Lucky Phil

My bike is early 2000 as well docc and I just assumed it would be 19mm but looks like 22mm as well. It must just be the very early ones are 19mm? Ciao

Ok thanks for the information on thread sizes. I can only imagine the dia was increased to make the pin easier to thread into the pork chop. I can't see any other reason for it, certainly no additional strength is require but the 19mm ones at least can be fiddly to fit and cross threading is always on my mind when I install them. I think the larger dia thread might mitigate this to some extent. Ciao

I routed the joined lines forward so I had space for a connector that I could access before I removed the tank to make the process easy and simple. Mine both go overboard in the usual location as I couldn't devise a neat and unobtrusive way to locate the hose at the front of the crankcases below the steering head. I don't use a canister. Yes that's an aftermarket fuel filter with a cleanable and replaceable filter to save space under the tank. Ciao

Ok I didn't know that. Whats the actual difference in the threaded section OD? Can you measure it accurately for us. Ciao

Not aware of that. Until the Panagale in 2 and 4 cylinder guises the open class Ducatis weren't really reliable enough for the TT. In WSB on short circuits they only had a 1000klm engine life and the TT is a lot harder on engines than even WSB. The cost of running a Ducati Superbike there would have been prohibitive I think. The V4 is another matter though. A few have competed on the 1098 and 1198, a German name Karsten Schmidt in 2008 and 2011 and also Michael Rutter in 2011 who managed a 123.916mph average, not too shabby. We ran out F2 Ducati in 1986 and experienced no pipe to ground issues. We did crack a shock mount on the swingarm though which didn't result in a DNF and as it crossed the finish line in the Senior race it popped the rear carb off the inlet manifold when our rider shut the throttle. Ciao

I just hate people getting screwed really badly for price on something like this. Ciao

I've never heard of this issue, tell me more. Ciao

$300, they didn't see you coming, they sent for you. Ciao

I like acronyms docc so the LPSE, the CSSSS and my bike the GSB. Ciao

No that was mid stage without the front mount finished. This is the final version.

No, I've never seen any bike like that. Ducatis are the same from the era and always had hoses. I run a plain hose from both connected with a Y piece up under the tank to the back of the sump in the traditional way but I have a joiner near the steering head so I can easily access it when the tank is installed. One of the benefits of having my front tank mount raised 40mm is there is not only more room under the tank but also more room between the tank and the wiring and fuel hose mess up near the steering head. The hoses on mine are also not negotiable as the nipples are now directly over my alternator regulator/rectifier. Fuel dropping directly on it in the event of any spillage or venting wouldn't be desirable. Ciao

I wouldn't do that myself. If you have a fuel spillage when filling it'll dump fuel on a hot engine and the cap vents through the other port as well. It doesn't only vent air into the tank but also vapours out at a pre set pressure and keeps any vented fuel fumes which are more dangerous than the liquid fuel itself away from the hot area under the tank. Thats the funny sound you here sometimes after a ride and you park the bike. The tank venting pressure into those fittings and lines. Ciao

It wasn't an issue. What was his biggest issue was 2 years spent on the Honda CRT bike which was a total POS. Even Nicky Haydon confirmed this. If Miller had gone to MotoGP on a Yamaha or even a Suzuki he'd be a different and possibly even more successful rider. Starting on that Honda was a liability. As you can see from testing the speed really isn't an issue for Rookies going to MotoGP these days, the bikes aren't that difficult to cut a fast lap on an empty track or alone, what separates them from the experienced guys is leaning to "race" a MotoGP bike. Riding them and racing them is two completely different things. You see Darren Binder now on the Yamaha and pretty fast. He's got the best bike in the paddock to learn on and will prove the step isn't too great. One advantage coming from Moto2 is they have greater adjustability to chassis and engine so you get greater experience in setting a bike up. Ciao

I just used aluminium 'expanded mesh" which was commercially available. Cut it to size with maybe a 15mm or so margin and just used some silicon to attach. Something oil proof in the 3 bond range from memory. Ciao

How do you get to the adjuster with the airbox in place? Ciao

Forget about the testing timesheet, it's largely irrelevant. The conditions are such that there is so much rubber laid down on the track that the times are misleading. Sure if you're dog slow then there's an issue but all the riders know track condition in testing aren't even close to the real world. Wonder why after 3 days testing in Qatar come race day the testing top boys are struggling? That's why. During a race week end the Moto3 bikes are out first and scrub the track clean of rubber and then the Motogp bikes go out. Non of this happens in testing so the conclusions are moot. This is why MotoGP riders also struggle when at some rounds they alter the race programme from the practice and qualifying so the Moto2 bikes race before them. They have set up their bikes during practice and qualy for a track surface scrubbed clean by Moto3 bikes then have to go out and race after the Moto2 bikes have laid down a races worth of their rubber. All the MotoGP setting are then not optimal. On top of that they all do a lot of laps and are pretty mentally and physically spent for the last 1/3 of it all. Ciao

Well there's always Remy to follow as well now. I like this kid, unpretentious, has done a lot of hard yards and in his spare time his hobbie is modifying his old Volvo Amazon in his own nicely set up workshop. His only issue swapping to MotoGP is going to be he's a "slow burner" and I'm not sure he'll get the opportunity of 2 or 3 seasons to get to grips with a MotoGP bike. He is however talented and passionate about what he does in the workshop and engineering so I see a future for him post racing as a factory engineer. Take a look at "at home with Remy Gardner" on youtube. Likeable down to earth kid. There's broadly speaking 2 types of riders at the top level, those that have an understanding of the technicalities and detail of set up and those that don't get involved and leave it too their crew chief. I dont think you can get away with being the latter anymore. Even years ago it separated riders but if you had a great crew chief you'd scape through. I don't think that applies anymore and now you not only need to be across the technical stuff as a rider but also you need to be looking in detail at every aspect of you competition as well. Thats why factory operations share all their data and a lot have rider coaches wandering the track looking at riding lines etc. I'm not sure Miller is that committed to this kind of stuff, I might be wrong but these days it's not optional anymore. I remember Carl Fogarty struggling massively in the 1996 WSB series on the RC45 Honda. It wouldn't turn for him and he was struggling with it big time. On the other side of the garage Aaron Slight was getting the job done and getting top results. About 5 races in Foggy said they finally cracked the setup by raising the ride height by around 20mm or some extraordinary amount, so it was the same as Slighty's bike. I thought when I read this, how can you be in that situation with the handling and be parked in the same garage and not see the obvious setup differences between someone who's getting results and yourself. You can see that kind of ride height difference from 50M away. You need to be studying your adversaries and learning from the faster ones even as a factory rider. Interestingly another thing is physical strength, I'm sure part and only part of the reason Rossi became so uncompetitive in the last 4 or 5 years was he just didn't have the upper body strength necessary. I saw a recent shot of him and Marquez on holidays posing for a photo together in their swimmers. One looks like a body builder and one looks like a marathon runner. Not sure you can get away with that lack of upper body mass and strength anymore either. Too many riders get to factory level and look for the edge in the bike and setup with a whole team focused on your particular needs and forget most of the gains at that level are still in the hands of the rider and his ability to adapt and learn and stay mentally focused. Ciao

Guzzi belt and braces. The sleeve installs from the drive side and the circlip is security in case it's interference fit ever degrades but it also supports the sleeve from getting displaced when big stupid apes with lump hammers fit disk side wheel bearings. You know who you are. For the Ohlins damper try fitting an oring around the spherical bearing to limit it's ability to flop around and stop it hanging. You choose a dia and cross section that goes around the outer half of the bearing and rides on the inside of the bracket so when the steering is turned and the spherical ball rotates to compensate for the angular displacement it also compresses the oring and keeps the whole thing firm but still moveable/flexible. Ciao

Mick Doohan was just an animal on a race track. I'd love to see Jack do well but I don't see him riding a works Ducati next season. Too many young fast guys in the Ducati stable and Jack like the majority seems to lack that last 1/2% needed to be a superstar and that's all that separates all of them these days. I always use this as an explanation. The average race track lap is around 100 seconds give or take and with .4 of a second covering the first 5 rows these days that means the guy in 15th position on the grid with basically no chance of getting on the podium is less than 1/2% slower than the pole man and the other guys further up the grid are obviously even less than that. There's not much margin between podium placer and also ran these days. Millers biggest issue is tyre preservation. All these guys can lay down a lap time and Miller better than most at dragging out a quick one off lap but the the real skill is in maintaining your speed and managing tyres come race day. No good having a bike setting that gets you onto the front row which you can't use during the race because it's too aggressive a set up for the tyres and then losing your speed advantage from qualifying because you can't produce the race speed with a race setup. In other word you need to be fast with the qualifying setting and also with the race/tyre preservation setting. I worry that Miller doesn't have the "adaptability" in his style to take the final step. He seems to be more an "instinct" rider and that takes you to 99.7% not 100% where you need to be. He should look at some of the images taken of himself and Pecco at the same corners and the vast differences in their body positioning on the bike if he wants to eek out another little bit. Peccos fast and preserves the tyres so Miller might want to study and adapt his riding position to someone on the same equipment that's obviously got an advantage over him. Having said all of that nothings from this coming season would surprise me and I wouldn't dare make any sort of predictions. Ciao

Lorenzo is your typical "soggy cornflakes" GP rider. If the starts are aligned, the moons in the right phase, the bike is spot on, the track has the grip he likes etc etc, he's untouchable. BUT if he gets up in the morning and the "cornflakes are soggy" it's all over for the weekend may as well leave before the race. Stoner was the exact opposite as a rider. He would just adapt to the situation he was in, bike set up, conditions, tyres, grip, adaption is the key. Guys like Lorenzo need everything to be perfect then they're fast, not perfect, forget it. Troy Corser was another one and Troy Bayliss was the exact opposite, like Stoner. Ciao

If you rely on your car or motorcycle to "get the girls" you're already a lost cause. Ciao

That and the extra trail. Ciao

Fast in, slow out. Nothing ever changes. Ciao

Maybe a translation thing but I'm not sure about "less", ie reduced "handling" whatever "handling" is defined to be. My 1198 has reduced offset triple clamps down from 36 to 30mm. The std 36mm offset road clamps means the bike doesn't finish off the corner well and has a tendency to run wide exiting corners under power. The increased trail and added weight on the front wheel corrects this by and large. It's noticeable on the track but not the road, as you're not pushing that hard on the road. There are a lot of compromises made in the set up and dimensions of older road bikes to accommodate for pillions, different weight riders and the highly variable conditions all the bikes sold will be ridden in around the world. Some of the reason modern bikes handle so well is because the manufacturers have gradually narrowed down the compromises which is great for particular riders and environments but not for others. They then drag it back a little by electronically tailored adjustability. Ciao

You only need to cure VHT engine enamel for "Chemical resistance" read gasoline resistance. You could probably get away without the heat curing but if you have an oven and an understanding wife then it can't hurt anything. Personally I'd stay away from wrinkle finish paint. It collects dirt too easily and is hard to clean. looks nice but not in the "real world" Ciao