Trackdays, eh? Sometimes they are just the best thing since contraception was invented...and other times it feels like you've been caught wearing velcro shoes to a wedding: the whole day just feels awkward.
I guess it was to be expected after such a break but this was a velcro shoe day, I just wasn't feelin' it. I actually went OK on the bikes, but on an unseasonably hot Spring day (34degC isn't too bad in Western Australia but at that time of year was a brutal reminder that Summer is coming with a blowtorch) and I'd discovered why that side of the pit carport was relatively free: a slim sliver of shade was the only escape from the sun as we rotated beneath it.
Add in a coupla dickheads in the group ignoring the Coach's training program/suggestions throughout the day, eg. stuffing it up the inside on the brakes during a no-brakes exercise, and my hackles were up just when I was hoping for a chilled day. It was the Fast group, no-one expects Victorian-era politeness, but if you're going to do your own thing don't fuck it up for everyone else trying to get something out of it.
So I called time early in the afternoon. The track temp was through the roof, with little shade and with the antics of those dickheads I was both physically and mentally steaming. When the 749R coolant temp warning came on re-entering the pits I decided to park it, give the 851 a run, and then call it a day. Years ago I'd made the commitment to myself that as soon as I started clock-watching, forcing myself to do "just one more", that my day would be done: it's just for fun right? If it isn't why are you there?
I'd found this in the paddock a few years ago and it hangs on my shed wall as a reminder that even with the best of intentions bad things happen to good bikes, you don't need to prove anything to anyone:
The 749R was an old friend, like pulling on an old pair of shoes, and even if I wasn't prepared to walk very far or very fast they were still comfy. I could nitpick about gearing but I really needed to get my own shit together, the bike being far more optimised than I was. I held my own, caught and passed a few folks without a single "moment" = happy (-ish) days.
The 851 was somewhat different. The brakes? Improved, not quite crap, but weren't yet in the "good" category. More like the "Fred Flinstone trying to pull up his paddle-foot car" kinda category. Maybe on a day where all you rode was the 851 you'd make the adjustment, but back to back with the amazing brakes on the 749R doesn't paint the prettiest of pictures. The cast-iron rotors with now billet calipers and radial master should be the duck's nuts, but they're just not. So I'm left giving the Brembo Racing organic pads the side-eye. I have an alternative pad on the way and if they aren't much improved the tried and true stainless rotors/sintered pads combo will be getting another run.
This next is just an observation, theory proven in practice: from previously tipping into corners quite nicely the ol' girl now has a slight "falling in" sensation. I haven't made any geometry or suspension changes since the last outing, tyres are the same (now 5 years old!), but she definitely feels a bit "tippy" entering slower corners. I wasn't even thinking about it at the time but afterwards I'm at a loss to explain it other than the effect of the reduced rotating mass with the lighter cam pulleys. Less rotating mass = more agility and faster handling, to the point it's now a lil' too fast with the current geometry. The forks have about 6mm showing above the top triple, and the rear ride height is up there, so there is plenty of scope to dial it out. It feels fine in the couple of quicker corners and is a racing sardine through the chicane so it just needs some fine tuning and she'll be a very sweet thing.
The big discovery was far more unpleasant, Rolls Royce would call it "a failure to proceed": the bloody thing stopped mid-track just a couple of laps in. From wide open throttle "BAAAAH-BAAAAAH!" through a couple of gears to "Drrrrrrrrrrrrr...." and slowing down like an 18 wheeler on the exhaust brake. WTF?! Here we go again, the crazy/hot girlfriend suckering me in: you're out on a date, having a good time, reading the positive signals.......when "SLAP", she's whopped you upside the head....and laughs about it.
I trickle off the inside of the track, thumbing the on/off and starter switches, wriggling the killswitch toggle....nuthin'. She'll turn over but not a hint of any fire in her belly. I'm lookin' down/around, half in hope of seeing an issue and half in hope of seeing some flames so I can just walk away and let the bloody thing burn. I can imagine a marshall running over with a fire extinguisher and me stopping him in his tracks: "No, it's quite alright, let's just sit back and enjoy the moment."
One last effort before I lean it against the tyre wall and wait for the limo ride back to the pits.....and she fires! Hmmmm, revs ok. So, arm up, I cruise the short stretch back to the pits staying well off the racing line, muttering and cursing the whole way. She was a bit herky-jerky to start with, but has cleaned up by the time I'm heading into pitlane, where I stop and give it a bit more run-time, idling smoothly, BIG revs and shaking the bike as best I can = no problem. I swear, if this thing was an actual person she would be Margot Robbie/Harley Quinn, giggling maniacally while I'm grinding my teeth into dust with frustration.
Fuggit....I head out again, fuming! No, not smart, not logical, but what can I say I'm a deeply flawed human being. And in stereotypical schizophrenic Harley Quinn style, she behaves perfectly, adding another 848 to the list of modern bikes we've galloped past. She really does go pretty hard for an ol' girl, has so much potential, but the whole "girlfriend experience" is blighted by pissy problem after pissy lil' problem: she's the hot girlfriend who just flat out refuses to stop eating crackers in bed.
The last noteworthy learning was the throttle. With the Electraeon fast-turn throttle-cam fitted the throttle pull is just too heavy. I'd improved it somewhat since the last hit-out, the previous Renthal grips being quite thin, where some thicker dual density Progrip SBK grips were more ergonomically friendly and provided more leverage. But nowhere near enough. On top of those brakes, at a busy circuit, I came in with a right forearm cramping like a Lost Amazonian tribesman emerging from the jungle and discovering porn.
All in all a short, not very enjoyable, but kinda productive day. There're obviously a few bugs to be ironed out so let's get ironin'.....
That "failure to proceed" was first order of importance and is a genuine safety concern. Back in the dim dark ages something similar had happened, I thought it was the tethered killswitch toggle not being properly inserted at the time, now I'm not so sure. Having the bike cutout with someone in the tuck behind had a real "Go directly to hospital, do not pass GO!, do not collect $200" type consequence and needed to be properly sorted.
Realistically, it can only be fuel or spark right? The chances of a spark issue issue affecting both cylinders meant it had to be a common component, common wiring, or ECU issue. An ECU isn't going to fix itself, so it had to be a connection or killswitch type problem.....but no amount of wriggling, poking or probing amongst the front end, ECU, ignition or killswitch/on-off switch prompted even a hiccup.
Same for the fuel system, both cylinders failing meant you're looking at something common, like a fuel supply or fuel pump issue....
....and there it was, the lil' bastard! Fiddling around the fuel pump harness plug at the base of the tank had the bike die stone dead, and I could hear the fuel pump stuttering away as the connection was intermittently made. Initially I thought it was the plug....easy fix....but would Ms Quinn really offer up such a simple problem/solution? (insert innocent/evil giggle here) Of course not....
The pump being internal to the tank and accessed through the filler cap port, has a wiring transition through the tank base, seen here in the bottom RH corner (sorry, couldn't find a complete photo):
This is the fuel pump cable, sealed at the transition by the big alloy nut and an O-ring:
So the tendency when removing the tank is for folks to just plonk it on a flat surface, which has the tank resting on/flexing the cable transition. Over time, i.e. 34years worth, with repeated removals/stress, the cable/terminations fail. Mine had been repaired at some stage and looked reasonably tidy from the outside, but the further I dug into it the more the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, it was something from a motorcycling horror movie. Finally I revealed this
The top two "holes" are the remains of the broken off fuel level sender pin connections, not required for a race application so no real issue other than looking at it hurt my eyes.
The bottom two are the problem, the fuel pump connections. There are supposed to be pins emerging from the white plastic (?) transition, but they have broken off. One break is darker than the other so has been cracked/broken for some time, and I'll admit to breaking the other digging away the silastic. The bodgy inflexible wires have been fitted with some massively oversize female bullet terminals and (very roughly) soldered to the pins which would have otherwise floated around inside the terminals. The whole lot was encapsulated in silastic with the multitude of sins hidden by heatshrink. What a bloody dog's breakfast....
I obviously needed a new wiring transition/sender kit, duly ordered (part #: 59210142A), but while waiting I repaired/rewired the ugly Council pound dog's breakfast to Michelin Star dog's breakfast, albeit I hope to never EVER have to use it again. You can see the two alongside each other here, with the updated unit (which requires reterminating to suit the older style fuel pump) obviously reconfigured to alleviate the cable flexing/stressing problem.
After firing the ol' girl up again no amount of wriggling, rattling, poking or prodding everywhere I could possibly access could induce any sort of reaction, so I'm going to chalk that up as a win.
Next up was the Mr Olympia forearm training rig, that bloody heavy throttle.
The Electraeon quick turn throttle cam installed:
Compared against the OEM cam:
I thought (very briefly!) about making some lighter springs because the degrees of movement are quite good, but in the end I just bought a Domino single pull QT throttle and planned to refit the OEM throttle cam. Not sure if I’d end up with the same leverage issue overall, but options were limited.
The Domino unit rocks up and I’m surprised how similar it is to the 916 unit I'd previously fitted years ago (for the handy cold start/fast idle button the 851 doesn't have)….hang on a minute, minus the button it's absolutely identical, what the hell?!
And yes, even the throttle tubes are identical, so the action is no quicker:
Colour me thoroughly confused! Not helped by discovering both housings have "Domino" cast inside. I considered the possibility that the old 916 unit was also an aftermarket unit....but the 916 tube, identical to the later Domino tube, has a Cagiva logo and part number. So I can only assume the throttle assemblies were supplied to Ducati as OEM fitment. No biggie, just a weird lil' rabbit hole I didn't expect to go down....and I'm no further towards lightening that hefty pull.
So I'm left looking at the return springs again, I mean look at the size of them! They're just savage too, smashing the butterflies shut to the point you could repurpose the TB’s as supermarket salami slicers.
Do I really need both return springs? You can see the reasoning behind it, if the link rod fails then the vertical (LH above) TB butterfly will just flop around and potentially stay open when needed to be shut = obvious safety issue. But what about the horizontal TB (RH above)? Without a spring the cable and linkage to the rear TB (with spring still in place) would have to fail concurrently for it to not close when required....and what are the odds of that?
So I disconnected the linkage/cam and removed the front spring, with the pleasant discovery that the Throttle Position Sensor (the red component above) must also have a very lightweight spring inside as the butterfly still self-returns without a return spring. Go figure.
So it's a long and winding road to end up at a very simple solution, seen with the culprit sitting in the naughty corner below:
The result is a much lighter quick turn throttle which still has a nice positive snap shut = perfect......but did it really have to be that hard?
Oh, and there was one other bright spot: with the tank off, the airbox was found bone dry, not a trace of oil being pushed through. The nadgery lil' circuit doesn't have as much time spent at WOT as the track where the oil pumping issue raised it's ugly head but I'm cautiously optimistic....although Ms Quinn may have a thing ot two to say about that.
