Project 'All In' - Phase II

I put everything into last year's Classic TT. Building then racing a 22 year old Ducati at the world's most fearsome race track was tough, especially on the wallet. I have a vision of where I'd like the old 888 to be regards spec and engine. Unfortunately, the budget just doesn't extend that far to do it all in one hit. The plan was always to to a basic IoM-proof build, get a finish and then see. We focused on reliability, reliability and reliability. It worked.

Last year's success has made me hungry for more :-) It has shown me a lot - especially that when the bike is working, I can go fast. It also showed me that I need help and that I can't do it all on my own. Now we move onto Phase II of the build, another step toward where I'd like the bike to be.

The TT Mountain Course is a horespower track. Of course, if the bike isn't handling you can't use the horsepower. Get the bike working and an extra 3% bhp extrapolated out through the 37.7 mile course with so many flat-out parts makes a difference. Looking at last year's dyno sheet... we had about 105/106 bhp (with a spike at 111bhp). This year we're looking for a few more ponies.

We're also trying to build more lightness into the bike. Last year we dropped the half-wet weight (ready to race but without fuel) from the standard road trim at just over 200kg, down to a much leaner 180kg. We want to trim that down a bit more... a few grams here, a few grams there. Less weight = better acceleration, easier braking and better handling. We also want to try improve the weight distribution - right now, she's got almost 50/50 front to rear distribution. 52/48 is about where we want to be.

Oh - and this year the budget is a lot, lot tighter. We need to be a bit creative. Here is an overview of things to do for Phase II:

• Repair damage from last year (more about that in a later post)
• Engine Health Check (tolerances/shims etc.)
• Lighten Flywheel
• Lighten Primary Gear
• Lighter Clutch Basket
• Lighter, more reliable Loom
• Reposition ECU to front
• Spaghetti Exhaust
• Clip-ons
• Lighter wheels
• Quicker Action Throttle
• Lighter Battery tray
• Sort the brakes - Callipers, pads and discs
• Brake and clutch reservoirs
• Lighter Tank Stay
• Try Different Airbox/Airflow Configuration
• Velocity Stacks
• Rear Sets and race shift
• Belt covers
• New, lighter Belly-pan
• Set-up and Dyno

As with last year - we're getting help from some awesome folks:

RedMax Steve Hillary - Engine and help with repositioning the ECU

Oronero Peter Frade - More carbon deliciousness and a 'Corsa' loom

Onboard also for this year is

MADASL Mark Lumb - Spaghetti exhaust, flywheel and primary gear machining

The aim is to

• Gain a few bhp - get her somewhere around the 110 mark
• Drop  few kg - 175kg would be great
• Gain some reliability - 23 year old Italian wiring is a liability
• Get her working better - lighter wheels, quicker action throttle, brakes, weight distribution will all help.We have a good starting point for the setup from last year - we have 'data'.

I've been busy already and so have the other guys... it all speeds up now. On the afternoon of August 25th - we want to be in the beer tent behind the grandstand sharing a yarn of how awesome it all was :-)