking about or if you can get some cheapish if fleabay or something. A full 50mm system combined with the cams and PC will release a few horsies...

Combine that with a Brembo Radial Brake Master cylinder...

and finish off with getting your forks and shock revalved/serviced by either JHP or send it off to K-tec/maxton.

You should be able to do all that for £500...and pick up some rearsets or a new set of tyres with the dosh left over!

Many thanks for your input guys,

Just so you understand why I don't just ride to JHP/Sigma etc and talk with them, I live in Jersey. Trying to talk these things out on the phone never works.

to respond to your suggestions:

Suspension - I'm getting this done seperately by K-Tech. I have a cunning plan and a set of mint 999 Showa forks lying around. I spent 5 years riding and tracking a TL1000s, so I know what benefits can be gained.

Brakes - still getting used to the P34s, which are absholutely aweshome.

Wilf - FIM ECU - very tempting, but I run the bike on the road with baffles in and on the track with open pipes, and a PC111 will allow me to swap between maps easily. I'm hoping the new PC ignition module will allow adjustment of the rev-limiter.

Cam timing/Squish - strangely, when I suggested this to JHP, Ken told me that he didn't figure it offered good value for money. This is at odds with a trillion articles and comments that I have read and I will be asking JHP to clarify.

Harv - 50mm headers & crossover - I like this, but do you know how easy it is do get the front cylinder header modded to fit the high-sump Bip motor? In fact does anyone know of a 50mm or bigger full system that fits the Bip motor???

Riding School - Done many track days and received loads of good instruction, always room for more though. Been trying to book up with the European superbike school for one of their French track trips. I suppose you've heard the news - ho hum.

I had hoped that someone would say cam timing/squish/gas flowing would give 10% all round and cost £500. Oh well, I suppose I can dream on.

Does anyone out there have a streetable/reliable Testastretta dynoed at over 140rwhp (without silly money), and if so how?

This is the ultimate target, but it may take some time.

Spinoli

[Edited on 27-8-2005 by spinoli1]

If you are coming from Jersey to JHP you should stop in to see Steve and Wilf at Motorapido in winchester.

They are highly thought of here, racers and fast bike builders. well worth a stop in if you are going past the door.

Friendly bunch too, always coffee on the go and an open workshop, so you can see what is going on.

Good luck.

Paint it Yellow.

If it is any help, i had the standard side air filters, mesh and air tube restrictors removed and an itg filter installed when i bought my 996 bip.

Big improvement.

Air filter costs about £75.

'not sure if Alf did any tweaking to adjust, but he has been racing ducati for years and reckons this is the way to go.

The itg filter flows bags more air and i believe is re-useable too.

Open it up and it sounds like you're going to get sucked into the airbox!

Cheap and effective modification.

Get the bike set up, then get some road training, cos a trained rider on a 400 would run the wheels off the average bloke on his superbike.

I have done a few of the H*n*a MAC courses.

These are run by ex-police riders and are brilliant. Real riding techniques on real roadsand you don't have to ride a rice burner.

You have never seen a Pan-european go so fast!!

These boys are not stick-to-the-limits riders by any means, except in towns etc.

Not cheap, but the best never is.

Hope this helps.


Gaz

Many apologies for "Thread Hi-Jack", but I would add my recommendation for the MAC course...I did one when I bought my VTR, and would love to do another on the 996 ...Gaz, how do you go about booking one when you don't ride a "you know what"?

I still keep in touch with one of the riders who lives in Horsham, although i haven't seen him for a while now.

If you want to do a course i think you can probably get a form from any H**** dealer and just specify what bike you have.

My mrs did a course when she had her ZXR400, although she was ridiculed all day!

trouble is, they are so expensive now, that they have to take anyone irrespective of what they ride.

The last i heard, it was about £300 for the two days, but as you know, they are good.

went to wales on the last one i did, cracking roads, good b&b etc, but it rained all the time!!

took me a week to clean the bike.

If you can't find anything, let me know and i will send matey an E-mail and see what the score is.

Gaz

Setting the Cam timing to standard made about 4 RWHP difference to my 998r most of the way through the rev range. The benefit depends on where the cam timing is before you start. You can move the power increse around the rev range depending how the cams are timed.

After doing some dyno tests I wouldn't use any air filter that took up any space in the air box, less power (four less at the top end) and shite throttle response.

Ray

Thanks Gary...I'll nip down to D0bles and see what the score is.

Cheers Barnsey, Motorapido sounds worth a visit.

I considered painting it yellow (for a second), but have you not heard of the phenomonen called "Red-Shift" - basically, the faster an object moves away from you, the redder it appears.

Air filters - heard and read many opinions. The vote seems to go for Piper-cross in air-tube filters. Would be nice not to have gravel go in the inlets if te tank comes off in an excursion though.

Cam timing - be rude not to really.

Road training. 3,000 miles in France with Simon Byrne of Byrne-up. Proper fast road riding. Acceptable casualties.

Spinoli.

Well, it seems I may have to spend more cash in the quest for power. I'll keep you posted.

Spinoli.

Dont think you can protect your inlets that well from gravel if the tank comes off, its a bit hard to cover the 998s shower injectors with a filter as you can on the 916/996 setup, so the ones in he air tubes or at the airtubes entry to the airbox are your best options.

Drop in and see MotoRapido. If you're coming in via Portsmouth they're an hour from the port.

Wilf who's posted earlier in the thread is one half of MR, and you could have a chat about the ECU / PC alternatives with him and Steve at the same time.

I had a good natter with John Hackett on the phone yesterday and we cleared up the confusion about cam timimng & squish.

Basically, if done as a stand alone job it is expensive as the airbox, heads etc need to come off, and the benefits may not be that easy to detect.

As mine's having a service and new belts anyway, it half of the work is already being done and so I will have the cams dialled in and the squish set properly.

Spinoli

Buy a 999r then!

Gosh-darn, - buy a 999R? Now there's an idea.

But shucks, I may be no youngster, but I'm not old enough to go ugly yet.

(Who knows though, one of these days a deep-sump, 1200cc, ultra-developed R motor may just fall into the chassis. Got to leave something for the future.).

Spinoli

I would have to go the JHP undertank/airbox filter route.

Give john Hacket a call and you might think twice about filters.

You ever taken those filters off to clean, did Lily's a few weeks ago, couldn't believe how many flies and other debris lay inside

I've seen knowledgeable people argue equally strongly for undertank and for in-tube air filters.

I think what it all boils down to is this:

1. Undertank, better filtration and protection for the motor if the tank comes off. More difficult to install on shower type injectors.

2. In air-tube, better performance. Mucho cheaper.

Bearing in mind that Ducati have a performance oriented philosophy for every part of their sports bikes (visible or not), I tend to think that they put their filters in the air-tubes for a good (performance) reason.

Spinoli