Ducati Carbon Frame Bike could've been a lot better than GP13?

I think they need to almost start from the ground up. Trying to make small changes to the existing bike isn't enough.

 

Mongo, don't pop the stoner boners bubble.

 

All the Ducati needs to win as it sits today is two things: a tire that works with the chassis and someone like Stoner.

 

Good idea. Let's talk about the Ducati teammate Nicky beat in the championship.

 

You're drunk.....

How many times has he proven people wrong?

I absolutely think he would be able to win. I would even say he would win at other tracks than PI.

On the current Duc.

 

"Jiimmy's got a compound fracture!'

Plastic bikes, meh. Durability issues are the achilles heel, imho.

Titanium or stainless, for a non racer, definitely more comfortable. Ti bikes are the shiz.

 

While I don't disagree that center of gravity is not important (and I'm no engineer either), the fact remains that the Ducati was a winning motorcycle without the input of Furusawa (sp?). The design of the Ducati was always a stressed member. The original GP3 had a trellis upper and the swingarm connected to the engine. The only thing that changed in that design over the years was the materials used.

When Ducati switched to BS in 2005 they had the full support and tires designed specific to them. In 2006 Ducati stated that the machines limits were now dependent upon the tires. Look at how much well the GP6 performed. When given track locations that BS could provide the overnight tires Capirossi won.

IMO the demise of Ducati rests solely on the back of Rossi. First he demanded the switch to BS tires which he was given despite objections from BS. Second his signing with Ducati and forcing them down a path they were unfamiliar with.

 

Wheels can make a huge difference in ride quality. Wheels like the Ksyriums with the bladed aluminum spokes can transmit a lot of vibration to the bike, especially with high air pressure. Try a nice tubeless wheelset with about 85 lbs.

 

Might work but I'm just not a roadie guy. I'd rather sell it and buy a Yeti 575, a Santa Cruz or another Salsa.

 

Dear Ducati,

Please go to your warehouse, find the freaking bike that Nicky tested in Jerez, and give it to him for the remainder of the year. Some spare engines for that bike would be awesome as well!

Thanks,
Mike

 

Really, Ducati doesn't care what Nicky has to say or wants. He's a lame duck rider but he'll go hard for the rest of the year. Dovizioso has their ear for now.

 

I'm not really convinced that their engineers are really listening to the rider's inputs (other than when they obviously listened to Rossi) in development.

 

I wouldn't either. With the amount of telemetry on these bikes I don't care how a rider "feels" because that's just the way he quantifies the data. The data has to get you in the ballpark. Ducati hasn't gotten there yet. Once they get to the ballpark the rider input is more important IMHO.

 

The telemetry isn't going to tell them that the bike has a shit front end feel though. That comes from the rider. Plus, if you go off of data alone, you may have data that indicates you're heading in the right direction based off of split times and lap times but in reality, you're hitting a wall because the bike has shit feel.

 

Vale said when a rider says something is amiss with a Japanese bike they (Japanese) take it as a challenge to fix. Whereas Ducati takes it as an insult. Vale's words. In one breath people blame Casey for not developing the bike then they blame Rossi and J.B. for ruining the bike. Methinks Furusawa knew better.

 

I believe that. The engineering worlds of the Japanese and Italians are vastly different. I remember taking a class in college that detailed over some of these things. Compared Japan to the US, and several other countries and really showed the difference of how things function.

 

I doubt it with Marquez on that honda..... Make Marquez sit out, and I think it's possible... (I'd like to see Marquez and Stoner both going at it on the honda so I'm not really a fan of one over the other)

 

If he's lame duck, throw him on a 2 year old proto chassis that you have laying around; what's it going to hurt?

 

You need to spend a bit more time re-learning your motogp history...

Ducati was on BS tires long before Rossi got there! And the downward decline of Ducati motogp effort started long before Rossi got there (as explained by several others earlier here). Stoner was vehemently complaining about the bike and crashing on it regularly from the first race of '09 onward. Problem is no one believed him!