Longterm Test: 2010 Ducati Streetfighter

From the November, 2010 issue of Super Streetbike

Justin Fivella: Associate Editor
Miles Ridden: 7700
Mods: Bazzaz Z-Fi, Ducati carbon fiber fender, hugger and swingarm cover, Cox Racing radiator guards

With each added part the Streetfighter has inched ever closer to perfection, and this month's mods tied everything together and really pushed my Streetfighter into a proper Italian custom.

You'll notice a move to the darker side with a sprinkling of carbon fiber. Despite my apprehensions of ditching the white fender, I swapped it for a carbon unit and was pleasantly surprised. The forks no longer look raked out and it really accentuates the rest of the black.

To match the fiber up front, I added more carbon from Ducati Performance Accessories out back. Bringing up the rear is a hugger and matching swingarm cover for a combo that makes this 'Fighter feel as if it should be hot-lapping Imola, not commuting through LA. Chrome is cool, but they say carbon fiber is the rich-man's bling.

I've noticed an increasing number of rock chips and bent fins on the radiators, and that just ain't cool. In addition to the eyesore that it has become (I'm exaggerating a little) it's not the kind of care a radiator should receive. If the scuffed black paint isn't enough to sway you, maybe a gander at the replacement costs will help set you straight. With that in mind I decided to add some Cox Racing radiator guards.

They mount over the stock upper and lower radiators, offering a bit of bling and serious protection for your fins. While they come in multiple colors, you probably already know what understated color I chose-black. The guards installed in minutes and offer protection against incoming rocks and debris. I consider them cheap insurance with a dose of customization.

With the aesthetics addressed it was time to get down and dirty with the Duc. While the Streetfighter made big steam on the dyno and had great throttle response on the upper end of the tach, anything below 5000 RPM was just atrocious.

I discovered that below 5000 RPM the Streetfighter was running in a closed-loop circuit and was deathly lean. Closed-loop means that the bike is programmed to run at a predetermined air/fuel ratio irrespective of the conditions. In order to pass the strict emissions test, Ducati set the area below 5000 RPM insanely lean (15:1) as measured on the dyno. As a result, the Streetfighter had a horrible flat spot around 3000 RPM and another smaller dip close to 5000. In addition to the rollercoaster powerband down low, it liked to spit and cough at slow speeds, making any extended time in traffic a real chore.

After getting to know the idiosyncrasies of the bike I began to examine the different outlets to remedy this lean condition. The Ducati Performance chip did wonders for power, but didn't do much below 5000 RPM and replacing the oxygen sensors with adjustable ones only partially fixed the problem (unless a check-engine light doesn't bother you). Some digging revealed expensive fixes in the form of replacement ECUs, but dropping close to a grand would have to be my last resort. Thankfully though, an e-mail to Bazzaz revealed that it had in fact cracked the code. In addition to tuning for power, the Bazzaz Z-Fi allowed full control over the entire powerband, including the dreaded idle to 5000 RPM range.

After roughly six hours of locating all of the difficult-to-access connectors, the Z-Fi was installed and the fueling was instantly better. The flat spots are gone and the bucking and surging around 3000 RPM is nonexistent-bellissimo!

The Bazzaz Z-Fi came preprogrammed with two maps, one for the stock exhaust and another for slip-ons. We decided to use the preprogrammed stock map and the old butt dyno detected more midrange power and improved throttle response. But as accurate as your butt dyno might be, we headed to West Coast GP Cycles to see what was truly happening when the rubber met the road...or the dyno, as it were.

With the Duc hooked to the dyno we noticed the Bazzaz base map was better than stock, but its air-fuel ratio (AFR) wasn't perfect for our atmospheric conditions. We then tried the Bazzaz slip-on map, which was further from the mark and a bit too rich for maximum power. So after some tweaking and massaging, we were able to extract another 6 HP in the midrange with a healthy 4 HP bump on top. The extra oomph is welcome, but the new "ridability" from the impeccable fueling is just as impressive. A glance at the Bazzaz/FMF bike with the custom map against the stock baseline reveals a mountain more midrange, a stronger top end and better partial-throttle fueling.

At times I wondered if my goal of a manageable Streetfighter was possible, but with the help of some key players the Duc is now docile in traffic and hell-on wheels when the throttle is rolled open. Add the extra go to the new bits of show and the Streetfighter has finally gotten to the place I'd hoped it would be-damn near perfection. So for now I'm pretty happy, but I've still got my eye on a few more mods.

Coming next month:
Still more mods

Longterm Test: 2010 Ducati Streetfighter

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