Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > Conversion cost

[skidlids]

I agree Chaz DD has developed and as I often say to those contemplating racing for the first time and aren't sure if its for them, just get out there without spending to much and if you decide you like racing spend a bit more.

Often a converted road bike and a trailer towed behind a car is the starting point, futher down the line its a well sorted bike and a Motorhome towing the trailer.
Thing is its hard to enjoy it if its crippling you financially. Many have started at the budget end, DDers like Bradders, Scott, Sam West, Jimbo, Dean Russel and many more started out with very basic race bikes in recent years and once hooked on the racing have put more into their bikes so as to get more out of the racing.
on my bike I'm still running the same seat unit, tank, rearsets, frame and yokes from my original 2005 bike. And over the years I have steadily uprated various parts with the biggest changes coming when I moved up from Class B to Class A,

Next year will be my 8th year in DD and my 15th year of racing all self funded, not a single £ coming from anyone else and if I hadn't treated racing in DD as a budget series I would have had to pack racing in before now.

I'm not sure how much money this Seasons Class B Championship winning bike has had lavished on it although I'm pretty sure Ghostie lavished a fair bit of care on it, maybe it still fits the bill of looking as if its just been salvaged from a scrap yard, its all part of the attraction of DD

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by skidlids

I agree Chaz DD has developed and as I often say to those contemplating racing for the first time and aren't sure if its for them, just get out there without spending to much and if you decide you like racing spend a bit more.

Often a converted road bike and a trailer towed behind a car is the starting point, futher down the line its a well sorted bike and a Motorhome towing the trailer.
Thing is its hard to enjoy it if its crippling you financially. Many have started at the budget end, DDers like Bradders, Scott, Sam West, Jimbo, Dean Russel and many more started out with very basic race bikes in recent years and once hooked on the racing have put more into their bikes so as to get more out of the racing.
on my bike I'm still running the same seat unit, tank, rearsets, frame and yokes from my original 2005 bike. And over the years I have steadily uprated various parts with the biggest changes coming when I moved up from Class B to Class A,

Next year will be my 8th year in DD and my 15th year of racing all self funded, not a single £ coming from anyone else and if I hadn't treated racing in DD as a budget series I would have had to pack racing in before now.

I'm not sure how much money this Seasons Class B Championship winning bike has had lavished on it although I'm pretty sure Ghostie lavished a fair bit of care on it, maybe it still fits the bill of looking as if its just been salvaged from a scrap yard, its all part of the attraction of DD

WTF Kev!!!!!

[Spjallen]

Its without doubt cheaper to buy a pre prepared bike, but just think of the fun you are missing out on preparing your own. I thought this was part of the atraction?!

[antonye]

Originally Posted by Spjallen

Its without doubt cheaper to buy a pre prepared bike, but just think of the fun you are missing out on preparing your own. I thought this was part of the atraction?!

Maybe for some, but not everyone. In the first race in 2005 there were quite a few brand new bikes (bought specifically to race in DD!) which had been "shop prepared"!

[Jolley]

Originally Posted by steeevvvooo

Dynojet + dyno set up £150
Fairings £200
Tyres £150 (would need a new set regardless of buy/build really?
Cheap shock recon + fork set up £200
TOTAL £900

Obviously other bits such as rear sets, clip ons, race pads, master cylinders etc but in terms of the main bits, does the above seem sensible? Do I need anything else?

Seriously considering the conversion route at the moment…

I would say you are looking at:
Dyno run £50 - if it is upwards of 47bhp, why waste any more money?
Fairings £150 off of ebay, plus £50 on bits and pieces to make up the brackets
Tyres £50 for a set of scrubs from last year if you really wanted to save
shock/fork £????? I personally think this is where money should be spent..... and one of the things that makes an already (well) prepped bike a bargain by comparison. For instance, my relatively cheap set-up of wilbers fork springs and bottom of the range wilbers shock was still probably in the region of £600
clipons/rearsets/sharkfin/crashbungs/pads £500
levers £up to you how flashy you want to be, from leave as they are to top of the range Brembo.
So a total (which I think is a realistic, achievable one) of around £1,500. Any less than that and I really don't think you'll be happy with the result.

So, with bikes either on the market (or will be in the next few weeks) from Craig/Bradders/Neal/KevP/Phil/Hugh, plus the ones in the classifieds from prices of £1,500+, I know what I would do. Look at it this way, you can buy a prepped bike for the cost of converting a road bike.... so you have the cash you saved from not buying a donor bike to spend on upgrades to the bike you bought (most racers would tell you what they would change to make their own bike better - so you would know exactly what to do). However, just be careful that the bike you are buying is the bike that was raced, and not a frankenstien of bits.

Originally Posted by Cranker V2

Crash protection is something I never really considered during the rebuild of mine last season. It has cost me a fair few quid this year and DNS's.

I'm not quite sure how that works. I only tended to bend levers/clipons/pegs, which you would do with or without crash protection?

[bradders]

Originally Posted by Jolley

However, just be careful that the bike you are buying is the bike that was raced, and not a frankenstien of bits.

this actually is a fantastic point; many have bits removed, sold one whatever and they are not as they finished the season

[Cranker V2]

Ron,

it was my two offs at oulton that hurt the bike really, front wheels besnt, 2 discs bent, 2 throttle assemblies , 2 brake levers, 1 brake master cyclinder, 2 rear sets, 1 can, 1 link pipe, 1 upper fairing, 1 side fairing...............Ouch..

[Jolley]

Originally Posted by Cranker V2

Ron,

it was my two offs at oulton that hurt the bike really, front wheels besnt, 2 discs bent, 2 throttle assemblies , 2 brake levers, 1 brake master cyclinder, 2 rear sets, 1 can, 1 link pipe, 1 upper fairing, 1 side fairing...............Ouch..

I'm not sure crash protection can prevent bending a wheel

I do run crash bungs, but not the front wheel mushrooms. I have lowsided mine three times this year, flipped it once, and ran over Neal/Neil, and the worst I have done is smash a screen, bend some bars and levers, and smash the lid off the brake reservoir. I have scraped the front wheel nut (3 times now - this year and last), but it still works fine. I think crash protection or not, it is as much about the luck of where you fall and what the bike hits...

[steeevvvooo]

Originally Posted by bradders

this actually is a fantastic point; many have bits removed, sold one whatever and they are not as they finished the season

decision made... buy it is! (unless yours is a frankenstein?! )

[bradders]

ha ha nope mine is EXACTLY as it finished Castle Doom...nothing fancy here; just functional