| BIKE: | 2003 749S |
| OWNER: | Chris Loung |
| LOCATION: | California |
| MILEAGE: | 12,000 |
| ENGINE: | The engine is more or less stock as it is my track bike and it has more than enough power than I can fully utilize. I do have a Termignoni 1/2 system that has been ceramic coated flat black on the bike so that it sounds like a Ducati. I have also dressed it up with the required Ducati 'bling.' I have an NCR titanium clutch cover with SpeedyMoto pressure plate. I also have a Ducati Performance titanium sprocket cover. I also have carbon fiber belt covers as well as a carbon fiber valve cover. I haven't seen anyone else with that. I have also changed to a lighter countershaft sprocket that is less 1 tooth to make it more rideable around town. |
| CHASSIS: | I have upgraded all of the suspension as I know that I can benefit more from a properly set up motorcycle than one with tons of power. I have put on Ohlins R&T forks with the superbike valves installed and sprung for my weight. I also have put on the triple clicker Ohlins shock that was sprung for my weight. I have put on Acculign rearsets with a Cyclecat GP shifter so that I can have the proper positioning on the bike. I have installed BST carbon fiber wheels to get rid of as much unsprung weight as possible. I have put on a swingarm from an '05 749 for the reduced weight as well. I have installed AMS fully adjustable triple clamps so I can change the way that the bike handles depending on what type of track I am on. I also have put on an Ohlins steering damper. On the braking side of things I have installed Alth fully floating rotors as well as installed a Brembo billet radial master cylinder. I have also put on a Brembo billet radial master cylinder for the clutch as well. To lower the center of gravity I have installed a Kevlar composite gas tank. Last but not least I have installed a lightened subframe from Moto-Corse. |
| OTHER: | I have a bit of a soft spot for carbon fiber as you might be able to tell from the photographs. I have full carbon fiber bodywork as well as carbon wheels, timing belt cover, valve cover, and even the handlebar tubes are carbon fiber. Lightweight is my goal and I continued that by eliminating the stock headlight bucket and modifying a racing fairing bracket so that it can accomodate a headlight. I have gotten rid of one headlight and switched to a H.I.D. headlight from an Infiniti. I chose this headlight because it has both high and low beam functionality in one package. I have replaced the steel gas tank with a kevlar composite tank to reduce even more weight. I guess I could have just gone on a diet, but where is the fun in that? I have also added a camera mounted above my headlight. I use this primarily at track days so I can look over my lines and if they are far off of where I should be. I also use it to videotape my friends so we can all see what we look like on the track from an on-board perspective. I have also powdercoated the frame red as all Ducatis should have a bit of red in them even though mine is primarily white. I have also added a little personal touch to my clutch cover as well as my exhaust heat shield. With the clutch cover I machined out the middle a bit so that you can see more of the pressure plate and with the exhaust heat shield I used a dremel to cut out some spaces and fill them in with mesh so that it looks a little more like the WSB machines. |
| SIGNIFICANCE: | I bought this bike from a friend a couple of years ago basically stock. I was elated just to be the owner of a Ducati but soon enough the inevitable 'mod' bug bit me. I bought little things at first such as the clutch cover and pressure plate. The event that hit my wallet the hardest was low-siding at Willow Springs during a track day. From that day on I knew I didn't just want to buy the parts to make my bike look stock again. I wanted to make a bike that nobody else had and one that would still beg to be ridden years from now. I wanted to have a bike that no matter how old it got, I could still look at it and think of it as one of the nicest bikes out there. I also take pride in being able to say that I did all of the work myself. Everything from removing the motor to have the frame powdercoated to fitting up the new swingarm to installing the many countless parts that I have added on to it; it has been done in my garage. The journey still continues as I am always looking to add more things as my bank account allows. |
If you have any questions, please contact superbikeconcorso@ducatiusa.com
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