Ducati 748

[matt2778]

Does anyone have experience racing a Ducati 748? How's the maintence and reliability?

[rybo]

Matt -

I raced one for 7 years and have lots of info for you.


The short:

It was expensive to build, but not too bad to maintain
Parts are getting harder to find, since they haven't been made for a long time
Good news: There is a great parts supplier in Denver in Imperial Sportbikes

No one else is racing one anymore (that I'm aware of) so parts support in the paddock is sparse.

It's underpowered and heavy in stock form. A well built SV is faster. It handles great, and is very stable in corner.

I really liked mine and don't regret racing it.

Scott

[rybo]

Sorry for doing a "Jon G" double post :)

[markt]

Matt -

I raced one for 7 years and have lots of info for you.


The short:

It was expensive to build, but not too bad to maintain
Parts are getting harder to find, since they haven't been made for a long time
Good news: There is a great parts supplier in Denver in Imperial Sportbikes

No one else is racing one anymore (that I'm aware of) so parts support in the paddock is sparse.

It's underpowered and heavy in stock form. A well built SV is faster. It handles great, and is very stable in corner.

I really liked mine and don't regret racing it.

Scott

Scott, How often did you adjust your valves? every couple races?

Mark

[matt2778]

I was looking at one to be more competitive in classes where my SV is under powered. If a well built SV runs faster I may stick with that.

[rybo]

Mark,

Way less often than that. Couple times a season at max, and those seasons included a lot of track days or racing with other clubs. Once the engine was built the settings were really quite stable. One major concern with these bikes is rocker arms. Ducati had a few bad years where the chrome would flake off of them. It was covered under an extended warranty, but that has long expired, so today it's pretty expensive to fix.

All in all I loved racing the Ducati, and I'd do it again for sure.



Matt -

I raced one for 7 years and have lots of info for you.


The short:

It was expensive to build, but not too bad to maintain
Parts are getting harder to find, since they haven't been made for a long time
Good news: There is a great parts supplier in Denver in Imperial Sportbikes

No one else is racing one anymore (that I'm aware of) so parts support in the paddock is sparse.

It's underpowered and heavy in stock form. A well built SV is faster. It handles great, and is very stable in corner.

I really liked mine and don't regret racing it.

Scott

Scott, How often did you adjust your valves? every couple races?

Mark

[rybo]

I was looking at one to be more competitive in classes where my SV is under powered. If a well built SV runs faster I may stick with that.

Matt-

Call Quinn, this here is an amazing SV less than it will cost to buy and properly set up a 748


http://forums.mra-racing.org/viewtopic.php?t=15990

The SV is also eligible for lightweight classes, where the 748 is middleweight or bigger, so the SV gives you more racing opportunities.

[markt]

Mark,

Way less often than that. Couple times a season at max, and those seasons included a lot of track days or racing with other clubs. Once the engine was built the settings were really quite stable. One major concern with these bikes is rocker arms. Ducati had a few bad years where the chrome would flake off of them.

Scott,

"once the engine was built" what exactly do you mean by that, and what mod's did you do to it to make it more competitive?

Also,
do you have any 748 stuff around anymore that you'd be willing to unload?

Mark