1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Ducati club racing questions

Discussion in 'General' started by Tj Hunter, Nov 20, 2019.

  1. Tj Hunter

    Tj Hunter Well-Known Member

    I have been a Ducatista for a while now and finally have the means to afford a Ducati to club race on. I have had my eye on an 899 for a while (I plan to race with CVMA, AFM, possible others in California and the surrounding area), I loved my 1199R that I was using for street for a few years but I dont want to jump to Unlimited right now. I would prefer to stay in the MW/HW, I raced a Daytona 675 and LOVED it, only got rid of it due to children and moving at the time.

    I have an option to buy a sorted 848, which seems to fit into categories a little better than an 899, displacement wise, my question is, are they any good to use anymore? I used to see them be competitive in 600's class and hold their own in HW, Unlimited is purely to get "some" points. I also ride a Ducati daily that uses the same engine as the 848 so I have a fair amount of extras and am familiar with that engines short comings a little more then the Panigale, but I am familiar with both platforms.

    TLDR: Is an 848 still a competitive bike or should I get an 899/959? Should I scrap the idea and look to something else? Should I consider Unlimited? My issue with Unlimited is the tire budget. When I had my Daytona I was able to run 3-4 weekends on a front and 2-3 on a rear (8 lap sprints on a 2.5 mile track, 8-10 races a weekend)

    TIA
     
  2. Captain Morgan

    Captain Morgan Well-Known Member

    What is a Ducatista?? Just curious?
     
  3. Tj Hunter

    Tj Hunter Well-Known Member

    Someone that likes all things Ducati. For me this would be my 4th Ducati, I bought my first one about 3 years ago and I'm hard pressed to find a better bike for my riding style.
     
  4. Captain Morgan

    Captain Morgan Well-Known Member

    Nice, just didn't know the term, I'm all about euro bikes, had an 848, they are fun but not competitive, had a 675 which was fun
     
  5. trussdude

    trussdude Well-Known Member

    I've raced Ducatis and currently own four.

    I would not recommend racing them to anyone. :)
     
    j cal, turbulence, RichB and 8 others like this.
  6. Tj Hunter

    Tj Hunter Well-Known Member

    What do you race with?
     
  7. 2blueYam

    2blueYam Track Day Addict

    My 2 cents: If you are worried about a tire bill, you are probably the wrong person to be racing a Ducati.
     
    j cal, JJJerry, ducnut and 2 others like this.
  8. nlzmo400r

    nlzmo400r Well-Known Member

    Race what you like the most. If you're being honest with yourself about 'competitive' this or 'podium' that, you're gonna get an R6 and set it up as everyone else does and realize you're probably not as fast as the fastest kids anyway.

    That out of the way, the 848 can be a great racebike in superbike form, not so much superstock form. The roadbike geometry is quite compromised and it cannot be truly "fixed" without parts that would put the bike in the superbike classes. The 899/959's factory geometry is considerably better for racing out of the gate.

    The 848 is also fairly well known for spinning connecting rod bearings. They come very tightly clearanced from Ducati and have a tendency to fail. Ideally, at the least, you'd open the engine and replace the con rod bearing shells with those that offer the best clearance. Also the stock main bearings have fewer balls and are therefore weaker than the standard 749/999/1098 ones and have been known to fail. I'm not at all saying you "WILL" have these failures, but if they happen, they're costly. Worth thinking about.

    The 899 is not without it's own faults. The connecting rods are the known weak point in racing these engines. Carillo makes a standard drop in connecting rod to remedy this. These were used in the TriOptions cup in the UK to prevent failures. No power gained, only reliability. The 959 has different connecting rods, but I'm ignorant to whether those are known for the same failures. I would think it has the same problem because Carillo offers a standard 959 replacement rod as well, stock weight and everything. Otherwise the superquadro panigale engines are superior in every objective way to the testastrettas regarding reliability. Chain driven cams, plain bearing supported crankshaft etc. Ultimately, less likely to fail.

    Regarding classing and WERA specifically, only the 848 will fit into the C superbike/superstock classes (850cc). The 899 and 959 will require you run in 'B.'
     
    Gino230, JBarx, Chris and 3 others like this.
  9. Tj Hunter

    Tj Hunter Well-Known Member

    Sure by that token I should get a 300. Its not that big of a deal, but it seems like MW tires last about twice what they do for a UNL class bike. I dont want to have to swap tires several times in a weekend and from most I have talked to they are using at least 2-3 rears a weekend. I was able to do 2 weekends with my MW bike and didnt mind the bill.
     
  10. LossPrev

    LossPrev Well-Known Member

    Depends what times you're running and what your goals are. I run 1 rear tire for race day and then use it for the next practice or track day. This is running 3-4 sprint races, one being a 25 minute GT race.

    I hear this crap so much around the paddock that you have to change rear tires multiple times a weekend and it scares people away from the 1000cc class for no reason. Those people are full of shit unless you are truly in the hunt for the podium in every expert race you enter.

    I also think getting 2x the life out of rear tires on a 600 is a big stretch. The 600 dudes I ride with change tires way more often then I do because they running 2-3 seconds faster and hunting for podiums.
     
    Gino230, Tj Hunter and sbk1198 like this.
  11. sbk1198

    sbk1198 Well-Known Member

    I agree with everything that nlzmo400r and LossPrev said. I haven't personally raced or even ridden an 848 or 899, but I have done it with their bigger models (1198 and 1299). The chassis are basically the same, so I can somewhat relate. The 1299 was a much easier bike to ride fast than the 1198 despite it being more powerful, so I expect the 899 to be an easier bike to go fast on than the 848. It's definitely a better bike overall, plus it has some electronic aids which the 848 lacks. The only issue with the 899 that I can see will be class options in the orgs you're going to race in.

    If you decide to try out the unlimited classes but don't want to spend loads of money on a bike, I can sell you my RSV4 for a much cheaper price than what you can find any 1199 or 1299 for ;)
     
    Tj Hunter and Phl218 like this.
  12. Phl218

    Phl218 .

    I’ve contemplated starting racing on an 1199. got talked into an Sv650 and enjoyed the heck out of it.

    Then decided to race the 1199 (Did a few td’s on it over the years) and immediately wanted the Sv back. I mean it was fun but scary and I was not much faster than on the Sv.
    Might be different on the 959/899. Never rode one of these but I can see them being easier to ride “fast”.

    whatever you do, do what makes you smile.
     
    Gino230, ducnut and Tj Hunter like this.
  13. Tj Hunter

    Tj Hunter Well-Known Member

    Awesome, thanks for the responses! I am off the 848 for sure, still on the hunt!
     
  14. Phl218

    Phl218 .

    Oh and get a bike that you don’t mind throwing in the dumpster.

    takes some headache out of racing in general
     
  15. If you can get the geometry worked out, the 848 can be a weapon in the 600 classes, because of the damn torque. I have cussed many of them because of the way they jump off corners.

    JD40 won the Daytona 200 on an 848. Granted, it took 2 engines to do so, but still. :D

    The bike can be made competitive. Can YOU make it competitive, while keeping it SS legal, is another question.
     
    Gino230 likes this.
  16. Ra.Ge. Raptor

    Ra.Ge. Raptor wanna_be_fast

    You're not a true Ducatista unless you're wearing Ducati underwear.
     
    Gorilla George likes this.
  17. worthless

    worthless Well-Known Member

    What other bikes have you ridden on the race track?
     
  18. dobr24

    dobr24 Well-Known Member

    I’m an now the owner of Phil218s old 1199. I have no problem getting multiple track days out of a rear running towards the front end of advanced. I haven’t had a chance to race it yet but would expect to buy a rear a weekend from talking with folks. Fronts seem to last forever. (Bstones) @maslov runs a 1199 and is running Pirelli tires. He may have better advice as he has been racing it for a couple years.
     
    gabriel likes this.
  19. maslov

    maslov Well-Known Member

    Well... “racing”... schedule and a crash pinched me this year... it all depends on your right hand. I’d say I’m fairly smooth on the throttle and I’ll run practice on Saturday on a take off and put on a new rear for the races (generally 4 races total in the weekend) which will easily last all weekend plus have enough life for practice the next round. The front lasts forever... I had to switch it just because i couldn’t even remember when I mounted it. I run SC2 front and the rear depends on the weather. Usually either SC1 or 2.
     
    Gino230, Tj Hunter and LossPrev like this.
  20. 2blueYam

    2blueYam Track Day Addict

    It is all good. It is just that the repair bills on Ducs can get quite expensive compared to the Japanese bikes if you should crash or blow up a motor. Upgrade and maintenance parts can be more expensive as well. All that plays into the long term costs of racing a Ducati so generally if you are concerned about the long term running costs like tires, a Ducati is probably not the best choice. If it is the pain of constantly changing tires, that is something different.
     
    Tj Hunter likes this.

Share This Page