Ductalk

Quick Change System, NCR 1979/1980

Collezione Giappone
www.collezione-giappone.com/

Motorcycle final drive ratios are changed by many motorcycle riders for many different reasons. A few of the reasons riders may alter their gearing are to increase top speed on a straightaway, get increased acceleration from a corner or from a start or to increase the efficiency of the motorcycle by increasing miles per gallon. Most riders know that changing the front sprocket tooth count will produce a large change and, conversely, changing the tooth count on the rear sprocket will have a smaller effect change on final drive. What many riders do not know is how to calculate final drive ratio and determine the effect that a change will have.
The equation for final drive ratio is:
(Rear tooth count) / (front tooth count) = drive ratio

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Hello guys, here's the nail and the screws that were inside the leg. I did not know they were green! (translated from Italian)

Indonesia’s Sentul Circuit joins FIM Superbike World Championship...

Maurizio Flammini, President of Infront Motor Sports, signed a contract on February 15 to bring back the FIM Superbike World Championship to Indonesia, after a gap of 15 years, for five years starting in 2013. The contract was signed in the presence of Minister Dr. H.R. Agung Laksono (photo), who coordinates the work of five different ministries that include the Ministry of Sport, as well as numerous leading figures from the worlds of politics, sport and business.

The Indonesian Government will furthermore start up the promotion of the event by means of the creation of a government task force that will sustain the economic, logistical, promotion and administrative requirements of the organiser....more

Press releases from Infront, and the World Superbike and World Supersport teams after the two-day test at Phillip Island:

TEAM ALTHEA RACING CONCLUDES OFFICIAL TESTING AT PHILLIP ISLAND AND IS READY FOR THE OPENING RACE OF THE 2012 SBK SEASON!

Phillip Island (Australia), Tuesday 21st February 2012: team Althea Racing concluded final testing at Phillip Island this afternoon with some very positive results. The team is satisfied with the programme of work completed and both Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano are ready and prepared for the opening race of the 2012 World Superbike championship, taking place at the same track this coming weekend.

This morning, on a cooler track (28˚C), nearly all of the Superbike riders were able to improve on their best times set yesterday, Carlos and Davide included. While Carlos recorded a best of 1m31.6, which left him in second position overall behind Sykes (a 1m31.6 for him too), Giugliano managed to improve on his personal best by just over a second, to close in seventh place with a fastest lap of 1m32.3...more

John Isaac on vintage Ducati bikes, Gran Sports, Ducati Marianna, Adriano Cavalieri Ducati and more classic Ducati bikes.

Bologna has always been home to one of Italy’s most well known two wheeled exports Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati. The early name is a clue to the company’s humble begin­nings. In the industry’s infancy Bologna was something of a leader in radio commu­nic­a­tions. The university produced a certain Sig. Marconi (who invented wireless telegraphy) and in 1922 a young physics student named Adriano Cavalieri Ducati, whilst studying radio commu­nic­a­tions, developed his own radio trans­mitters and condensers...more

Shell Advance 7 Riding Wonders Comes to an End on the Spectacular Coorg- Ooty- Munnar Route in India...

On 17th February 2012, Shell Advance visited Munnar, India with Italian competition winner Alessandro Donadello for a memorable ride along the newly crowned Ultimate Riding Wonder with a Ducati Monster 796 and a Ducati Multistrada 1200 sports motorcycle.

The road from Coorg to Munnar via Ooty was selected from the top seven routes unveiled in a ceremony at the 2011 Shell Advance MotoGP after an extensive online voting campaign. A panel of experts from Ducati, Dorna, Shell Advance and the Sepang International Circuit, as well as selected media from China, India and Indonesia, in Sepang, Malaysia led a discussion before voting on which route should be crowned the world’s Ultimate Riding Wonder. The road from Coorg to Munnar in India was crowned for its outstanding beauty and variety of riding conditions.

WSBK Results.Tom Sykes gives Kawasaki another boost ahead of the 2012 World Superbike Championship season as he paces the third of four official test sessions.

1. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 31.648s
2. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 1m 31.652s
3. Jakub Smrz CZE Liberty Effenbert Ducati 1098R 1m 31.800s
4. Jonathan Rea GBR Honda WSBK CBR1000RR 1m 31.913s
5. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1m 32.034s
6. Marco Melandri ITA BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1m 32.281s
7. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Ducati 1098R 1m 32.319s
8. Leon Camier GBR Crescent Fixi Suzuki GSX-R1000 1m 32.320s
9. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1m 32.347s
10. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 32.540s
11. Michel Fabrizio ITA BMW Italia Goldbet S1000RR 1m 32.605s
12. Niccolo Canepa ITA Red Devils Ducati 1098R 1m 32.746s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Honda WSBK CBR1000RR 1m 32.910s
14. Maxime Berger FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1m 32.911s
15. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia Goldbet S1000RR 1m 32.948s
16. Lorenzo Zanetti ITA PATA Ducati 1098R 1m 33.136s
17. David Salom ESP Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 33.385s
18. Bryan Staring AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 33.418s
19. Chaz Davies GBR ParkinGO MTC Aprilia RSV-4 1m 33.561s
20. Josh Brookes AUS Crescent Fixi Suzuki GSX-R1000 1m 33.623s
21. Raffaele De Rosa ITA Pro Ride Honda CBR1000RR 1m 34.341s
22. Mark Aitchison AUS Grillini Progea BMW S1000RR 1m 34.634s

Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR No Time

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25 Years of World Superbike: Troy Bayliss...

One man who has truly established himself as an all-time Superbike great since his series debut in 1997 is Troy Bayliss from Taree, NSW in Australia. Bayliss was something of a late starter, and he made his initial claim to fame in SBK racing, on a Suzuki as a wild card at Phillip Island in the mid-nineties.

For Bayliss, he is certain that showcasing himself well in the SBK races at home led to what would become much greater things. "I think honestly it was a very big help," said Bayliss. "I never won the Australian Superbike championship but finished second a couple of times. Even if you won the championship it did not mean you would get a ride overseas. So those wild card rides helped me and that is how I got noticed, basically. Always the top guys in domestic Superbike classes can be competitive at a world-class level. Then it is fine picking if you can actually win after that."

For Bayliss, Phillip Island is one of the great tracks, but it really did bring a unique pressure for him. "Phillip Island was always one of the hardest ones because I had so much more work to do, so many family and friends came there and so the whole thing was like a tough weekend! Sometimes the Aussies seem to pull out some great riders at their home track, but to race in the World Championship you have to be fast at every track. It was always good winning at Phillip Island but I felt just as much to win at Monza, Misano and anywhere else."...more

How though, has Ducati gone from being an underdog in the literbike class to a contender for the crown? Three words tell the story: clean-sheet design.

When BMW launched the S 1000 RR back in 2009, a new benchmark was set for the literbike class. And since its release, we’ve impatiently waited for a production motorcycle that could parallel the Bavarian brawler’s outright performance. With the release of the Ducati 1199 Panigale, it looks as though that wait is over.

Read more: http://www.sportrider.com/news/146_1202_2012_ducati_1199_panigale_s_first_ride/viewall.html#ixzz1n40YGPcR

Learn To Wheelie The Easy And Safe Way...

Many bikers dream of popping a wheelie on their motorcycle but are afraid to do so. It's not rocket science, but until you've done it, you are afraid to flip over.

There are many schools that will teach you how to do a wheelie, but it still involves some risk of flipping the motorcycle.

The easy way, and definitely the safest way, is to use a wheelie machine; a simulator of sorts. The machine is a trailer with a moving belt, motorcycle attachments and a rope tied to the front wheel.

You just start the engine, throttle up and at the right moment, full power and nudge the bike up. The motorcycle stays in place because of the attachments, and if the bike goes too high, the rope tied to the front wheel will prevent it from flipping over. The machine can be used for all sorts of stunt training, since you are not at risk of hurting yourself, unless you just fall of the bike....more

 (translated from Italian)

Giacomo Agostini won last week, another record, that of being the first rider to enter the Hall of Fame of the British magazine Motor Sport . To make the scene of the ceremony was the famous Roundhouse in London, for an evening hosted on its stage the legends of engines rather than the rock. " I gladly accepted this award in Britain - said the 15-time world champion - also because I managed to bring the two wheels in the middle of many samples of the four . "
Although he has hung for many years his helmet, still has many fans.
" It 's one thing I always love to say that you still remember me and with my career, I left them a beautiful memory . The counterpart is that I travel very often and this takes away a bit 'of time to their personal lives, but the affection that I show so many people makes me proud . "
Supporters argued Rossi in a disastrous year, what it means for one pilot to pass such a moment of Valentino?
" Going to Ducati was his choice and has proved very hard this past season, which was negative in all respects. I can well understand what could have been his morale , how he felt at finding himself fighting for a sixth or fifth place. When you're used to being the first, it annoys you to get second or even third, let alone when you're more behind. "
In tests at Sepang, however, were made some steps forward and Rossi said he was pleased with the results.
" Valentino is improving and I hope he does even more, but I'm sure that someone like him, used to winning, can not be happy with a 5th place . The important thing is that now they appear on the right track, in my opinion is more hopeful than happy . "
In the season debut of the CRT, that idea has made this category?
" The CRT is a piece , seem to see race together two groups that have nothing in common, if they wanted to track the motion that take 5 seconds per lap from then being able to run the MotoGP Moto2 . Do not mean a thing to put together a bike with so much performance difference, the gaps are enormous hope that soon you will run for cover . "
CRTs are the daughters of the economic crisis, according to her there are other solutions?
" I do not want to lecture the professor to do but it's time to sit down and think to find a solution , relying on those with experience in this field. The big problem is the leasing of motorcycles at prices higher than 3 million euros , at a time like this that money is not there . "
How do you judge the other hand the transition from 800 to 1000?
" This is a choice that I really do not know if it was done to save has had the opposite effect , with houses that have had to completely redesign and motorcycle engines. I can not understand what you both wanted to achieve: the fastest bike on the straights? The show does not depend on speed, what changes have bikes that range to 340 km / h instead of 320? The show is made ​​in the corner, when there brawl, fight. The 250 2-stroke performance had not yet giving away beautiful races . "
A final question is to Italy on two wheels, it's hard to have a generational change in the World Championship, what is this?
" In recent years we have neglected the school, we did not raise our young people. Instead in Spain have done the opposite, with leagues for all ages and the results are there for all to see. Now the Italian Federation has realized the mistake, but it will take time to train new recruits . In the future I hope to grow an array of good riders who can aim high . "

Read more: http://www.gpone.com/index.php/201202216132/Ago-Rossi-contento-Non-per-un-5-posto.html?utm_source=GPone.com#ixzz1n2Hy6nVY

omegagt1000's photo on Instagram...

(translation) Taken at Izu beach, Imai (near Tokyu, Japan)

Photographer - Yasu Mochizuki

Camera - Canon EOS 7D

OK, it probably only goes 60 in the snow :-)

  In the past few years, motorcycles have done more than provide fulfill my needs for pleasure and speed - they've also acted as health barometers.

Yes, whenever something began to feel awkward in the body, it was first noticed while catering to my passion - riding. And the latest incidents occurred while piloting sportbikes in a "spirited" manner.

The first was hernia. This past summer, after about a half-hour of spirited riding, I suffered major pain in certain areas. And the more I hung off the bike, the more the pain radiated around my mid-section and groin area. This pain progressed, prompting me to visit the doctor. The Diagnosis - double-hernia.

Surgery. Recovery. Back to riding...more