...until they get punched in the face" (Mike Tyson)
This was where the universe punched me in the face....in a nice way...well, nice if you aren't my wallet.
Just in case you were wondering, that's me (and my wallet) on the left:
The universe gave up all pretence at subtlety and fair smashed me in the direction my cockamamie fumbling should take: I hadn't set out to make a replica of anything, but this thing was veering deeper and deeper into the RS badlands whether I liked it or not.
It's not often good parts become available in Australia, there's more chance of finding Amelia Earhart sipping a gin 'n tonic in a Melbourne rest home than Corse parts on the wrong side of the Ducati-world (the restorative effects of a Hendricks/tonic with a slice of cucumber are not to be underestimated). So no-one was more surprised than I was when I stumbled across this lil' lot:
Genuine NOS CM Composit carbon fibre Factory 999F06 fairings.....and that's my "message sent to seller"(above).
These aren't copies of Factory parts, these are Factory parts, exactly what was fitted to Troy Bayliss' 2006 WSBK championship winning 999F06.
This stuff had more air miles than Richard Branson, having travelled from Italy, to the legendary Jeff Nash in the 'States (AMS Ducati Dallas), then down to the seller on the East coast of Australia. With his own ex-BSB F06 (!!!) more an incredible display piece than realistic track toy these days the spares were surplus to requirements and they eventually travelled another 4300km's to me on the West coast. The poor stuff must be absolutely knackered!
(A lil' FYI, Jeff Nash is a Kiwi, growing up in Dunedin/Otago New Zealand, I grew up just up the road in North Otago....all similarities, including racing and financial success end there, sorry Mum!)
Obviously these weren't fibreglass trackday fairing cheap, but considering the incredible pre-preg carbon/kevlar-reinforced quality, and the moonbeams this would have sold for back in the day, it was a bloody bargain and I was rapt. My better half? Not so much and the dog got to enjoy my side of the bed for a bit. A lil' something I learned the hard way: always supply your furry buddy with a great bed 'cos you may just find yourself using it.
Better still the seller, an absolute gentleman, offered a couple of extra bits and bobs for only a tad extra and found a great shipping option, so eventually I'm looking at a new tiny-house parked in my shed:
The extra's included another belly pan, spare deflector set and spare intake ducts, so this is what I unpacked:
A wee tangent scurrying down a carbon fibre rabbit hole: there's more to the different types than the oft faught battle between fibre and fiber.
Wet carbon fibre:
- Typically involves a raw carbon fibre fabric hand painted or infused with epoxy. The optimal resin to fibre ratio is approx 35% resin but it's difficult to achieve even 50% with infusion, closer to 70% via hand. Excess resin means excess weight and brittle parts.
- Involving human hands inevitably means relatively dry/wet areas, air bubbles etc, compromising overall strength and appearance.
- No uniformity between similar parts.
- 48 hr cure time before handling/prepping.
- But it's cheap, with little or no specialised equipment required.
Prepreg (Dry) carbon fibre:
- Epoxy is pre-impregnated into the fibres during manufacture, hence the "pre-preg" and "dry" terms as the pre-preg cloth has a dry appearance and is easily handled with no epoxy run-off.
- Requires heat and pressure to cure, typically 4hrs above 130degC. Not essential, but industrially speaking an autoclave is used to "pressure cook" the parts, but there is no waiting period afterwards and parts are immediately ready for handling/prep.
- Prepreg parts are between 50 and 70% lighter than wet lay with near perfect resin distribution/ratio.
- Despite lighter weight it's significantly stronger vs wet lay and near uniform between parts.
- Shelf life is an issue. Prepreg fibre has in the past had to be refrigerated, but some newer products last up to 6 months at room temperature.
- Cost!!! Given all the above special equipment and requirements, and not forgetting the mould also must maintain it's shape in the temperature/pressure of the autoclave (aluminium moulds are not unusual in commercial applications) prepreg parts are between 3 - 4 times the cost of wet lay. Gulp!
But as with anything you get what you pay for and I can confirm that these F06 fairings are waaaaay stiffer/stronger than the similar 2 piece (Armour Bodies) carbon fairings fitted to my 749R. The top fairing was a real eye opener: the AB unit slips straight over the front, you easily flex out the sides to clear the radiator, crankcase breather and calipers/forks etc without a second thought. The CMC unit is a serious "Bowflex" type workout! There is no 30sec "I'll just throw the fairing on...", instead you are huffing/puffing/swearing in a sustained isometric contraction as you eke out each cm, concious of every lil' obstacle and sticky-outy bit you are trying to navigate as you struggle to gain enough flex .
Fun factoid for you (if your go-to outer-wear involes a cardigan): even though these are the "face-lift" fairings (OEM 05/06 has 8 screen holes), the F06 top fairing is drilled for an 03/04 screen, which has 9 holes in a different arrangement. The only time luck is mentioned in my shed is usually preceded by the word "bad", but a previous ordering error had an equally New Old Stock "Zero Gravity" 03/04 screen on the shelf: "WOOHOO!!!" I get to blow the dust off something, not swear, and not put it straight back on the shelf:
As per usual I managed to complicate a simple job: I had some old M4 ergal screen bolts on-hand, the bronze/gold colour being a giveaway to the 916 era. I even had some M4 well-nuts => (insert smug smile here) Well, smug right up to the point I fitted up the well-nuts and screen and found the bolts are actually M4 Fine (0.5mm vs 0.7mm thread pitch, smug smile replaced by teenage eye-roll). And soon thereafter I realised just how hard it is to find M4 Fine well-nuts....sigh. But we got there eventually:
(You'll have to excuse the Harley-esque catch tray, the oil filter pre-screen cover was living up to it's notoriously unreliable reputation....more on that soon.)
Weirdly, after years of looking at the 749R with it's tall tank, the slim-line alloy unit makes the bike look quite long 'n low, it will be interesting if it looks the same with the belly pan fitted.
There was one tiny lil' fly doing back-stroke in my soup - those air ducts. They have the same square-ish/parallelogram shape entry as the F0/RS fairing intake, but the tubes look a lil' too skinny and the wrong shape, more like "Ducati Performance" tubes for 749R/999R than F0/RS tubes. I knew in my heart of hearts they wouldn't fit, hoped otherwise, but there was no pleasant surprise.
Shown here against the ShiftTech tubes on the 749R, yup, same-same but different: they're DP (Superstock?) not Corse parts:
But I'm still stoked. And just like that the ratty old set of fibreglass track fairings I was going to tidy up become another line item on the list of parts that were supposed to make it off the shelf, but haven't.
Oh yeah, I'd happily swap the 2 x duct sets shown for 1 x F0/RS duct set if someone has the opposite problem, lol.
They're brand new....with the added allure of vintage Italian dust carefully aged in the catacombs of Borgo Panigale.....
For reference, these are what I knew the F0/RS ducts should look like:
To be fair, you can see why there was a still a "faint flicker of hope burning in a cyclone of doubt", this intake shape isn't a million miles away from those tubes up there:
It's only when you get them alongside each other, or go to fit the DP tubes to the RS fairing that you realise the shape may be similar but the sizing is quite different.
But apart from that all looks pretty good eh? Er, not so fast....if you put your ear to the screen you'll be able to hear the "Jaws" music playing ever so softly in the background...and getting louder. As you will have seen above, the fairings arrived mid-way through the airbox construction and when these arrived the Factory's rationale for something slightly unusual became abundantly clear: something I had previously viewed as a bonus instead became a kick in the coins....
