Classes for 848

K

Koontz151

Well-known member
Hey all,

I sold my gsxr750 track bike recently to buy or build a 600 for AFM. Although I have some interest in maybe a 848 since I loved my old 1098. I have looked at the rules, but can’t quite figure out what classes a Ducati 848 would be eligible for and competitive. Could it run in some sort of twins class? Can it run in 750SS? Or would I be stuck with an open displacement class? I would love to get some info on this. Thanks!
 
wstick1

wstick1

Veteran
You can race in the all of the 750 classes, open twins, formula 1 and the open classes. Formula 40 middleweight if you fit that age category.

I have an 848 track bike for sale if you're interested.
 
stangmx13

stangmx13

not Stan
if you think your enjoyment of racing will depend on being competitive or being able to easily work on and setup a proper race bike, do not race an 848. so much of racing will be easier and potentially more fun if you get a GSXR, ZX, or R6 like everyone else.
 
Shaggy

Shaggy

Zoinks!!!!
stangmx13 said:
if you think your enjoyment of racing will depend on being competitive or being able to easily work on and setup a proper race bike, do not race an 848. so much of racing will be easier and potentially more fun if you get a GSXR, ZX, or R6 like everyone else.
Click to expand...

I agree with this.

Another thing to think about is that parts requests go over the PA all the time at AFM events. You’re going to get more responses for R6 parts needed than any other bike.
 
Holeshot

Holeshot

Super Moderator
Staff member
stangmx13 said:
if you think your enjoyment of racing will depend on being competitive or being able to easily work on and setup a proper race bike, do not race an 848. so much of racing will be easier and potentially more fun if you get a GSXR, ZX, or R6 like everyone else.
Click to expand...

As I said initially Grant, while I'd love for you to buy Ed's bike, having "been there, done that", I agree with Robert completely. Ducati's are expensive learning tools, IMO...

And no...Mine's not for sale. She's going in a glass case!
 
K

Koontz151

Well-known member
Thanks for the replies guys, being competitive my first season isn’t really where my mind was at. I guess my OP wasn’t too accurate. Why I’m interested in the 848 is because I tracked a 1098 for a while and I’m comfortable on that platform. I was just hoping I could race more than one class with it for more seat time, which is what my OP was aimed at. A newer R6 or something along those lines will be in the near future, but for my first season of racing I was just hoping to hop on a bike I’m familiar with at a low cost initially and learn the ropes.
 
stangmx13

stangmx13

not Stan
u are comfortable on a 1098 at not-race pace. thats not really helpful at the races. any comfort you think you have now will go out the window during your first race when you magically find 3-5 seconds just from racing with faster people. plus, id bet you $20 you'd be more comfortable sooner on a good well-setup bike than an old poorly setup tank you rode a while ago.

the only way to start racing in the realm of "low-cost" is with a bike you already own or a well-prepped used racebike. finding a good well-prepped used racebike is much easier with common models and your $$ goes a lot further.

honestly, I know exactly where you are coming with. we all tried to save $$ and stick with things we were comfortable with in our novice years. hell, I raced CBRs for 4 years because I thought switching brands would make me less comfortable. what im saying is that was complete bullshit. I would have saved a ton of $$, went a lot faster sooner, and crashed less had I just followed everyone's advice and raced a prepped R6 the first chance I got.
 
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Holeshot

Holeshot

Super Moderator
Staff member
There's lots of classes the 848 fits into in the club...All the open classes, all the 750 classes as well and F1. We'll take lots of money from you on entries if you want to race alot!

Do you have anything to ride, currently?
 
K

Koontz151

Well-known member
I just sold my 07 gsxr 750 track bike less than a week ago. So I’m bikeless at the moment.

I sense a “you shoulda kept that bike” reply coming lol.
 
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csik magnet

csik magnet

Well-known member
Koontz151 said:
I just sold my 07 gsxr 750 track bike less than a week ago. So I’m bikeless at the moment.

I sense a “you shoulda kept that bike” reply coming lol.
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Oh man, you shoulda kept that bike! :laughing

Seriously though, I'll echo what the other better racers are suggesting. I have a 1098 for the street, done a couple track days on it, and I have a R6 for racing. Even before I got comfy on the R6 I felt better with it on track than I did with the 1098; I felt like it 'fit' better once the riding pace picked up.
It won't take long to adjust to a different chassis for racing, I bought that R6 in Oct and was racing in March the next year. And as soon as I felt how fast race pace was, my setup immediately changed anyway.

848/1098 is a great platform and fun to ride, but I wouldn't want to race one if I didn't have a spare B bike as well (or enough backup parts to build one in the pits if I had to). -last racing round someone on another R6 snapped a clutch spring retaining bolt off in the threaded standoff that holds it, he thought his weekend was done since the holder is such a specialty part. Before he even went over to ask them to announce a parts request, I said "hold on a sec" and grabbed my spare eBay clutch so he could harvest the part off it. I'm 100% confident I wasn't the only one with an entire spare R6 clutch that day, but I doubt anyone in the paddock (with the exception of maybe 1 person) would have had that part for a 848...
 
wstick1

wstick1

Veteran
It's always fun when people who haven't raced a Ducati tell others how difficult it is. :twofinger

In 09 when I was racing mine, I had 0 issues. All I did was change tires and oil like everyone else. Bike was bone stock, like I literally was using the bike on the street during the week, then on Friday would pull off the OEM plastics and lights, throw the fiberglass on, and go racing. Stock pipes, suspension, even had a horn which came in handy in when someone mistakenly tried to grid up in my spot. :laughing

Bottom line is how you feel on the bike. I never felt the level of comfort or confidence on my gsxr as I was able to get on the 848. Felt like I could put that thing anywhere I wanted. As a result, I went MUCH quicker on that bike than any other ive ridden. YMMV :thumbup
 
stangmx13

stangmx13

not Stan
wstick1 said:
It's always fun when people who haven't raced a Ducati tell others how difficult it is. :twofinger

In 09 when I was racing mine, I had 0 issues. All I did was change tires and oil like everyone else. Bike was bone stock, like I literally was using the bike on the street during the week, then on Friday would pull off the OEM plastics and lights, throw the fiberglass on, and go racing. Stock pipes, suspension, even had a horn which came in handy in when someone mistakenly tried to grid up in my spot. :laughing

Bottom line is how you feel on the bike. I never felt the level of comfort or confidence on my gsxr as I was able to get on the 848. Felt like I could put that thing anywhere I wanted. As a result, I went MUCH quicker on that bike than any other ive ridden. YMMV :thumbup
Click to expand...

The only experience I have with an 848 at the track is racing against a close friend on one. He didn’t have issues either. But he was getting beat bad by 600s, hit a wall with lap times, and ran into problems when trying to adjust the setup. IIRC, he supposedly needed triple clamps and a linkage to get the thing to turn. He sold it, bought a prepped R6, and went from getting his ass kicked to beating and improving faster than I could.

Also no offense, but it sounds like you raced two poorly setup bikes.
 
wstick1

wstick1

Veteran
stangmx13 said:
The only experience I have with an 848 at the track is racing against a close friend on one. He didn’t have issues either. But he was getting beat bad by 600s, hit a wall with lap times, and ran into problems when trying to adjust the setup. IIRC, he supposedly needed triple clamps and a linkage to get the thing to turn. He sold it, bought a prepped R6, and went from getting his ass kicked to beating and improving faster than I could.

Also no offense, but it sounds like you raced two poorly setup bikes.
Click to expand...

So you have no experience racing one. Got it, thanks.
 
Holeshot

Holeshot

Super Moderator
Staff member
That's a good deal for a race bike...but I know yours is done right, Ed.

My time on the 848/ 1098S were the ones I owned and the one we tested for MotorycleUSA at Chuckwalla several years back. It was horrible to get to turn. Wouldn't turn with the brake on, brake off, whatever...Mine was kinda the same. Robert's dead on about the linkage and Triples needed for it. My 1098S was kinda the same. Then again, I never did much to fix them except ride the 1098 to Bux and sell the 848.
 
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