School me on Ducati Air Cooled Superbike Conversions...

Since owning a Testastretta engined Streetfighter many moons ago I have always wanted to do an air cooled superbike build. There have been a few of these around... I think some were built to race in specific classes. The basic recipe is Superbike cases, twin spark cylinders and heads, etc.

Recently a friend of mind offered me his 1098s for very little money. Of course my brain went right back to the Air Cooled build.

What does the Beeb think? It sure would make a fun winter project and a damn fine track bike.

-Tom

 

You took a pass on the cheap 1098?

 

I think he wants to stuff an air cooled in the 1098 chassis.

 

Oh. Why?

 

If I had to guess, I'd say He's a dumb dumb.

Or he wants a LWT class killer like the boys in south florida are/were building.

 

I suppose that could be fun.

 

No plans to race, I've just always thought that a air cooled Superbike (like those the Southern crew were building) would be a hoot at a track day.

Would it be fun to build and ride? Or should I leave Ducatis alone and ride something simpler and more reliable.

-Tom

 

Ride any Duc at the track, then, get on a 675 and you’ll not look back.

 

Ducatis are reliable provided you do certain preventative things and look after them. The prior to Panigale era certainly doesn't have the Japanese build specs of just put oil in it and beat on it forever though.

That being said, the air cooled superbike is a lot of fun, but honestly, a good ole Supersport that comes with the air cooled 900 or 1000cc is a lot of fun and comes pre-assembled and they're cheap. I'm not sure the 1098 chassis is worth the additional money it would cost to build one from that route. Regarding the engine - keep it simple. 2v are fun, but when you want a 1223cc 13:1 compression kit with berrylium seats and such you're kinda riding a time bomb and it'll still only make 125hp.

 

I think he's made it clear he doesn't want the thing that will make the best lap time. I've had Ducatis and Triumph 675s for more than 10 years now and have always loved the polarity they provide riding them both on the same day. It's quite a different experience. Love having them both.

 

Where is this cheap 1098 you speak of. I may be willing to relieve you of that temptation.

 

@Gino230 owns one of these Ducti hybrid things. They are expensive to build, but reliability seems to be ok if you don't push it too far. Gino can elaborate.

 

-T

 

I may know a guy...

 

Blast from the past: http://forums.13x.com/index.php?threads/ducati-1198-1100-air-cooled-hybrid.324806/

-T

 

Do I need to extend the invitation to message me, or is that already implied?!

-T

 

Race it in the Harley class.

 

Exactly what I was thinking even though I shouldn’t.

 

That's my bike, I still have it and race it once a year or so!

Far from a time bomb. However, it does require maintenance. Valve adjustment once a season, I put a set of belts on during that time as cheap insurance. I run C-12 and it makes 126 on that. 155 MPH around Daytona with my big ass on board.

Doug Stufflebeam also has one that is more SS engine build spec- we used to get 92HP stock out of the single plug head with the side pickup with just exhaust and K&N Filter. Dual plug head and top ignition pickup motor has more potential HP wise if you want to build it. All the power is in the top end- pistons, cams, and most is to be made porting the heads and putting in big valves if you're interested in that. Bored throttle bodies help, too. I have heard these engines are getting harder and harder to find. Lots of chassis parts available for a song now.

As far as the build:

You have to bore the cases to fit the 1098 frame- you're elongating the hole in the cases so the swingarm pivot fits. You can run the 1098 wiring harness and dash with a few mods. You might have to move things around for cooling and lengthen some wires to certain sensors. You have to move the coils, etc. I run a MicroTec ECU. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what little tricks they did to the wiring harness besides all the relocating of stuff- if you're going to build one and you run into problems, I can help you out. Cooling is an issue especially on the big bore motors putting out big HP. We cut the vents out of the bodywork and reversed them to draw heat away from the rear cylinder head. The less bodywork you run, the cooler it will run. I have done the Team Challenge (200 miles) at Daytona on a similar build and it needed a valve adjustment after, but that was it.

If you're just looking to build a fun project bike, I'd leave the motor stock and just do exhaust and pod KN filters. You can use the stock 848 exhaust, you will have to customize the header right where it goes into the rear cylinder and do a little machining on the head to get it all to fit. We also run a second oil cooler, 999 style under the front cylinder head on the SB builds.

It's alot easier to get the 848/1098 chassis to work at the lower power levels. However that being said, it helps to have bits like Nichols triples, Kyle linkage, the LW wheels from the Hypermotard, etc.

We goofed around with a longer swingarm from the Streetfighter, but it was just too long and didn't turn well.

I have put all my focus on the FZ in the last 3 years or so, but I dug the Ducati out and at Homestead end of last season, went a second and a half faster than my last FZ time in one day. You can use so much throttle off the corner with the air cooled motor and the big bore HP really helps. Truly a LW class killa!

 

Also, since Charlie Mavros passed away, there's probably 10 of these floating around in various states of tune. He had a Pierobon framed one, several Paul Smart based ones, a couple of SuperSports and even a few Monsters. I believe Teagg Hobbs has one of his Bimotas (for sale) which is the best Air Cooled Superbike IMO. I raced one in the Team Challenge once, it's lighter and smaller than the 1098 with good handling qualities. Probably getting alot more affordable these days.