Only just realised I'd started two different threads; maybe an Admin could merge them together or something? I've done 800 miles so had a couple of ride outs on full revs and really starting to get a feel for the bike now. The biggest difference isn't so much the extra 500 revs but the lightness of the rotating mass at high speed. Most bikes start to feel heavy to move side to side when the revs are high but the R still feels featherweight, it's an amazing experience. The cams and engine tune are noticeably higher up in the rev range. The engine is best run above 7000rpm which feels weird at first because you end up running second gear for longer than normal and as there's a lot of power in such a lightweight chassis it takes practice before you feel balanced through corners. My 1199S took a few months of trackdays before I got the hang of how best to use my body position due to it being very sensitive and I think the R would be quite difficult to learn to ride well if I hadn't already spent a couple of years on the other Panigales. Stomp grip is essential as the trick for me has been to make sure I'm not grabbing onto the handle bars as that amplifies any headshake it picks up from the ground. With the R there's so much power and it's so lightweight that it's quite difficult to stop yourself from doing this. I did start to get more balanced and better once I changed a few suspension settings to calm the bike a bit. The two ringed race pistons means the engine drinks a bit of oil. There's no noticeable smoking but it has gone from through about 600ml of oil in 800 miles which is a bit better than the Ducati guidelines of it using around 300ml per 500km / 300miles. The suspension setup feels like it matters a lot more on such a lightweight bike. To start with the back was too stiff and the bike felt pretty crazy at high speeds in corners, a bit uncomfortably loose and a little scary at times. My riding was quite messy and with un-precise lines to first time I started using the revs. I took a couple of clicks off the rear compression and rebound and it has really helped to bring it all together again and make it feel like a lighter weight version of my 1199S which I'm happy to chuck around at will. I have not gone over the Sag/preload setup yet but once I do that I'll put some numbers up for people to compare. I'm itching to get it on track but it's unlikely to pass noise testing at Brands Hatch and Snetterton in the next couple of weeks so it probably will not get out until Silverstone GP circuit on the 15th August. Thats going to be a long wait!
I've posted these on the pictures thread but thought I'd stick them here for continuity. I decided last minute to join sam1199s at Donnington as it was my 40th birthday and was a good excuse as I was itching to get the R on track. Had an epic day of it and managed to get my lap time down to 1'42.18'' and came away with a bunch of places where I know I can improve. I reckon I've had it easy getting a perfect setup on the S so quickly with just a few changes and I think the R is going to be a lot more work to really make the most of it. I struggle to get precise lines when pushing hard as I'm not balanced well on the bike yet and it is very light and powerful which I think emphasizes the importance of good suspension setup. Also there's really heavy headshake when accelerating hard out of slow corners which is preventing me get to full speed as quick as I would like. I think some work on the rear shock is needed to fix that. I should have prepared some testing to work through the settings but because it was a last minute decision the day before I was up to midnight just getting the track fairings on and didn't manage to do much setup on the day. Things went a bit wrong on the last session as I was filming one of the race lads from close behind and he crashed in front of me and I had to bin the bike to not run him over. There's some damage but doesn't look too bad so hopefully I'll get it back up and running for Silverstone GP on Monday.
Funny you should mention that. That guy is Richard Cooper the Buildbase / Hawk Racing BSB racer on a Honda CB500!
Haha well qualified then! Was going to say he has plenty of lean on! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There were some seriously fast guys there yesterday, easily the fastest trackday group I've ever seen. There were at least three guys in the fast group who would pass me on a corner and be gone by the next corner! The guy filming me is Seb Bulpin who is an ex Supersport Championship winner and Superstock winner.
Yeah it was a fast day yesterday, but also a few have-a-go heroes cutting people up, including me - almost got taken out twice! I was having a battle myself with Richard Cooper from the chicane round to the start finish straight - doing him on the straights but he'd outbrake me into the next corner! Finally gapped him enough to stay ahead by Redgate [emoji16] It's Seb Bulpin who was filming you Dave. Proper rapid isn't he! In fact the van drive home with him was a similar pace haha!
Yeah, track fairings fortunately which I'd just fitted but also a few other bits that will need replacing. I'll post a few phots once I've got it sorted.
Nice riding - I've managed high 1:40's on the RSV4 and have the Pani there on the 30th with Neil Hodgson for the day so hoping to improve on that and would be well chuffed if I could get near your pace.
Cheers Simon. I wanted to go out with Neil on this day but he was fully booked out. Donnington is such an awesome track.
There's been loads going on with the bike but I've been too busy to get any proper posts. The bike is being shipped off to Aragon this weekend so I'm hoping to keep it shiny side up. Here's a few phots of progress: Got myself a tank bump and seat like all the racers use. It keeps your weight back and makes the bike feel like a 1*98. I've not used it on track yet so not sure how I'll get on with it as I like to clamber over the front of the bike a lot to get it turning. On the road it feels like I need to move my rear sets back as well but I don't have after market ones. The idea is that it helps prevent the idle throttle mid corner crashes that Panigales are prone to and seeing as I've had two low sides doing exactly that I figured it was worthwhile. It's exactly like letting the throttle off on a dirt bike in sand or mud and weight shifts to the front making the front end slide out. The body work is made to go on an 1199 so I've got the 1199 fairing stay fitted with the 1299 light blank to hold the IMU. I've been trying to stop using all the stock plastics to make the bike easier to work on but the IMU needs it's own bracket and I've been struggling to get everything matched up. Ready to rock and roll with different graphics on each side. I've developed a carbon fetish with these track fairing bodywork, not sure how long my wallet can keep it going though! Most of this stuff comes on the R except the swing arm cover which I got separately. The scratched tail panel is a DP track fairings with a tricolour wrap that I had previously. I much prefer the 1299 tail to the 1199 so I don't want to use my old tail fairings. For the eagle eyed, I've also just bought the missing dsus clips
Day one went well at Aragon. Only real goal was to not crash! It's an amazing track; very fast but also very technical with a bit of everything. It eats Pirellis for breakfast so I've got a set of Dunlop slicks to try tomorrow as I'm sick of going through the Pirellis so fast and the performance is great for half a day to maybe a day and then drops off badly. I'm starting to feel comfortable with the R on track now that I've sorted the suspension a bit better. It's still fairly savage but much more controllable. Best time today at Aragon was 2'12.5'' which is reasonable and I was keeping a pretty big safety zone so I'm hoping I can get a few more seconds. There was a guy on a stock BMW in our garage doing 2'01'' !! rapid!!! I've had a quick change rear sprocket for a few months but havn't got around to fitting it due to never really needing to change gearing but here at Aragon I could definitely do with longer gears as I'm right in between second and third out of the corkscrew and could do with longer legs on the main straight.
