Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > fibreglass or carbon tanks,,,

[bradders]

of this there is no doubt; confidence and comfort on and with a bike is by far the most important thing

[skidlids]

Mustn't forget one of the main requirements to a good handling bike is the Sprung to Unsprung weight ratio, especially when only having limited suspension mods.
After all the Sprung weight is what the suspension is forcing against and is used to damp out the suspension forces.
Heavy wheels with heavy tyres and built up momentum contain alot of force that when deflected by a bump trys to lift the weight above them, so if the wheels, discs. sprockets etc (unsprung Mass) are on the heavy side and the frame, tank, bodywork etc (Sprung Mass) are to light the bike may accelerate fast, stop quickly and change direction quickly but that doesn't mean it will handle well.
So if funds are limited you have to decide what direction to go in and spend it wisely.
Things that save weight and help handling should be top of the list, such as the weights of the discs (or disc), wheels, swingarm, mudguard, rear sprocket, etc
Take a Close look at Ghostys bike and you can see he not only had a light tank but also reduced the weight of several unsprung components .

Most of the weight saving on my 998R is to do with the unsprung components, Mag wheels, Narrow track discs, Mag swing arm, carbon front fender, Titanium bolts where sensible to do so, AP rear race caliper, Alloy rear sprocket. These components not only reduce overall weight and gyroscopic weight but they also reduce the forces that the suspension has to deal with so lighter springs can be used which in turn makes it easier to control with the damping

[Jolley]

Originally Posted by skidlids

Take a Close look at Ghostys bike and you can see he not only had a light tank but also reduced the weight of several unsprung components .

Before or after you found it to be underweight?! ...because after, he added unspeung weight and it didn't seem to upset it too much.

[skidlids]

Originally Posted by Jolley

Before or after you found it to be underweight?! ...because after, he added unspeung weight and it didn't seem to upset it too much.

Probably offset by the extra braking capacity
As you have pointed out Ron, on these bikes these things don't make a huge amount of difference, tuning the rider is far more important, the bike just needs to be in the right ball park

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by Jolley

Before or after you found it to be underweight?! ...because after, he added unspeung weight and it didn't seem to upset it too much.

It was 2Kg under at Snetterton, I fitted a spare caliper, no disc and a spare chain under the seat. But rules is rules and like most these days I had not the luxury of weighing equipment since my departure from Ricardo.

So after Snett, I decided if ballast must be added then might as well make it useful so went for a fully operational twin disc setup. Used Cadwell and Castle to get used to it. Then at Oulton made all my passes that mattered under braking at the same chicane. It was weighed and dyno'd after Oulton, with 160Kg and 48bhp.