Wee Monster FOR SALE

Spent yesterday going over and cleaning up my Wee Monster... she's now for sale :-(

Probably the best race bike I've had... 6 podiums and 3 wins in about 8 race meetings over the last 5 years. I have only got one other road race podium (on my old Aprilia).

Had a heavy heart the last few days with the Fourfiddy and now Wee Monster for sale. But, I'm getting married in a few weeks, got an expensive race project for the summer (Classic TT) and am looking to relocate to Austria by the end of the year. Got too many bikes that I don't use enough - time to have a clean-out. Struggling a bit with the emotional attachment I have to these tools...

Oh well... out with the old... perhaps in with the new sometime ;-)

Toon Up Time

The oil-in-bore problem was the 'generic' scraper ring... it must have somehow been sucking oil into rather that keeping oil out of the cylinder.

Exhaust clamps didn't arrive, so I made a sleeve for an old one and robbed another off the flattracker. I got the beastie down to TTS for a toon-up with her new rings, tighter valves, exhaust and airbox.

I was hoping for 60bhp. The best she gave was nudging 58bhp :-(

Booooo

Class limit is 65bhp... so I'm at least 10% down.

Booooo

But... on the same dyno last year she could only give 54bhp and was running rough... so we're up a bit and she's smooth as butter.

Yaaaaay!

I'm thinking the air-filters are interfering with the air-flow. Might experiment with that another time. For now... she needs a once-over, some race numbers and new tyres. Saturday is race day at Brands Hatch.

How to Make and Airhead Sing

Last winter I took (mostly cut) a load of crap off the bike. This winter I've gone down the tuning route in the quest for silverware. Hopefully this two pronged approach will give me the edge I need to bring it home.

To make the most of that fantabulous 2 into 1 cobbled together exhaust... we have try make her breathe better at the front. Standard air-box (as on most bikes) is a hideous monstrosity. Even with the hack-saw mod, it's still crap.

So... I attack it at 15 000 rpm with the most bad-ass Dremel bit I have. Ten minutes later, with a garage full of tiny bits of molten plastic that I'll be cleaning up for the next five years, we have an air-box that's one third of the size...

bit of a clean-up and it starts looking purposeful.

Some council-estate kudos here - Pipercross!

The whole thing slots right in :-) and get this... weighs a whooping 1/2 kg less than the original. Win - win!

Man! She's gonna breeeeeeeeeeathe!

If I can ever get my oil-in-the-top-cylinder issue sorted, we'll get her down the dyno and see what fruit these sacrifices to the God of HorsePower bear.

Chipping Away

As I wait for new rings to arrive for the Wee Monster, I've been chipping away at other bits n pieces. 

This is the original exhaust with a left-side chop. The economy model.

Got a nice 2 into 1 conversion pipe from Kevin Ellis (the Godfather of Desmo Due)...

added my own link pipe, an old can from my flattrackers' original exhaust (Titanuim too!) and made up a hangar...

Badda-bing!

A few 100 grams weight saving... but hoping she'll breathe better. Damn looks cooler and I won't get anymore questions and snide remarks in skrootineering about the old blanked off system.

The clutch cover was worn pretty thin from sliding down the track many times. One more and it would have been holed. Check out the epoxy/ally crash protection on the underside of the clutch cover. R&G - kiss my ass.

Next up, the tank-clip/bracket. The original clip works on a road bike... but not so well when you park it in the gravel. Besides... new rules this year means no more tank clips. Found a bit of old tread-plate ally...

made a template out of an old baking tray in the garbage (Eeeeeuw!)

measure twice and cut once...

a bit of finishing, a few holes...

been busy with a lot of bracketry and stuff...

down to the painters for a rattle-can finish

Done. Race legal and neato.

Update on the BIG performance mod tomorrow...

Wee Monster Goes Desmosedici

The other week, Peter from Oronero dropped off a set of Desmosedici bodywork he'd made for the Wee Monster. Thus far, I have gone the nekkid route... but would like to visit the podium again. It's been a while since I got any trophies. We'll see if the extra weight is worth the reduced drag.

While I wait for the rings to arrive from Italy, I started on my long list of other things for the bike. Fitting bodywork is a bit tricky with only 1 pair of hands. Especially on a bike that has never had a fairing and has no fairing mounts.

Wooden blocks, cable ties, duct-tape, straps, swearing, cussing and a whole lot of patience later and it was done. The screen is a off an old 748 fairing I had knocking about. Had to cut it a bit and makeup some ally brackets to get it to fit... but turned out okay.

She's looking pretty sweet. Thank you very much Peter!

Character Building

I have been trying to gather some stuff for a positive post. I have failed.

I have spent around many days in the last 4 months trying to get my Wee Monster together for the first race of 2014 in just 5 week's time. A simple job for some... but I have struggled my ass off.

My first ever bit of engine work - to fix the loss of compression on the front cylinder after she ate some gravel at Oulton last year. Just top-end stuff. Hey... how complex can a two-valve air-cooled twin be? Everyone keeps telling me how simple it is.

I have had the heads and barrels off on on 4 times now. Compression issue sorted... but oil pissing into the top cylinder. Thought I'd found the problem of a split valve seal. Nah... still as oily as Chinese Fish 'n Chips in there.

Just broke the scraper ring. The 3rd one I've broken. Which of course only comes in a kit of 3... for 90 quid. Nice. Spent 270 quid on rings and the fecker is still broke! Keep going...

This'll be the last time I touch a goddamn engine.

Wee Monster Work

Had the Wee Monster up on the workbench for the last few weeks... need to find that lost horsepower...

First time I am ever working on a motor-sickle engine proper.Thought I'd start my initiation with the simple 2 valve Desmo heads.

Belts off... not too difficult...

Heads off. Loss of compression on front cylinder. Leaky valve. Must have been knicked by a stone she swallowed in the gravel trap back in April.

Gave the valve a spin... thought it was bent. Sourced a complete 620 head to rob the valves off it. Turns out the valve wasn't bent - it was just my crap drill-press. Oh well... now got a complete spare head.

The world of Desmodronics...

Lapping in the valves... that's all that was needed.

With only 59bhp (before the gravel trip), we are a bit below the average for the class. Should be in the low 60s - 65bhp is the class maximum. Need more power! Took the barrels off and removed the base gasket... this'll give me 0.4mm more compression... should bump it up from 10.5:1 to around 11:1... and give an extra horse or two.

Now... to get it all back together again...

Sweet DD

A sweet looking Desmo Due-like racer build by the panigaleracingteam. Loads more pics on the build, on track and vids in their blog...

Thanks Café Racer Culture blog... for the link!

Wee Monster at Donnington Park

A few weekends ago, the day after the DTRA flattrackin at DirtQuake II, I got the Wee Monster up to Donnington Park to do the last of my ManxGP Qualification races.

I cannot remember where I got these pics from...

Apologies for no credits and thanks for the pics

 

After the get-off at Oulton, she was down 5 bhp across the rev range. Mike at MD Racing did a compression test and found the front cylinder is down 35psi. She must have eaten a stone from the gravel pit. So I got up to Donnington just wanting a finish.

I unloaded the bike and then realised that I had forgotten my leathers. Doh! I normally have a check-list that I use... after flattrackin the day before, I was full of confidence and reckoned that I'd done this enough times to be able to remember everything. Yeah, right!

Bike, check. Fuel, check, kit, check... no hang on... whe're my leathers?

With a two-hour round-trip back home not really feasible, I started asking fellow Ducati Desmo riders around the paddock and garages if anyone had a spare set of leathers. I was in luck! Kevin Ellis had a spare set on hand that were the rightish size (they were up for sale). He kindly offered let me borrow them for the day. Thanks Kevin!

Kevin Ellis was so kind as to lend me his spare leathers... we then fought it out on track!

Apologies for no credits and thanks for the pics

I haven't been to Donnington since 2004. It's a big track for a wee 54bhp bike. With loads of blind corners and 'faith' sections, I just felt me way around... careful not to repeat my gravel feats of Oulton Park. I qualified second from last. Hmmmmm.

I could hardly see the start lights from back there!

Apologies for no credits and thanks for the pics

With the GP grid at Donnington (bigger spaces and only 3 slots in each row), the 11th row is a million miles back from the front row... I had to squint hard just to see the start lights! I got a good start and got up to the next row by the time we hit Redgate. I'm still learning the place and just take it easy, making sure I finish. The underpowered little bike is getting killed on the straights... even by some of the Class B bikes. On lap 5 the race is stopped with a red flag incident. No worries. I bag my last qualifying finish for the Manx GP. Not a proper race and a crap result, but relieved that I'm now qualified :-)

Apologies for no credits and thanks for the pics

Race two and I push a bit harder. But with only 4 laps in qualifying and 4 laps in race one, I only have 8 laps experience around the place. I can go a bit quicker through sections and am not pushing as hard as the bike will go... so I reckon I'm down 3 or 4 seconds a lap off where I should be. Turns out I was 8 seconds a lap off the winning pace... I guess that'll be my 10 bhp deficit (class limit is 65bhp). The race goes full distance and I get my second finish of the day. Job done.