All still well with the bike, the oily mess hasn’t returned, lights are all in good working order and the oil level seems to be staying pretty constant. Lost another bolt, one of the ones for the v-fairing below the rad parted ways with the bike at some point so need to sort that. August was a good month, took a trip to Thunder in the Glens with my father in law and a couple of his mates, stood out like a sore thumb on my yellow Duc Also had my first outing on track at Knockhill with the Niall MacKenzie Superbike School. What an incredible day, definitely bitten by the track bug now. First couple of laps were pretty overwhelming but I think I made decent progress over the day. Finally, I accidentally purchased some Akrapovic cans for the bike from eBay (they’d also been listed on here). Quality is amazing and they are incredibly light compared to the standard cans. Had a go at fitting them tonight but the original clamps are too small and the carbon ones are a bit of a rattly fit (not sure if I need to put a rubber liner in them?) so have whipped them off and hidden them from the mrs again Did start the bike with them and they sounded gorgeous!
Fixed it! By the way I don’t know why the previous owner removed the Akra branding and put Termi stickers on but they look boss so I’m not caring.
I was just going to say they looked fishy for Termi's and more like Akra... The akras are full titanium though so winner! and I think the Termi's had Polished steel end caps and link pipes so not quite as cool.
Yeah they're a really nice bit of kit, the weight difference is insane. Rode to work today and they sound ace, noticed a bit of hunting around steady throttle though so might look at picking up an chip to go with the open pipes.
You should be able to alter the trim of the ECU to make it run a bit better (probably set too lean now) before you get the new chip
There's a write up somewhere that I can't find right now but basically if you take the rubber bung off the ECU there is a trim screw - which is very fragile - which you can roughly set at 2,000 rpm in the mid point of running rough at rich and lean. Searching on here will find it if you're not familiar
Not too much to report, bike passed it's MOT without any problems with the loud cans which was nice, garage also gave it a general health check and they had no findings which is always a relief. Been out a couple of times when we've had drier days and still love riding the thing, it seems to have gotten used to the exhausts now as the hunting at steady throttle has gone. Probably due an oil service and a general going over before the better weather comes.
Wee update on the 748. Zero issues over the past two years, just ridden the thing and given it regular servicing. Still in love! Notable highlights being 1200 miles around the west coast of Scotland last summer and a James Whitham trackday at Knockhill at the beginning of this month. On the trip to the west coast the most memorable ride was the return leg from Skye to Laggan Locks via Invergarry, evening sun on my back, 20 degrees and very little traffic, biking heaven. On the track the bike was epic, chassis is so confidence inspiring, it's just a bit frustrating catching everyone through the twisty bits but getting monstered on the straights. James' feedback on my riding was great, in his words my biggest problem is my bike is 'too f**king slow' Took the Akras off the bike for the trackday in case of noise issues and not sure if I'll put them back on, they look better and sound epic but the neighbours will probably thank me for sticking with the standard pipes. Decisions decisions... Bike is now close to needing valve clearances checked, belts need doing and I've a small oil weep at the base of both cylinders so currently negotiation a price with the local garage to take care of the lot over the winter. I've decided to give the Duc (and my back) a rest from the boring miles and have bought a 2010 R1200GS for my occasional trips between Aberdeen and Edinburgh for work, odd bits of touring and doing the weekly shop. Ducati will be reserved for sunny Sundays and track outings. Mega impressed with the BMW, I expected it to be comfortable and capacious but I didn't expect the levels of performance on offer!
