Boulder Motor Sports - Ducati blog on performance builds, parts reviews, service tips, and Ducati information » Project F042 — Boulder Motor Sports - Ducati blog on performance builds, parts reviews, service tips, and Ducati information

F042 Project Bike

Brian Sharp — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:55:29 +0000

Welcome to the first edition of our BMS-built F042 kit bike. We hope you enjoy following our progress and encourage all curious minds to ask the technical staff at BMS any and all questions. The BMS F042 is sure to turn heads with both beauty and outright performance. We expect the bike build to take about a month and will document the progress every step of the way.

The BMS F042 is for those who have a desire to retain the quality dynamics of the Ducati 90-degree twin cylinder engine, coupled with a performance chassis that delivers precise handling with pinpoint accuracy. By tradition, Ducati motorcycles use a steel tubular frame, but the F042 frame is made of aluminum alloy, combined with billet components. The goal was to reduce overall weight while sustaining the proper torsion strength. The kit was designed to accommodate the Ducati 1000/1100 DS 2-valve engine. The typical build would have the customer supply the engine, forks, wheels and running gear to complete the truly amazing machine. Here at Boulder Motor Sports we can provide the missing parts for you and deliver a bike that is sure to put a huge smile on your face.

World-renowned Italian chassis builder Pierobon launched the F042 kit bike in 2006. The Pierobon name goes hand-in-hand with extraordinary achievements in the world of racing as the company was born and raised in harmony with the development of the motorcycle industry. For over 50 years, Pierobon has led the motorcycle industry among both Italian and non-Italian manufacturers. The base of Pierobon’s success lies in a curiosity for innovation and the construction of a cutting-edge center for research and development. When you ride with Pierobon and Boulder Motor Sports, you are riding the most evolved machinery on the market.

Boulder Motor Sports is your Exclusive United States importer for Pierobon products and the F042 kit bike.

Technical Data:

The data supplied refers to the standard F042 kit. It may differ depending on the building materials, components and selected kit parts used.

Chassis

Frame; Tubular aluminum using some billet components

Wheel Base; 1,370mm (53.94 inches)

Steering Head Angle; 23°

Trail; 93mm (3.66 inches)

Rear Suspension; Progressive cantilever-single shock

Swing Arm; Aluminum, with various modifications

Fuel Tank Capacity; 16 Liters

Seat Height; 810mm (31.89 inches)

Weight; 140 Kg (308 lbs.)

Engine

Type; Ducati 2 Valve (1000/1100DS)

Exhaust; 2 into 1 Stainless Steel or Titanium

The “F042″ Components:

Frame

Tubular frame in 7020 high resistance aluminum alloy. Weight 5.9 kg(13.0 lbs)

Swingarm

In EN AW-6082 aluminum alloy. To improve the characteristics it is lengthened and strengthened with gussets. The assembly is on big diameter bearings with the same concept used for the racing swing arm to increase the feeling and the traction.

Rear Frame

EN AW-6082 aluminum alloy built in pipe aluminum and plate. This combination allows the frame to achieve lightness and strength.

Front Sub Frame

In EN AW-6082 aluminum alloy, it is light and functional. It comes directly from racing experience and allows assembling both analogic and digital instrumentations.

Exhaust

In stainless steel or titanium. The exhaust system incorporates both style and performance. Two systems are available, a side mount or under tail style.

Handlebars

Handlebar 51,0/53,0/53,5 mm. anodized aluminum EN AW 7075 o 6082. With a wide range of angle possibility it is possible to adjust to several uses.

Bodywork Panels

Made of carbon fiber or fiberglass and is modeled on the bike, with a “wind” designed shape for maximum efficiency.

Fuel Tank

Hand crafted from aluminum alloy 450 (EN AW-5083) H111. The capacity is 16 liters allowing for an oversized airbox while maintaining the perfect body position and aerodynamics.

Rearsets

Made in EN AW-6082 aluminum alloy which incorporate a detailed design that allows for a light and efficient part.

One F042 kit properly packaged and delivered to the Boulder Motor Sports workshop. It’s a bit like Christmas, we couldn’t wait to open the boxes and begin preparing our BMS F042.

It didn’t take us long to un-crate and begin assembling the various handcrafted aluminum parts. This bike is incredible, the precision fit and finish is amazing.

Here’s a sneak peak at the front end components. The F042 is beginning to take shape with high quality performance parts and special materials used throughout the entire bike. The ohlins forks are from a 1098R, re-valved and sprung for optimum handling. When you come to the end of the straight and get on the binders, these Brembo Monoblock calipers will ease your mind with a slight pull of the lever.

The swingarm wheel combination fits precisely with the upgraded chain adjuster kit. If your one who utilizes the rear brake, we have you covered with the Brembo HP caliper and rotor combination. The forged magnesium Marchesisni wheels deliver strength, reduced weight and sheer beauty.

A second F042 bike begins to take shape for a long standing good customer of BMS. We painted the frame with a high gloss original Ducati frame color and anodized the miscellaneous chassis components. The Ohlins rear shock has been re-valved and sprung to suit the customer and provide him with the precise handling the F042 delivers.

*The FO42 is an entirely custom motorcycle experience. Boulder Motor Sports can provide simply the Pierobon Kit or all the labor and all the parts- it’s your call. To begin your FO42 project, contact Boulder Motor Sports today at 303-495-3416!

F042 Build #1

Brian Sharp — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:02:58 +0000

The F042 utilizes the stock Ducati 1000SS airbox and swingarm. Both the front and rear subframes are standard issue parts on the F042 that we anodized black. The triple clamps can be ordered to fit the exact dimension fork each customer chooses to use.

The naked chassis is a true piece of art, the hand crafted main frame is the result of years of experience and knowledge direct from the racing circuits from around the world. We chose to paint our frame with a high gloss original Ducati red, to accent the black subfames.

F042 Build #2

Brian Sharp — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:08:29 +0000

The F042 utilizes the Ducati 1000DS engine found in various Ducati factory model motorcycles.

We chose to use the 1000DS engine which we stripped down to the bare cases, inspected and measured the clearances to ensure it was built to race specification.

F042 Build #3

Brian Sharp — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 01:30:18 +0000

We bead blasted, cleaned and prepped the engine cases and had them powder coated satin black to match the cylinder heads.

After measuring the clearances and installing new bearings throughout the cases, work began to take the 1000 DS (dual spark) engine to a superbike specification engine. This specification included Pistal high comp pistons, lightened and balanced crank, Ducati Corse light weight gear selector drum and close ratio gearbox, Ducati Corse 999RS lightweight generator and flywheel, STM 12 tooth racing slipper clutch with sintered racing plates and magnesium engine cases.

All the engine internals where super-finished by the fine folks at Supertech to reduce the overall friction and increase the oil retention. The cylinder heads underwent significant upgrades to include porting polishing and then gas flowed to perfection. To finish them off we installed a set of Ducati racing camshafts, which is sure to unleash the overall potential of the engine.

F042 Build #4

Brian Sharp — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:30:45 +0000

The specialy built Boulder Motor Sports racing engine was then installed into the chassis with the upmost care to ensure the integrity of all the parts matched perfectly.

The engine is nicely secured to the chassis via two titanium engine bolts and a titanium swingarm pivot bolt to help reduce the overall weight.

F042 Build #5

Brian Sharp — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:55:39 +0000

The F042 kit comes with two options of exhaust, a stainless steel 2-1 system and a purpose built titanium open race exhaust system by Italian manufacturer Zard. The full titanium system was the material of choice for our F042 project.

The titanium headers and carbon silencers complimented the F042 superbly with a combination of performance, asthetics and light weight. The exhaust system comes with lambda pick ups for both cylinders to measure the air fuel ratio.

F042 Build #6

Brian Sharp — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 22:56:52 +0000

The next step in the process of assembling this masterpiece was to install a comprehensive superbike data logging system and engine management hardware. With very little room to work with we decided to mount the Digitek dashboard, Nemesis ECU and GPS unit to the front subframe and the data logger and Lambda controller to the airbox.

We fabricated two custom carbon fiber plates to mount both the dashboard and the GPS unit. The Nemesis ECU is fully programmable and allows the pilot to switch maps on the fly. Nemesis ECU’s are available for most Ducati models and is ideal for both road and track use.

After locating and mounting all the electronics we then turned our attention to designing and installing our custom lightweight race wiring loom.

This encompassed measuring the lengths of wire required to reach all the high tech components and ensuring that the loom would fit nicely inside the chassis and perform flawlessly.

F042 Build #7

Brian Sharp — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:12:52 +0000

The shock and fork sensors both required custom machined mounting brackets which we then had black anodized to match their surroundings.

Both front and rear potentiometers measure the amount of suspension travel as well as the rate at which they move to enable us to maximize the suspension settings for our pilot. The Ohlins race shock has been re-valved for the F042 chassis and outfitted with a hydraulic pre-load adjuster to make changes to the rear spring quickly. We utilized titanium fasteners in most locations to help reduce the weight.

F042 Build #8

Brian Sharp — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:32:52 +0000

The throttle bodies were fitted to the intake manifolds with new high flow injectors and a fuel pressure sensor as part of our electronic data logging system.

Take note of the rear shock sensor bracket, it’s adjustable to allow for changes in rear ride height.

F042 Build #9

Brian Sharp — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:15:52 +0000

Next up was to ensure that our nicely fitted Brembo mono-block calipers were connected with brake lines and master cylinders. We choose light weight black lines with aluminum fittings and of course titanium banjo bolts.

The front brake system was specced out with Brembo full floating brake calipers and a RCS master cylinder. Witht he size and weight of the F042, stopping should be a breeze. Check out the front brake pressure sensor, yet another item we utilized in our data logging package that will enable us to pinpoint when the brakes are applied and with how much force. To cap off the left handlebar we installed a Ducati Corse quick turn race throttle tube and housing with custom made throttle cables.

The rear brake system is equally impressive as the front, with a Galfer lightweight rotor and Brembo racing caliper outfitted with titanium hardware. The master cylinder has been upgraded to a 13mm Brembo racing pump outfitted with a Ducati Corse spring setup that enables the pilot to have better feel of the brake. Take note of the custom swingarm bobbins we machined for the rear stand.