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Some more MotoCorse parts to fit maybe this afternoon, courtesy of @Conquest Racing plus new fasteners from Pro Bolt. Got to catch up with the Australian MotoGP Q2 session and Sprint race first.

 

Decided rather than Cerakote the OEM parts as on my previous build, which looked "OK", I've replaced them entirely with these billet aluminium parts from MotoCorse, which are in a different league altogether.

Lower rear suspension support bracket





Upper rear suspension support bracket





Upper bracket fitted to the bike. Top two bolts (Pro Bolt M8 x 25mm) torqued to 30Nm. Lower bolt to 35Nm.



Lower bracket fitted to the bike. All three bolts torqued to 35Nm. (Pro Bolt M8 x 25mm). The eagle-eyed amongst you may notice the two pin studs on the gear position sensor. These are to mount the cooling duct that was introduced on later Panigales, to offset overheating problems, that in the past resulted in failures of the unit.



These brackets have to be fitted before the swingarm can go back on, else it is impossible to access the central two bolts where the two parts meet.



Next up will be the rocker arm and link rods then the swing arm can go back on, followed by the rear shock absorber. Because the torque values for the 3 x M12 bolts that hold the rear suspension linkages together are so high, these will be tightened once the assembly is complete, with suspension unloaded/supported. Since I am waiting on more parts, I will turn my attention to some other sub-assemblies, that I can work on in the meantime.

 

Few small jobs today. Replaced the 4 inner air duct bolts with these titanium flanged head M5 x 15mm torx bolts from RaceTi. Torqued to 6Nm.





Cyclone retaining bolt. ACCU M4 x 8mm button head stainless steel socket bolt, torqued to 3Nm.



Same for the other side, this bolt retains the radiator link pipe bracket and clutch line clip



More billet alloy parts. This time it's the clutch slave cylinder from CNC Racing, one of several parts transferred across from the previous bike.







Fitted to the bike with Pro Bolt M6 socket cap bolts, torqued to 10Nm. The top and bottom bolts are not yet torqued to spec as they will have to be removed to fit the sprocket cover.

 

Managed to separate the cush drive rubbers from the OEM sprocket, nuts and carrier today. All the OEM stuff will get packed away, as I have other plans for the rear end, as will be revealed in the coming days.

 

Installed part of the Ducati Spacers heat shield kit, in an effort to mitigate some of the heat coming from the engine and exhaust.





RHS rear subframe with heat shield panels fitted and Ilmberger carbon cylinder head cover









LHS rear subframe with heat shield panels fitted and Ilmberger carbon cylinder head cover









Next up will be the heat shielding for the underside of the seat pad The kit came with an extended RHS plastic cylinder head cover, but since I have the standard size carbon version, I will stick with that. It also came with heat shielding for the LHS plastic cover which again I won't be using, as this has a foam liner which is pretty good at insulating the heat and also acts as sound deadening.

One point worth noting was that I had to machine a slot into the OEM bolt heads holding the cylinder head covers on, since yet again they were laced with way too much Loctite, so if you are aiming to remove your own ones, use plenty of heat and a correctly sized allen key, else you can try my method instead, if you end up stripping the heads. All bolts replaced with ACCU M4 x 8mm button head stainless steel bolts, torqued to 3Nm and a TINY dab of Loctite 243.

 

Seat pad shielding installed

 

Now that sadly Lieb Carbon are no longer making carbon parts, I had to make up a template to create the foil bonding panels (that were originally supplied in the fitting kit) which the subframe carbon covers attach to. I managed to salvage one of the original ones when removing the covers from the previous bike, and traced around it onto some card and then from that traced the shape out onto some adhesive heat reflective foil, to create the RHS panel. I then simply reversed the card and repeated the process, to make up one for the opposite side of the subframe. These foil panels allow you to bond the carbon covers into position, by applying mastic to each panel, as opposed to the subframe surface itself, so are a must to have in place, if you want to preserve and keep the subframe intact, should you remove the carbon covers. I am waiting on some Parabond 600 mastic sealant, which is what Peter supplied in all his kits, then I can fit the covers in place. The carbon covers themselves are also retained by four bolts on each side to the subframe. The bonding panels merely ensure a tight & snug fit, in the area where these bolts have the least effect.





I have some trick parts from MotoCorse that fit onto these subframe castings, but minor mods are needed first, to ensure they will fit perfectly. Please bear with me however, as these won't feature in the build for some time due to the order in which sub-assemblies go together.