I can't believe anyone that is clever enough to be able to afford one would use it with original tyres. Lunatics, and even more so to take them on track. Comedy when you think people with £5k track bikes think twice about using tyres that are a year old!
I’m not implying that they are not good enough to start with. Just that they are ten (?) year old tyres.
That picture could have been 10yrs ago too, and rememder that no one, not one provider, made tyres for the desmo other than the factory ones or 16.5 slicks (iirc).
Yeah I know a lot of people change to 17inch wheels for that reason if they are going to use the bikes.
I was reading an old Visordown mag last night (2008) as I keep them, it had mackenzie riding the D16 and the NR750. It had a snippet from Wilf @Moto Rapido at the time who was saying "I ride mine all the time, people think they will go up in value but I disagree, the way to get value out of them is to ride them all the time and make use of the free servicing". I agree with the stuff about using them but not sure why anyone ever thought a handmade GP replica Ducati wasn't going to massively appreciate in value? He knows his onions I guess but the prices now are just mental it seems. It's the 1 bike I would sell a kidney for, I really hope that those that have them know how lucky they are to have them as well as giving themselves a huge pat on the back for grafting hard enough to get one. Unless it was proceeds from selling drugs, in which, shame on you... ;-)
I put BST 17" carbons on mine due to the lack of decent rubber. I didn't really want to spend £2k on wheels, but needs must.
The OEM BT01's were expensive and not very good by modern tyre standards even back in 2008. My first big trip up to Scotland was a bit wet on the way back and the bike was spinning-up even in a straight line with a gentle throttle. Anyone who is using the bike even half seriously will have changed to a 17" rear by now like @Robarano says. Bridgstone stopped making the BT01 a few years ago so they are very difficult to get hold of. I've the part-worn ones on my original wheels and a new pair all wrapped-up in my loft. Not that they'll ever get used.
Mines still wearing the same shoes as in this video from 4 years back. They're fairly shagged and to be honest I can't rule out them being original. Are they still in manufacture or just NOS at this stage? I didn't find the bike as stiff as everyone warned me but I've always ridden with a race seat and I have a feeling it's been well set up. The fuelling on the bike I have found pretty odd. Great wide open but rough as nails on a constant or marginal movements. Any thoughts? Anyway here's Fagan beansing it round a curve in '14
Wilf had many to buy over the coming years - cheap so why would he say otherwise... I wonder how many miles he did on his in the end anyone?
The BT01s haven’t been made by Bridgestone for three years or so - any you find now will be NOS. It could be that the springs in your suspension were changed by the previous owner. I had mine done and I know a lot of others have as well. The fuelling on my bike is fine. Haven’t heard this complaint from anyone else. Are you sure you have the right ECU on it for the exhaust you have?
You could be right - I don't find the ride an awful lot harsher than my RSV4 factory - which is quite stiff but hustles round some B roads fine. My impressions don't seem congruous with the 'ironing board' usual review. Yep, GP7 was installed by JHP and I have the remaining 2 ECUs for the 2 stock exhausts. My bellypan exit has a lot of soot on it, and the exhaust at idle smells more than it should to me. I might give Coventry a call and see if I can get some advice. It seems like it's either over fuelling on part throttle, or under-sparking and flooding on part throttle. Of course I could be wrong and it's just like this, but I'm not quite convinced yet - it just seems a bit snatchy as a result.
I wouldn’t be surprised if JHP did your suspension for the previous owner. They advised me to do mine and did it and the GP07 set-up in 2012. If I recall correctly they had their own chip or flash for the ECU which they said was better than the factory one. Yours was likely done earlier than 2012 and maybe they hadn’t developed it at that time.
Always worth contacting jhp to ask if they remember the bike and see if they can help adjust it for you and perhaps work out any minor niggles?
