S4RS at track day

[06Roush]

doing a track day at streets of willow this coming tuesday. i've only been to the track before with my 749. unfortunately, it's in the shop through all of next week so i'll be taking my S4RS. can anyone tell me what to expect...aside from gobs more power? [laugh]

tips/tricks/pointers - whatever. i've only really done some moderate canyon riding on the monster.

[NuTTs]

http://www.ducatimonster.org/smf/ind...topic=109952.0

Hi, try the search facility. I did my first trackday with my first Rs in December 2006 - check out the thread. If you´ve got the DP Termi Kit and 14T installed expect to ripple asphalt and to shred your tyres.

It´s a lot of fun with the Rs, not serious.. just fun.

[Old_Ducker]

Originally Posted by Gabe

doing a track day at streets of willow this coming tuesday. i've only been to the track before with my 749. unfortunately, it's in the shop through all of next week so i'll be taking my S4RS. can anyone tell me what to expect...aside from gobs more power? [laugh]

tips/tricks/pointers - whatever. i've only really done some moderate canyon riding on the monster.

I found the front end incredibly light and twitchy on my S4Rs at Summit Point. In fact, it was so flap-happy on high speed turn exits and so understeering on all turn exits that I stopped riding it the first day I took it to the track and wouldn't take it back out until I got a steering damper for it. That solved the flapping, but did nothing for the understeer. Since my bike is a streetbike and I hate clip-ons on the street, I just lived with the understeer. If you have clip-ons on your bike, it may not be as much of a problem, and it also depends on how hard you're charging, of course!

Tim

[msuXplant]

Have you tried flipping your bars? I did on my S4R and love it. Obviously not clip-on position, but a good step in that direction. And the only cost to do it is time (about 45 min).

[Old_Ducker]

Originally Posted by msuXplant

Have you tried flipping your bars? I did on my S4R and love it. Obviously not clip-on position, but a good step in that direction. And the only cost to do it is time (about 45 min).

No, I don't take the S4Rs to the track any more. In fact, I have put 16mm taller risers and MV Agusta Brutale 910 bars on it, so now I am sitting straighter up and even further back!

[BobS4R]

I would advise experimenting with lowering the front, raising the rear or some combo of the 2.

When I got my S4R brand new it handled slow & understeered. Added 1/2 inch to the rear ride height & VIOLA-- it turned in easily & held a line nicely.

[EvilSteve]

Pretty standard modification for monsters generally is raising the rear. You can also drop the front a few mm if you're shorter or are concerned about the chain setup on the rear when you're jacking the back up. Lowering the front will effect your ground clearance a little too.

I've done this on both my monsters for general riding as it really helps the bike handle a little better. My first monster went all the way to the top but then it was a little sketchy for me so it went back down. The second is up 3/4 of a inch IIRC and feels much better, giving me a lot more confidence on the bike.

The other factor to taking the monster to the track is the hanging off position. If you're used to a sport bike then the monster is kind of odd IMO. If you haven't got the hanging off position down, take it out and practice before you head to the track otherwise you might waste time just getting comfortable.

I'd booked in for a trackday on the 4/5 but due to issues with the bike, I had to cancel. Only now starting to get an ok feel for the lean position on the bike to be honest. It's a lot harder for me to get a comfortable position on this than my previous bike ('06 GSX-R750).

Good luck, enjoy.