Ducati Sporting Club UK > Sport > Race > Race Bike

[Rattler]

TP
I did look at getting a dedicated track bike previously and its a long story with many phases, but to summarise;

- I had a big road accident and decided that the road wasn't a safe place for my "committed riding", so really only do track days (with very limited road use).
- I converted a SPS for the track (fairings, slipper, brakes, flywheel, wheels etc), but crashed it expensively!!! - repaired and eventually sold her, but she was a lovely bike and had real character.
- decided to look at a ex-race bike or older Duke that represented a cheaper option for track days.
- eventually bought a ex-race R6, but didn't get on with it at all (no torque, had to strangle it to get any performance) - sold this on
- tried a few older (cheaper) Dukes, 748, 916 etc, but they realistically lacked the power that I was looking for and used to.
- bought a 996R (as I'd always wanted one) and turned this into a track bike!!! So I'd kinda gone against the "cheaper" option, but did
- I won't race this though for a number of reasons; - its too precious to crash, I'm not fast enough, I can't afford the time etc....

In reality I'm now starting to push a bit harder on the track and I'm a bit concerned about punting a circa £15K bike into the armco!

So what I'll probably do is put the R back to standard this winter and either sell it next year or stick it in the front room (proabably keep it for occasional road use)! Then I'd look for an old Gixxer thou' or similar - these have loads of power and are relatively cheap these days. You can get a lot of bike for £4K-£5K.

So I reckon it depends upon what you're looking to do - you could modify the S or get an 748RS or similar?

Tim