I decided last year after getting a taste for track days on my 959 that I wanted to do more - much more. After starting to buy parts and totting up the amount of money it would cost to convert my road bike, I realised that it would be far better to leave it and get another - either a bike that was already converted or a cat N write off that I could use as a base. I considered ex Trioptions bikes - in many ways they are the best value - lots of expensive parts and all the work is done - my only nagging doubt is that race bike engines usually need a rebuild after a season and that can be a costly exercise. In the end the decision was made for me as this bike came up at auction - finance repo listed as a non runner. I took a gamble and went to the auction to check it out - it had a bunch of aftermarket bling fitted - lot’s of genuine Ducati carbon, CNC racing rearsets, Ducati Performance indicators, seat cowl, and various anodised extra’s.... The reason it was listed as a non-runner - missing exhaust system. But - just over 4k miles, full service history and all the books came with. Managed to get it for a decent price and took it home to start the conversion.
My remit for the build was simple. Try to buy all parts at half price or less. Make the bike as light as possible without spending silly money. Focus on improving handling and ride-ability There have been lot’s of threads focusing on amazing looking bikes - this isn’t one of them. I became obsessed with weight loss and started building a spreadsheet to track everything that went on or off the bike. So if you ever wanted to know how much random pieces of Panigale weigh - you are in the right place! Inspired by @Jolley https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/panigale-track-diet.67313/ I already had a good starting point but took things a little further in some areas. To take a shortcut - this is the end result - It’s not 100% accurate but it’s very close. Red means an aggregate weight gain - if I hadn’t added all of the crash protection then I could have reached the 170kg running weight I was hoping for. As it is there are still areas that I could lose weight on but the cost becomes disproportionately high once you have removed all of the excess.
I already had a 1299 exhaust system I had bought for the other bike - super low cost way of replacing the missing system and a decent weight saving on the stock 959 shotgun cans. I know the Akrapovic titanium cans are much lighter and a full system lighter still but they are also very expensive and from what have read on here - very loud! I figure the 1299 system is a good option as it should allow me to get on most UK tracks - and that’s the whole point of the bike! View attachment 206617
I picked up an 899 DB holders front clock bracket - figured 899/1199 track fairings would be more likely to come up than 959 ones and a £50 it was so cheap I couldn’t resist. Was hanging on for a race rear subframe but nothing came up at the right price while I was looking so ended up with an 1199 one - still a fair bit lighter than the stock 959 one but an area for improvement if one comes up.
The battery was dead so I of course replaced it with Lithium The cost vs weight saving is truly incredible on these things - you have to hold one in each hand to truly believe it.
One thing I found - nice parts often weigh more! I would be interested to know how much other aftermarket rearsets weigh - because the CNC racing ones are bifters! K-tech DDS pro rear shock - also slightly heavier - but oh so worth it! Switched to flat rate linkage while I was at it
Carbon rear sub frame would be nice, and as mentioned by expat Jack get dome light weight wheels in there.
Around this time I had to add the crash protection. Heavy lumps of metal Forgot to take a picture of the front and rear wheel hub protection but they were another 436g
Got a bit fed up with the weight gain at this point so decided to ditch the under seat heat shield. This may end up being a bit too hot - thinking of getting the pipes ceramic coated or getting a carbon fibre shield if it is. In further desperation I cut the valve out of the exhaust. Dremel is essential! And used a few small nuts and bolts to close up the holes Had to buy to longer bolts for the rear subframe so replaced them with titanium. Longer bolts - same weight! Then found a usable but tatty magnesium clutch cover on ebay - took the stock cover off the road bike to weigh it. Mag cover is much lighter Then stripped out the sound deadening from the inside - figured it’s got a crash cover on it anyway. Pleased with the end result - cheap weight loss. View attachment 206654 View attachment 206659
Those crash bungs look like road spec ones hence why they’re soo massive I wouldn’t personally bother with them as when they dig in they flip the bike. Not only that they can bugger the frame
By this time I Had at some point brought the bike into the lounge. Covid was in full swing and I was pretty busy at work so things slowed down. I did a deal with @Dave dunlop for his Oz rear wheel and a new front - but had to wait for it to be made and ship from Italy In the meantime I ordered a new chain to replace the very rusty original went with a Did race chain and replaced the sprockets while I was at it.
While I was waiting for the wheels I picked up some track fairings and a Bitubo steering damper. The fairings are pro fibre - apart from the front mudguard which is CRC. The Pro Fibre seem a little heavy - solid and well made but based on the weight of the CRC part I would guess that CRC fairings would be lighter and a little more flexible. I discovered at this point that the DB holders fairing bracket I had was designed for fairings that matched the road bracket mounting points. And the pro fibre fairings matched with a track bracket made by motoholders. With a little modification they were made to fit. I added a rapid bike evo - more weight but I think the benefits should easily make up for it. It should adjust the fuelling to match the different air flow provided by the combination of the track air intake, sprint filter, 1299 exhaust and valve delete.
