I am a total newbie to trackdays but i feel the need to try them out,now i am no Rossi wannabe all i want to do is visit some tracks and have some fun at my own pace.My first problem was what bike?,i knew i wanted a Ducati and after lots of talking and asking questions i decided on a 848.Now my budget is 6k so i started searching the normal places,yea a few to be had for under 5k but that did not leave alot left for fairings ect,then i came accross a cat d with fairing damage for the right money,so after some haggling i managed to get the bike for £3800 with service book 2 keys,so was quite happy. Got the bike home and started to strip it down,plan was to sell off all parts not needed to release some more cash for some goodies. Next was to get some race fairings,so after some advice from forum members a full evo kit from crc was on its way to me (great service)£523.98 inc delivery,great quality kit and fitted with no major problems apart from fitting the air intakes,decided to leave the side stand on,so modified the lower fairing to suit,the only things left to do were the screen and the front fairing mount,ebay was my friend here,double bubble for £20 and a ali fairing mount from german ebay for £55,both fitted, so the bike was stripped down again and the fairings were ready to paint,now that was my next problem what colour after spending hours searching the web decided on a basic, black bellypan and front mudguard,red side panels with a white stripe and red tail and front fairings,i went to my local graphic company for a quote £735 wtf ,so ended up at a local bodyshop i have used a few times, quoted £230 all in,so thats where they now reside.Now to turn my attention to the mechanics,i knew i wanted the belts done and the standard forks rebuilt and new chain and sprockets were needed,i also had a pair of race scrubbs donated by a mate that needed fitting, all of this work i did not/could not do myself,so i put the bike in the back of the van and made my way to JHP,had a good chat with John(B not H)and agreed a price to undertake the work but also to dial in the cams whilst the engine was stripped.Three days later i get a phone call,you know the one,hi Simon its jhp here,we have some bad news for you!oh fuck here we go,turns out my front rim,wheel spindle and triple clamps are bent,oh the joys of a cat d.So thats where i stand at the moment and will update as things move on.
for less than a grand you could get a 1098 ohlins front end ebay is your friend as i cant understand how the wheel and yokes are damaged but the forks arnt??? unless you have just not listed them? DUCATI 1098S 1098R 1198 OHLINS FORKS TRACK RACE BIKE PROJECT 1098 UPGRADE | eBay
stick these on and you could increase your front trail too... Ducati 749R 999R Adjustable Eccentric Yokes. For Ohlins forks. Fit stock 749 999 | eBay
Interesting project, keep the pics coming! That isn't a bad price for the forks Andy has posted....Damn him! If you're not looking to go the ohlin route try Jim at Bike Enders, he breaks a few bikes this time of year....
The front forks have been rebuilt,so i assume there is no damage.the front wheel has a slight buckle,which was spotted on balancing the tyre i was having fitted,this will be sorted by motorliner,as for the triple clamps i have found a second hand set at a bike breakers who have assured me they are straight for £130.I would love the ohlins set up but running out of money fast lol.
lol,i must admit the thought crossed my mind,but to be fair the tec would have no reason to take out the triple clamps and proberbly only noticed the clamp issue on refitting the forks.When i first viewed the bike i looked for alignment issues but all looked ok to me, but the fairings hide alot,i will be asking them to install the new to me triple clamps when i get them and will ask them to check the forks again,i wont be happy if they have rebuilt a bent set of forks.
No i wanted the forks rebuilt as one of the jobs for JHP to do along with other things,so i would have thought they would have checked for straightness,when forks were put back in and the front end reassembled i assume they noticed the yolk problem then.I can see your point and i am a little worried about the fork legs now.
Quick update,recived triple clamps today from Hills motorcycle breakers(great service and good website).Flew over to JHP who checked them for straight and then proceeded to fit them to the bike and reassembled the front end,and then laser linded the bike,all good totally straight.then after looking over the bike i was told it is fitted with the termi ecu and air filter so a bit of a bonus.I also came away with my buckled front rim ,so that will soon be on its way to motorliner to be straightened :wink:.Have to say JHP have been absolutely brilliant .Also popped in to pick up my fairings from the paint shop,they were still where i left them last week.
Yes, i think your on the money there,also carbon front and rear mudguards,rearsets,some sort of leavers,all removed befor the insurance asseser looked over the bike,note declare all mods to insurance!
Have to say, chucking your bike in jhp to build and cheap trackday bike a definite oxymoron! Hope you ave deep pockets
Yes i know you are right,but to fair there hourly rate is no diffrent to any other main dealer and as my first post states i was quoted for all the work befor hand,to date they have spent 12hours on the bike and true to there word only charged me for the 8 hours they quoted,add to that all the little extras they helped out with i cant fault them.At the end of the day you cant put a price on saftey and knowing the bike is totally straight gives me piece of mind.I thought alot about putting prices in with my posts and i thought it would help others knowing the real world costs of building a track bike,to be honest its looking like buying a cheap standard bike and just useing on the track is the way to go and if you crash it just deal with it.
Did the same when my 848 was wrecked... Pull all the nice bits off before the insurance bloke cometh! :wink:
"bradders" I had a phone call last night from a Ducati dealer friend pointing me to your (I believe) unjust and unfair comment (Hope you ave deep pockets). To my knowledge you have never had any work carried out by Ducati Coventry/JHP Racing where we always try hard to accomodate all of our customers with the best possible work for the best possible price. Maybe i'm wrong and you have a genuine reason for your comments, if so I would like to know, please let me have your "real" name along with your reasons and believe me if you have a grievence I would like to put it right otherwise I suggest you think a little before you put pen to paper so to speak. JHP John
So your saying he is wrong and you are cheap? You have a decent reputation, but not one for being cheap I would say. I personally feel that the comment by Bradders is correct - Cheap and JHP are not a valid description. Its like saying Tom Walkinshaw is throwing together a cheap trackday VXR. It dont happen. What is percieved as value by one, is percieved as expensive by another. Relax John, being vindictiveis not going to gain anyone any friends. Mike Tesseyman Chester
Mmmm, getting away from the OP, I think Bradders comment about JHP unfounded. I live in Coventry so JHP is my local point of call for spares or a chat. As a qualified mechanic/engineer, I do all of my own work. But when I melted a piston at Donington for no obvious/apparent reason I took it along to see JH. He like me could not say conclusively what may have caused its demise. But he did no more than go to a cupboard and gave me a complete piston. I have heard of similar stories from other bikers too. A business with X amount of staff has to cover costs and generate a profit, or it isn't a business. But I find at JHP its also a likeable hobby for most of the guys there. JH is one of the most personable guys you could meet, he and his reputation are known world wide in the bike world. I almost forgot he dynoed my 583 Championship winning bike, free of charge as a favour. Derisory comments can cause a business a lot of problems especially in this recession period.
