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DB7-11 VLX MULE resurrection
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Gavin944888



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 572
Location: Essex....way South of Scotland

PostPosted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 2:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When i met Davide Commandini he mentioned the differences needed between the standard and the supercharged bike.

These included an extra air temp sensor and pressure sensor as well as an larger oil cooler and modified ECU.

He had mentioned that the IMPETO system was cleaner and easier for production but this had never been tested as exhaustively (if at all) as the DB7-11VLX.

The MULE had covered anything between 10000 kms and 30000 kms depending if you added up all development or final kms covered.

He also mentioned exhaust heat and the need for a non standard exhaust or at least the race Titanium one used for much of testing

He had also noted the need for bellmouths rather than stub inlets but he had not used the Diavel style injection but the 1098 unit.

He also mentioned that BIMOTA had modified the standard SPRINTEX Supercharger.


In December 2016 I emailed him to see if he was willing to work on the 'final assembly' tweakes....remap and modify.

So.....I set up a question and answer method of contact with him offering him monies to act as a go to consultant.


Bless him...he wanted to help and see this project through to the end.

Waive any prospect of income until I was ready to either bring him here to the UK or take the bike to the Rimini area where he lived....all he needed was access to DYNO.


So, with that I had to stick as much as I could to what he had built before but with a couple of choice modifications.


First up the ECU..............which took forever to locate.



IMG_0258 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



A WALBRO DB7 unit which had to be re flashed with the DB9 Diavel engine settings rather than the 1098 of the DB7



IMG_0255 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



A race 1098r or a DB8 race exhaust!!.... would be needed.....the 1098r would need re routing BUT would fit the exhaust manifold/cylinder head.

Or I could buy a race DB8 one...DB7 had a smaller exhaust port exit as standard.......BUT where to find one



IMG_0256 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr




I tracked one down from SBK Mugello Garage in Italy and with the help of Cris......the owner (I think) he threw in a DB7 sidestand....best 30 euros spent.




IMG_0257 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



The bike was booked in for first stage wiring and general positioning....so I put on the exhaust and stood back.



IMG_0260 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



The tank is one I picked up as a spare but was need by the electrical guy for clearance etc .



IMG_0262 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



The alloy bracket is to mimic the general position of where the electrics will be locate once the seat is fixed.


The lithium battery bolts to the lower yoke although these are temporary and will be replaced by machined billet ones



IMG_0263 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



A different angle and side view




IMG_0261 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



This shot... shows the expected angle of the seat unit and the alloy exhaust bracket gives a good indicator of final position....and sight line

I have removed the air box and supercharger ...as it is going away for a few weeks .




IMG_0259 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



You can see from the dis-colouring the effect that a tuned engine has on the stainless exhaust.

According to Davide Commandini the endcan really suffered with heat on the DB7-11 VLX mule......I am hoping that this set up will help the breathing...and deaf dogs!


More ....sometime in August.....many thanks........................Gavin
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger
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Gavin944888



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 572
Location: Essex....way South of Scotland

PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello............the biking season is coming to a close ...so it is back to bike project time! July and August have been a nightmare....

Bimota have closed their doors and no orders are being processed, even my existing back order is being ignored (if you want to kill a brand and run a company into the ground, see the current owners...masters of disasters)

The bike went to Electro34 (as recommended by a fellow member on the forum) in mid July, who basically just scared himself silly, realized the job was bigger than he thought, panicked and froze!

Then, he spoke to Baines Racing ( a company I swore never to use again after they butchered a Cagive of mine in 1999) who told Electro34 it should have a Diavel wiring loom and between the two companies did NOTHING for 6 weeks.

Folk that do not know ....should not offer advise! So the bike came back yesterday with NOTHING done to it.

Over and above this, I have tried to buy another backup Sprintex charger from the Australians........but with no joy, and their new Sales manager doesn't really want to help either!

To add more pain to the open wound...

Davide Commandini has informed me, that his consultation period has finished, as he is working more and more in Asia on softwatre projects and therefore cannot fine tune the MULE any time this year or, it seems, next year!

So I am bit like a dog with two short left legs.....moving but going round in a big circle!

The silly season has just finished at work and Monday the 4th of September means I am back and forth to mainland Europe with a pocketful of dimishing pounds for exchange purposes.

The fabrication is almost complete and the engine pulley system is next on the agenda.

Another plus point is the yokes and exhaust system as these are going well as is all the Carbonfibre componets.

We took a mould of the DB7 seat......rear mudguard...instrument/fairing support bracket and replicated.

The UK company (based out near the river Blackwater) is the same company that supplies all the R&D Kevlar and Carbon Fibre for a couple of Italian factories.

So, there you have it....a bit wide circle..moving slowly and I still haven't formulated the final fuel injection system....do I use the Diavel system.ie.. injectors squirting onto the back of the inlet valve or go 1098 way of shower injerctors!

regards

Gavin
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On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger
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barnmankit



Joined: 23 Nov 2014
Posts: 97
Location: Pyrenees, France

PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hang in there Gavin, we're all cheering you on. I'm jealous of the side stand - the one on my DB2 is a ridiculously heavy lump, nearly a kilo and a half I think. Do you know of any other Ducati or Bimota stands that would fit a DB2?
Thanks for such an entertaining project!
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1998 Bimota DB2 edizione finale naked
1976 BMW R75/6 tractor (for sale)
ICE recumbent trike
A shed full of bicycles

"We're each given one small grain of madness - if we lose it, we're nothing." Robin Williams
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rpo83



Joined: 28 Oct 2008
Posts: 387
Location: Melbourne, Australia

PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 12:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yup, keep the faith Gav,

you're this far in, what else could possibly go wrong??

It is going to be epic once finished.....
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Cheers

Steve

YB5 #130, YB5 #196, YB7 #302, SB6 #949, Laverda RGS Executive, Laverda RGS Corsa.
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Gavin944888



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 572
Location: Essex....way South of Scotland

PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BARNMANKIT.............try the 999 with flared abs colour coded fairing skirt section....this is a staight bolt on.

I think the 1098 alloy stand also fits BUT I cannot 100% say...however that snazzie little 999 unit bolts straight on to the crankcases

If you want a more ulilitarian unit....find a Cagiva elefant box section stand with big foot...it will never let the bike fall over!

Hope that this helps

Gavin
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger
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arsenic



Joined: 05 Feb 2017
Posts: 140
Location: France

PostPosted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What about a 1198sbk injection system instead of a diavel one, that may be cheaper and easier to find...
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who



Joined: 10 Nov 2010
Posts: 402
Location: Melbourne Australia

PostPosted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is the roofing screw in your rear tyre stopping the air coming out? Shocked Looking good BTW. lol.

IMG_0260 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr
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Gavin944888



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 572
Location: Essex....way South of Scotland

PostPosted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 2:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ARSENIC.......the daivel injection sytsem is in place and I have the 1098r system on the shelf holding up the Bimota 'guide to good management' book.

The rear wheel has a stainless stell M8 flange nut sitting on it.....it is from the the exhaust support bracket.

I will post pictures of latest work sometime next week....just got to finish off some month end issues.

Toodle pip

Gavin
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger
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arsenic



Joined: 05 Feb 2017
Posts: 140
Location: France

PostPosted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh alright then Smile
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PAULD



Joined: 22 Nov 2016
Posts: 21
Location: AUSTRALIA

PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 6:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Gavin

Paul here from Australia. I would be interested in purchasing a carbon fibre seat unit and carbon fibre instrument /fairing bracket as well. Could you supply me with contact details for the firm that made the mould please.
Thanks
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Gavin944888



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 572
Location: Essex....way South of Scotland

PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 8:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

PaulD

The carbon fibre DB7 seat unit is straight from the factory and untouched....there was no way I was playing about with it the price was over £2500 unpainted!

The mould was taken from another section ....a damaged DB8-11 rear section...this is what I am using.

The other carbon fibre replacement parts from the Dash unit..you know the £650 piece of exotica, shown in the previous pages.

Also the rear hugger top section.....BIMOTA OEM parts provided the mould for the replacement.

In a week or two I will list all the parts available from this project as ongoing developments dictate a shift in component sourcing.

Rest assured I will ping you with details and prices.

regards
Gavin
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger
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PAULD



Joined: 22 Nov 2016
Posts: 21
Location: AUSTRALIA

PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 5:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Gavin
thanks that would be appreciated.
Regards Paul
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Gavin944888



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 572
Location: Essex....way South of Scotland

PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Right..........we have a bit of a lull in activity, namely due to the bike goiing away for re wiring.

In the meantime I will explain the airbox and the yokes and their issues.

Bimota have since May had my money but no parts have come via TNT or any other source.

Therefore I had to source the Yokes and bar risers elsewhere and then customize them to suit.



IMG_0386[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



The 'off the shelf' programming could not allow for the type of build I have here....so some extra machining would be needed.

The idea was to take a basic yoke design and modify....but some idiot (me) forgot the pinch bolt allocation on the yoke stem....I was too busy doing detail!!



IMG_0382[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr




I had spent that much time altering the head stock angles and offsets .....I forgot the pinch bolt....

I also have to reduce the bar clamps as they look too heavy in real life...7.5mm is coming off the height and a couple mill off the thickness.




IMG_0383[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



It is not the end of the world as I have added a collar to the yoke and the clearances were that fine anyway...a pinch bolt is almost not needed.




IMG_0384[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



The collar will slide over the Ducati stem nut and clamp to it via hidden grub screws.



This shot shows what the final assembly should look like ....anodizing is next up.



The air box had always been an issue..........

First up I had a general idea of size and space ...but..then things started to get complicated.




IMG_0361[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr


There was no room to do or size anything.



IMG_0286 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr


The air box base had been fully welded and ground back.



IMG_0288 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



It fitted via turned alloy spacers to the throttle body plate



IMG_0390[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



The air box fitted fine and I set about making a flange plate a lid or top section......

After spending 20 hours cutting, welding drilling and tapping 48 M5 holes in the flange it would not fit and bit by bit I had to cut the same flange off!


IMG_0365[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



The flange had been added whilst the bike was away being rewired and in my mind I had more room than I thought!



IMG_0381[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



IMG_0360[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr


IMG_0380[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



And the reason for this mistake was the inability to see through solid objects.....



IMG_0358[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



Pinning the radiator back via cable ties is on thing....seeing through the fuel tank is quite another



IMG_0389[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr


Something had to be done....a cardboad box....modelling foam...paper machee were not really my style.......GRP is!




IMG_0387[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



I arranged my guy to take a mould from the BIMOTA fuel tank.

From the mould came a exact replica of the bottom of the tank.



IMG_0391[1] by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



From the mould I could place and cut.....



IMG_0403 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



Armed with right tools...I could see where the air box had to extend into and clear.....NOW.


IMG_0402 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr




IMG_0400 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



IMG_0398 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



IMG_0399 by Gavin Robertson, on Flickr



Cardboard templates were fitted and adjusted before final sections were added and welded....next stop metal finishers.


It is getting there....slowly and I am still travelling in a big circle.


regards

Gavin
_________________
On an Island in the River Thames!

Cagiva Elefant 888/955 & adventure sidecar
Cagiva Elefant 999r engined
Cagiva BIMOTA Motard Concept
BIMOTA DB9 (with DB11 rear-end)
BIMOTA DB7-11 VLX MULE (build coming to an end)
BIMOTA DB11 VLX Supercharger
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waggy



Joined: 26 Sep 2011
Posts: 277
Location: Northern Ireland

PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 7:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fantastic project, you deserve a medal for sure, keep up the great work.
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quikduk



Joined: 13 Aug 2016
Posts: 287
Location: Southern California, USA

PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe if someone would fund Gavin, he could be the new design director/owner of Bimota...
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