1098 Race setup Changes

Ben Robertson

New member
Have put a detailed report on the web site on the setup changes so far but are briefly;

Front fork 20mm internals conversion and 9.5 spring, still not sure this is correct and more testing required.

Front Fork Angle changed by replacing the Headstock assembly. Front wheel brought 6mm back towards bike.

Rear Showa replaced with Ohlins Superstock Unit (46PRC performance kit)

Seat Height raised 2cm at front which stops rider falling into tank as much.

Peg height raised 2cm and moved forward 2cm.

Have just fitted a 40 tooth rear sprocket, together with 14 front for the next meeting. Standard chain.

Mike

www.maducatiracing.com
 
Madracer,
Thanks for the info, It's always good to hear from the pros about this stuff. Let me ask you this, I'm getting an "s" and might at some point do some track days, Do you think the stock ohlins are good enough for a novice(w/25yrs street experience) on the track? And How do you think the mods you made to the showa forks compare to the stock ohlins, Have you ridden the "s", do you think the stock ohlins are a good compromise between street and track?

Thanks again and good luck on the track!
 
Hi Ten-6,

If you are just starting out on trackdays then the bike as stock is great, you will have no problems with the front forks. I have not ridden the S but my mate is racing one and is changing front internals and rear unit.

The changes to the forks should make them more adjustable than the road Ohlins. The internals do the work not the shiney gold paint on the outside.

Good luck on the track
 
Hey MadRacer, I'm an expert licensed racer here in the U.S.

Do you have problems with gearing? Not the final ratio, which is strange, but the actual ratios? For me the ratios seem bizarre, especially between 2 & 3. I know Ducati Corse is now selling a kit of different gears, but I think it's expensive.

I find it interesting that you went with the PRC shock and 20 mm internals. Why not the 25mm internals and TTX36 shock?

Have you fitted a quickshifter yet? I've got the ducati performance one, but it seems to be not as effective as the Dynojet.

How about the ECU? What do you do for U4 maps?

I think you might find a switch to mag wheels in 16.5 inch and the dunlop NT slicks will give you the grip you need to start destroying the competition.
 
Alot of this will depend on your weight. The 1098s comes with a really stiff rear spring and relatively soft front springs. I'm a 240pound track day rider. The stock rear suspension I've never touched, it feels really good to me.

The front sag was too much on the stock settings and the bike turned in to quickly. It would dart to the apex of a turn. I added 2.5 turns of compression and 5 clicks of additional rebound + compression damping. This lifted the front enough to make the bike dead neutral around smooth flat tracks. At Jennings in florida which is billiard table smooth the bike was damn near perfect.

I recently rode barber which has alot of elevation changes, and I could still feel the front moving around too much. I'm probably going to take it in and get stiffer springs at some point in the future. It wasn't bad but when trail braking into a turn going downhill the bike would blow through the front stroke and still dart a little to much towards the apex.

If your light (not heavy like me) the front may be just right for you but the rear will likely be a little stiff. Regardless w/ a little tuning the bike can be made to work for you. The good thing about the S model is the Ohlins stuff is all very easy to rebuild/tune as needed to rider weight.
 
Thanks brother, I'm about 185-190, 200 or so with gear.
From what you and others are telling me I should be able
to dial in the stock Ohlins just fine.
 
Hi,

Thanks for your reply, I have not had problems with the gearing although I could do with a few more revs!
I was advised that the 20mm kit would do the job, not sure that was right now though, the rear Ohlins is just brilliant .

I don't have a quick shifter or do mapping, however the engine fuels just fine with no soft spots.

More expense of Mag wheels is out of the question as I have just about run out of money...........The whole lot comes out of my pocket and to be honest I don't have any more to through at it...
 
I'm still trying to figure out the gear ratios. It seems like it's dependent on which track you're on and it's exacerbated by the low redline and the rev-limiter, accidentally bounce off that thing at full lean and I bet you tuck the front. I'd love to see if you could re-tune the rev-limiter, but I bet it's impossible.

Interesting to note, Ducati's now selling a new set of gears for the 1098, but they're 3K and you have to crack the case. Seems to me if you're cracking the case you might as well overbore the engine, lighten the crank & flywheel, toss the cams replace the con-rods with titanium and throw in some mahle pistons and up the rev-limiter by 500-1000 rpm. Good guess would be that the 1200R will come with the correct gears as they monkey'd with the ratio for the 999R iirc.

I'm thinking I'll start with the 25mm kit and the TTX-36 shock here shortly, get the bike dialed in okay, re-set up for 16.5 mag wheels (the 16.5 dunlops are s-i-c-k) and get going with the correct slipper cluth. Then I'll wait until mid season, then pull the engine and add the exhaust.

It seems to me the most immediate impact is going to be from the Quickshifter and the correct slipper clutch, the engine drag on the 1098 is simply amazing. Don't go with the ducati quickshifter though, it's the same price as a power commander and dynojet quickshifter combined.

I'll keep you updated with our efforts this season, maybe we'll figure out something between us. Not enough people are really racing these things.
 
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