So, it’s been a very long time coming and I’ve been collecting parts for yonks, but the time has come to start this build. I’ll be upfront and say I’ve never done anything this deep with a proper sports bike before, so I’m on thin ice with quite a few of the bits on the build – but there is only one real way to learn, and that is to do!! The bike is my 2011 1198SP – a mind-blowing bike!! I bought it back in 2011 in Doha, Qatar when I lived there. Met a great guy called Dani at the only Ducati dealer there and the minute he started it, it was sold. Thanks Dani ;-) The bike has spent the majority of its life on the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, where myself and friends would go to regular track days. Driving on the roads out there was far from safe at the time. I’ve since moved to the UAE, Abu Dhabi and have had little time to use her due to work, but the time has come to build the bike I’ve been wanting to build. The motivation for the project is the customer 1198RS. That bike ticked all the boxes in terms of power, aesthetics, presence and sheer ability on track for me and whilst the bike is affordable, it’s not practical. I have no real facilities here to deal with such a machine and it will only cause me more headaches than smiles. Who knows, maybe in the future… For that reason, I feel the base of the 1198SP is a great bike. It’s the last real Ducati Superbike, belts, Desmo engine, trellis frame and that stunning rear end. It’s more than powerful enough with 170hp with 97lb-ft ot torque, weighs a mere 168kgs dry. Stopping is thanks to the eye -popping Brembo M4 Monoblocks and 330mm Discs, and the machines sits on a cracking Ohlins front end and TTX rear. To top it off it has the excellent Ducati Performance slipper clutch, Ducati Traction Control and Quick-shifter. The bike has had a few mods since I bought it back in 2011. A full 70mm Termiginoni system, DP Race ECU and air-filter found there way on to the bike soon after it was run in. And wow, that noise and extra grunt – yes please!! DP race rearsets and the race screen were later added. All in all, not a bad bike to start with and it had me lapping the Losail circuit at 2:19 after being set-up with the guys from the Chris Perris race school. For the reasons mentioned, the engine and transmission will remain standard. It’ll give me the usability of the standard bike for the days I want to embarrass the local Habibi’s in their Lambos, but yet be a bit of a weapon on the track. So here is the list: Full 1098RS carbon bodywork from C-Tech and Fullsix/Moto rapido. The set-up includes a one off made street nose fairing for the headlights (needed for the annual government inspection here) and a custom made RS bellypan with a side stand cutout for ease of use. Race airtubes, full mono seat unit as well has a host of other carbon bits. I also managed to find an RS screen on ebay – total bargain at £20. Ohlins FG353P’s. Fully rebuilt with 9.5kgs springs to make them more usable for my weight, some gold fork legs and topped off with BSB spec fluids thanks to Kais Ohlins. They’re beautiful!! The Radiator will stay as standard for now other than some Smaco hoses, but plan is to install a H2O Performance set-up at some point. Renthal clip-ons and Pro-grips Brembo RCS 19 Brake lever and offset adjuster, RS brake lines and EBC sintered pads. Matching clutch lever too and reservoirs. Nichols 30mm offset triple clamps. Stunning piece of engineering and from what I’ve researched, the best setup for this bike. SP Electronics GP quickshifter. Anti-gravity Lithium battery Ducabike ride height adjuster. Lightweight rear subframe with Bike Sport Developments DTC bracket Renthal 14T front Sprocket, 525 RSR chain, quick release hub and 38T (not 13T) rear. Marchesini Aluminium Kompe wheels, finished off in gold and wrapped in some cracking Pirelli rubber. Thanks to Bike HPS for those and a whole host more. The focus on the build is weight loss and handling setup. Hopefully the outcome will be as great as I’m hoping for. I’ll post updates and pictures as I go (a few below as a teaser), as well as many many questions that will arise as I go. I'm a very open minded person, so any tips or advice are more than welcome. Enjoy guys, I hope I do too
If you want it running right for proper performance, get the engine rebuilt with HC Pistals, balance the crank, port and polish heads, Corse cams and velocity stacks, balance the throttle bodies; consider a Nova gearbox or at least get it superfinished, Corse or Lightech rearsets (not the DP ones), Superpole seat to hold you in place. Of course, get it mapped. Everything else is really for looks, but this list is functional.
Like I said in my first post, if I had access to the facilities in the UAE to have an engine rebuilt to that spec, I'd be the owner of a 1098RS. Simple - I don't. The bodywork and wheels (to a point) are about looks, but the rest of it I'm not sure I agree with you. The project is about making the bike lighter and handle far better. As far as I'm concerned, there is enough power already there. The bike run's perfect, never had any gearbox issues (not hamphisted and never use the QS unless on power at higher rpm's), so why mess with it? I agree though, a superfinish would be a good thing and is an option I have been think about. The superpole seat, hmm, never seen the hype to be honest. Had one on the bike (see picture...) and never really liked it. I actually have the Corse rear sets on the bike too. Did I write DP? Must've have half asleep. Love them, so must adjustability. Thanks for the input though, oh and if you happen to have an engine like you spec, let me know. Would be good for the future. ;-)
The bike is already quite light: biggest weight loss gains that are easy to do on an SP will be wheels- get some BST Carbon wheels, carbon bodywork and lithium battery (which you're doing), and also change the rear subframe for a monoposto ally one from a 1098R. Superfinishing the gearbox gives good results. I could sell you my engine, but then you'd have to buy the rest of the bike too
The oem seat frames weigh a sodding ton! Not just normal one...A sodding one.... !!! BTW - those are pob my favorite wheels, they seem to suit all SSSA bikes.
Not really a fan of the BST's on the 1198 - looks too fat at the back end I think. Friend has them on the Panigale and they really suit the bike. Marchesini's for me. Full carbon body work too. Lets see how much weight I can shift off the bike ;-)
Do they? I'll use that as my excuse for being slower at the track than the guy on the 600.... although it is a Harris Moto 2 600cc.... I have a lightweight aluminium frame. It's not from a 1098R, but a copy of that item. Only difference I can see is an extra cross brace. Not bad for £100... I just hope it's as good as the guy selling it said it was. Advertised as weighing 2.3lbs, but actually weighs 3.5... Any idea what the OEM item weighs in at? And yes, I've wanted these wheels since I first saw them on Troy Bayliss' 998RS. The dimensions and design look great on the Single Sided Swing Arm bike - every single one.
So, day 1 and some progress and self made fun. Firstly, if you don' t have access to a platform lift and lots of different stands, I thoroughly recommend one of the central type lifting stands. I got one from Bursig, a great product made by our German cousins. Makes moving and working on the bike so very very easy. The bike came apart easily, no great issues with access or special tools being needed. I'd forgotten how easy it is to work on. Started with the left hand side as once it's on the central stand, access is a bit limited there. Off came the rear set, side-stand and fairing. The battery came out too. Worked around to the front with the intention of only removing the fairing and headlight unit and ended removing the lot down to the frame... guess I got carried away. Worked around to the right and removed the fairings and rear set there too. Taking the back end apart was more interesting. Not that difficult, but not that simple either. All the cables were labelled up so my simple brain doesn't forget what it was for and all the nuts/bolts/screws were all bagged up and referenced. My OCD had the full fat version today!! Haha!! Having taken it apart to this stage, the bike is super simple and it's easy to see how everything goes together. I just wish Ducati had used a 5mm hex fitment for all their screws and nuts - would make life so much easier. All in all, happy with the first bit of the strip down. Tomorrow the tank and rear subframe. Perhaps the forks too if I have the time.
Far too much organisation going on there with all the notes of what's what. It's much more fun realising you've got the indicators the wrong way round and having to strip it down again.
Wholly smokes - it weighs a ton!! Pulled the old cast iron unit off today....!! Almost 8lbs.... A few questions from today's work: 1. How the heck do you remove that damn airbox? Please any tips...? 2. The Ducati Performance air filter is clearly pants. Air-box is full of dust and desert sand. Sprint seems to be the item of choice of late - is it just marketing hype, or are they good? 3. The fuel-filter looks like it's never been replaced. Looking at the service items, it's not supposed to be replaced at any point.. Is there a good quality replacement in the market, or is the OEM unit up to the job? If the later, I'll replace with a new one. Decided that the fuel tank and rear subframe were to come off and leave it there for the day. Spent most of the time taking pictures/tagging lines and cables, making sure that I'm not going to leave myself wondering what connects where when the music stops - remember, I've never done anything this in-depth before. That took a while longer than I was expecting, but work that has already helped. I pulled the fuel tank off, disconnected the quick connectors without looking which side connected where... glad I took some pictures!! Fuel tank had some fuel in it, so I returned to my misspent youth and siphoned it out. Worked a treat and left only a small amount in tank, which I drained later after removing the pump unit. I was very surprised to see that the fuel tank is only held on with a single bolt on the rear sub-frame, with two locating pins to the forward of the main frame. Rear sub-frame unbolted very easily and I'm glad to see it off the bike and soon to be boxed. Weighs a bloody ton!!! I'm going to have all of the fairings converted to use dzus fasteners where I can and so far, all looks good for the rear sub-frame to be modified. The slide on retainers fit like a glove and all I have to do is make the frame wholes slightly larger to allow the dzus pins to pass through. I'll post pictures of the mods to the frames when I get to them. Note to self, need to buy a dremel. Worth saying, I've managed to do all of this so far with not much more than a basic socket set, hex/allen set and the odd spanner... Note to self, need to invest in a proper tool kit!! Some more pictures of the bike as it sits: Lastly, that brown, surface rusting, manky and disgusting exhaust. Browner than my pants after a tough day at work!! Other than WD40 and waiting for a few hours for it to do it's thing, any tips on getting the thing off? Once off, what's the best advice for cleaning it up? Don't want the polished look on the bike, so was thinking of attacking it with a scouring pad or drill and soft grinding buff. Any thoughts? Thought I'd leave the best till last - look at that Ohlins TTX. I have a new Ducabike ride height adjuster to put on as the standard one is pants to adjust at the track, takes far too long and I end up burning my hand... No work on the bike tomorrow as I'm on standby for work. If anyone can help with the questions above, I really would be grateful. Cheers!
