16,5 bro... they're not bad ... i like them.. got lucky to pick up 30 rears and 10 fronts of a special compound ... sticky and long lasting... ideal for our pusposes .. So no more worries on tires till end next year...
coolio - plus, with those 16.5's you can lean more and still have enormous grip :Happy:. I was in my mates garage last week and he had a stack of new slicks..... on closer look I realised they were "special" 16.5 pirelli's. No flipping wonder he is ripping around the track like a pro. the grip levels of those tyres are AMAAAAZING!
normally in 16,5 SC1 there is SC1 and SC2... we found something off the special shelf : SC1.8 with a bit stiffer carcas .. Endurance-tires... modern riders prefer the 17" due to more rigidity under braking because of smaller walls. seem to suit the modern point and shoot riding style better.
Went to the training session to go get my first ever racing license at 55-ish. Great fun .. had to simulate a sprint race start, a Le Mans Endurance race start and the procedures rfor delayed starts, all flag combinations and safety car's..... on the twisty Mettet track , there were flags all over the place.. ..So they even got me running... finally got my first degree in 35 years.. and now we can joing het Spa 6H race legion. We'll have to get qualified first so there 's aq lot of work to be done... showing from the video, growing some eagerness to get away quickly is one thing... let it be clear that people with a motivation to race ride harder... Much to my amazement, i did succeed in riding a 45 minute stint on very tiring Mettet... so that s encouriging for the fast but not too physical Spa... i know it looks silly but here you go.. The license, the video...
Back to our home track ZOLDER. Not my favorite but good for some benchmarking and braking excercises.. and the weather was just fab! The good news : I knocked 3 seconds of my personal best which is exactly what I wanted to achieve. Again 2 of those 3 came within lap 3 of the first session. This is mainly due to the bike getting out of corners much quicker and thus faster on the straights and thus less prone getting stuck behind someone with better braking skills.. Being late at the track, I had lost my spot near Luc and joined a group of mates in theirs. All very cosy and nice but not that good for concentrating on the matters at hand. The shop kept me busy from a distance so that concentration was low anyway. Not good if you wanted to go forward I did try to get more hanging off and at chest level I did seem to get some progress on that front. but I was sort of faced with a new reality that the bike no does pop wheelies out of every corner in Zolder as there are som famous spots for heavier and lighter drop off on the tarmac. Nothing major – apart from the 2 hills . but just enough to get airborne. As I never have been a keen wheelie guy - I tend to agree again with Simon Crafar ‘keep it down’ – so that was something I do have to get used to.. if only by not shutting the throttle.. I ‘m contemplating to go down to 41 at the rear to get perhaps some more elasticity… And that makes the purpose of hanging off not easier.. to get lower next to the bike, I have to get further away from the tank and more backwards on the seat. But that wil not help to keep that front down.. and when I’m against the tank , I sort of fear that leaning way over to the front will put too much weight on that front tire. Me not being the lightest… the pic shows the effort to combine things to get lower but still keep the front down.. looks pretty cramped.. The bad news is that even if I got pretty easily from 1:50 to 1:47… how to get to 1:45 ( my final goal ) is a bit of a mystery. Trying to brake harder did get me to overshoot the sweet spot of those dreaded chicanes a couple of times indicating that that is not the spot for me to find time.. in doing so I hit a nasty curb under lean and dented the OZ front wheel… glad it was not a BST as it probably would have taken a piece out of it. That throttle does remain the weakest link and can’t wait to get it solved. So all in all a very good day with some minors and something to think about for the future. .. good to keep us busy. The clip the hold the Gopro broke so no movies this time.. Looking forward to Spa next week.. and only 3 weeks left to Silverstone and Brands hatch GP J
Looookin good their big man. What did you mean about throttle being weakest link.... has the short twist throttle MR built not done the trick?
sorry Bro, the short throttle is not on yet... the MMarelli one is impossible to reprogram without major work and the lifting of some safety features which Steve did not want to do. so now we're waiting for the Evo sbk throttle to become available... that is made for the SSTK ecu so should work out of the box...
Kope, Your project seems to just keep going! I trust you are really enjoying all of this adventure as well on the way - the bike is a work of art, and to have that much time to play and learn must be great...... Would love to see your bike in the flesh one day. Are you coming to either Ducati UK day this year? I am at the one at the end of May, can't make the other one. I just got my Panigale back (after many issues) and I have to say, now with the new engine, it is working brilliantly and starting to make sense - finally - thank goodness! In your search for laptimes, and you asking about body position etc, I was just looking to see if I had a picture of me going through a turn that was similar to the ones you posted above - but only to try and help, not in any way to comment negatively. I am sure there is much you could teach me too reading your earlier posts on getting on the gas (my weak point). This one below is the nearest I have I think to a picture like yours - to hopefully give you a few pointers on body position. You are clearly much braver than I am with your throttle application (having read your posts and times!) but if it helps, have a look at the piccie below. I think that the key differences are: a) get back on the seat a little (maybe two to three inches is all you need), and get your head down where your mirror would be on a road bike - this will put the same weight back on the front and back wheels with you lower; b) drop the inside elbow and particularly your shoulder so your forearm is parallel with the ground. You can drop it further if you need to tighten the turn mid-way through. Otherwise your position is pretty good, much better than your earlier pics. And to take 3 seconds out is a lot, so that's a huge step forwards.....congrats! p.s. no comments about being "locked in" with the outer leg please!! - the footpegs on this bike are too low (unadjustable) and so it's hard to get that position right, but the back of the tank is a great shape so thigh contact there is good and solid!
If you imagine a piece of string tied to your zip and to the filler cap, say 30cm long, thats how close you should keep your body to the tank in all directions...cant remember who told the story but one racer uses it as a training aid and it will unzip your leathers unless you keep your chest on the tank. Good for streamlining and weight over the front The things us mortals have to do to try and get better
ChamMTB - super picture and wise words. Glad to hear the affair with the 1199 is becoming better. Hope it blossoms!
Cham, tx for the input.. the pani sure is an acquired taste... looks do a lot to buy that time.. there are 2 pics i'm longing for... one with the wheel hovering 1 unch from the tarmac cooming out of a corner.. and 1 like yours i ve been chewing on the bp theme for a couple of days now and have seen or noticed that: 1. even amongst the fast riders and racers, there is a mix of 'hangers' and 'sitters'. very few go to the length of Marquez-extremes. the tinier they are, the more extreme it is.. the bigger they are, the uprighter they are. 2. the more you put your b.tt out, the more likely you are to get crossed up. 3. it s weigth that counts when it comes to shifting. the bigger you are, the more weigth is collected high up so small moves have great effect. 4. as the pani is a tiny bike, there is not much room between bars and seat. the taller you are, the more curved you'll be sitting on the bike. so also the more high up and the more exposed.. 5. the more you do get low , the more weigth is put on already well loaded front. so to get lower , i'll have to get backwards first. if i keep sliding forwards , that puts pressure on my arms and so on the bars. which is not good as they should stay loose.. now how to do this : i asked Luca from Race seat if he can make me a seat like this. I also lowered the bars by a bit to pull me lower . and i will resort back to using the DP race seat which is lower than the one that is on now..
Thats why you have to hook your knee in, keep pressure off your arms, and lower you go, less angle for bike
^^ Koen - am I seeing this correct - in the seat photo - where you have coloured in the black by tank - that is the shape of the seat you want? If so, I would not advise this - when you brake (which you are now doing even harder from your improved rider skills) you will not have anything other than your arms to take the braking forces and you may end up with arm pump (trust me you don't want this - I am having to have an operation to get rid of!!). Yes, you will also use legs to grip tank, but with that proposed seat you won't have anything to anchor yourself with.:Wacky: If anything, you want to go the other way and think about the tank becoming more square where the tank meets seat (look at wsbk fireblade as example). The magic triangle of foot peg, handle bar and seat should be looked at as a whole and you should do what you feel is right - think of Foggy, Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss - three totally different riders and positions on bike; modern day dudes - Marquez v Rossi (albeit Rossi has changed his style but I think this is more to do with utilising the electronics). If you look at the taller riders when they are going down the straights they are putting their bums up on the rear seat cowl and so standing up on the pegs (so get on that squat rack :Smuggrin; and then looking at getting more bent over the tank, could simply be down to flexibility in your thoracic back and losing some puppy pounds from the front, so take up Yoga and yoghurt - this with the squat rack work and you'll be hidden behind that screen in no time :Happy:.
Thats why Smrz has that big lump at the fromt of his tank...and I think we discussed when we met at MR
Having a Panigale too, I have to agree that the tank shape where you want to grip with your knees is rubbish until you are hanging off! It's too narrow and there is nothing to grip onto. Once you are leant off the bike, it becomes a good shape/interlock with footpeg, knee into underneath tank, race seat sides and tank edge gives a good solid lock - but when braking without hanging off it's a disaster! Hence, move ass sideways, then brake with your inner thigh against the tank and then lean off with shoulder. I tried some stompgrip but that didn't help much either as it is not in a good position. The tank on the 848 and the Desmo are both better to lock into with your inner thigh, the Pani is so narrow. But allows you to really climb all over the bike (as it's tiny), so I bet it would be great on track once you are used to it (mine is a road bike). I actually cut down the front of my race seat foam a bit to reduce the height of the front of the seat by about 3/4 of an inch. Much improved position, and better lock on the tank. I just took some of the foam off with a dremel, put a slightly thinner lighter foam on top, and then glued/stapled the top sheet of the race seat back down. More comfy/grippy and better shape. Wish I could get one of the seats off the RS, they are much better - but they don't sell those anywhere and they are a different fastening to stock.
Chamb, i picked up a stock slppery seat cheap to get back lower. Perhaps the slippery will allow me to move more easily from left to right. being heavy, having that weight lower down can't hurt.. i carry more than enough weight in the torso that there amply left to change COG..
After a very mixed day last week duet to traffic and a damp but not wet track we went back to SPA in hoping for an either dry or wet day. Preferably dry as might be guessed. And we got very lucky. It did stay dry all day. Even got to a nice bit of sunshine over the noon so the tires could get some heat in them. I know Steve is watching my back and it feels very reassuring as he is a top bloke and gives me more time than I merit. But if I want to progress as a rider I do need some on the spot 1 on 1 input. There is no way around that. Input into setup that, as we all know, is not abundantly available on the Pani. And those who do know what needs to be known are working for full time racers. And not for some middle aged oversized rookie. J When I found out that Andre Niemandsverdriet had swapped team and Johnny Willemse who runs a pretty knowledgeable Ducati service shop out of Terneuzen, Holland had a bit of spare time we met. as I like the guy and got to know about his long career in racing as a rider and GP mechanic ( be it a while gone ) and setup expert i decided to go and find out what it means to have that type of guy watching after you bike in the paddock. No use in regretting it not to be Steve as he has a looong list of priorities to attend to. Looking at the radar, Johnny is probably the only guy to have worked methodically on Pani setup in racing conditions for a year. And Andrés results were impressive with a constant improvement. So I was quit full of anticipation. Could I live up to the bikes potential, would I be able to handle the extra pull and speed on the daunting bits ( Radillon, Blanchimont… ) ? The flat 6th bits that decide so much of the laptime.. the goal being able to drop 7,4 seconds form my BP to 2:45 by August. Goal for the day was a lowish 2:48 As Spa is the track where we have to find time at all cost, body positioning would get paid attention to but would not be a priority. It would have to come second. It was cold and we dropped the pressure to 1,7 while warm. From what learned, a lower pressure allows for the tire to flex and the pumping allows for heat build-up. For the first time, pressure was checked 3 times between sessions. Then I found out I had been put in C group ( 1 down) and on the briefing when I saw a lot of riders being full novices ( bless their heart) I knew that the morning sessions would be rather slow ones as traffic would be dense, speed differences big. A combination that asks for extra vigilance and care. It was good to see that not even a year on, the many track miles and extra speed had worked wonders for carving a way through without having to resort to drastic moves. Coming back from a cold first session that took chunks out of the rear, my PB had fallen by 2 seconds to 2:50. Without even pushing. The last time I had been at Spa was the time I dumped her in the gravel trap, losing the front at Combes. The bike felt much firmer but still very well able to cope with the bumps. A far cry from the rocking chair movement I had then. So all felt well and I could sense we were on our way. And it got real fun when the AIM could get to work. 1:50 was a good benchmark for the rest fo the day. The next session took a jump in temp and after a couple of free runs I could get a good lap in. another 1,5 seconds gone. I had found the courage to pin it all the way to 6th going downhill towards Radillon and managed to get to the top decently, coming out at 195 kph on one occasion. IT would prove to be a difficult turn to take. Not so much at the bottom but rather at the top when full throttle would give a mostly gentle wobble and letting her drift out a tad too early would see the left side curb. One bigger slapper sort of curbed the enthusiasm. Coming back from Stavelot it was the same : pinning it in 6thr at 250 to take the right Blanchimont just to let it roll to first left at 230 and then 1 down to come out at 190 in the best of cases. Many times interrupted by much and much slower traffic. Of course not their fault so it was up to me to adapt myself to the situation. And on a clear run it came : down to 2:47.8 .. djeezes: todays goals achieved on session 2 … what more could io ask for. In traffic and on a tire that now was toast. In the afternoon I got moved up to Racers group when the groups were reshuffled to be more homogenous. I very much enjoyed the structured work from Johnny and Peter, his apprentice mechanic and felt like Stoner dropping the bike of and going into debriefing straight away.. By now I was really like doing some WSBK re-enactment. But it sure did work and brought results through amazingly small steps. As the basic setup of the bike was good, Johnny focused on the feedback I gave him. I had found that coming out of Stavelot hard, the bike would pump a bit at the rear, adding to the freckle nature of the head. We went for a mere 2 clocks extra rebound damping at the rear to see whether that would solve the issue. And it did. But then Johnny saw the big wobble at the top of Radillon as a consequence of the bike being kept at the back longer, lightening the front. Remedy : lets drop the bike by taking 1 turn of preload off and add 2 clicks of rebound to keep it there. And it worked well. It was now planted through every turn and had the added benefit to seem to be able to keep the turn better as well. The double left hander coming 1 meter more in the middle of the track at the top of my speed range confirmed that. It allows to get on the throttle earlier and with greater confidence. Fatigue was still ok but still felt.. I m not the type of rider that does his best stint at the end of the day. So I know I d have to do it next. And I was able to drop another 0 .4 to the final best of 2:47.4. Nothing dramatic as there was a new tire on, bit still enough to make everybody happy. Especially me. Looking at the data and vid has shown to that if I connected the best parts of the fastest laps , the 2:45:5 is not far off. As to body positioning : Mixed feelings I must say. The bike already turning in easier, the message to hang off ‘as would feel exagerated’ had a booster effect. Even so much that when is really went to hang off through the first left at Blanchimont I must have hit the small rumble strip next to the grass. At 220kph and under lean, that was not good. So the mistery remains and the verdict remained out. In the meantime, Stef and Luc had dropped to 2:43’s… damn it.. I had been able to run 2 sessions with them but a scrap and a tow took them to new bests.. Needless to say that now everybody had to cheer a fabulous day… driving home I realised that Silverstone is up next Monday already and then Brands GP will follow soon. And Tuesday will bring the last off the goodies : Steve has tried and tested the WSBK-EVO short throttle that will take out the very last of the glitches. The rattling on/of stock throttle that I also blame for the Proshift refusing to change down a gear as it only does so when fully closed. The on/of thing can’t be very helpful there. So we travel to Silverstone on Sunday evening, hop over to Derby to have the PS3 fine tuned ( increase max revs, blip 2nd 10% higher, shorten the re-ignition span …) and then off to Winchester to get the Throttle installed. Will be a happy homecoming. And then : Close off an incredible week with what could be my preferred home track : Brands GP. Hopefully in the dry this time.. No pics yet so a nice vid will have to do. J Of anyone is around , all very welcome of course !
