My FP1

[TheGent]

Owning a FP1 has been a dream for many years.
I have owned some nice bikes over the years, some rare, some properly special, some really quick, but the FP1 was the endgame and final tick box for me.
It has taken me 3 years to actually own one, and it was worth the effort, stress and wait.
I took delivery of it summer 2021 where i started to go through the bike and start the registration process.
With zero miles, there was never going to be a perfect time to run it for the first time, so i took a chance at Anglesey on a Jamie Whitham trackday.
Queuing up for the sighting laps, the bike caused quite a stir in the paddock for those that "knew" and appreciated what it actually was.
None more so than Nigel up in race control whom heard something different underneath him, only to start losing his shit when he saw the flash of green fly down pitlane and proceeded to blab all over the radio system to the marshals that the green bike was a real FP1 and to savour it as they are unlikely to ever see one again.
At the time of the sighting laps and that first session i did notice a couple of the marshals taking pics - now i know why.

The bike did show a couple of small niggles, charging (or lack of) and slipping clutch (Sticking slave when hot)
But i got 5 sedate sessions and 67 kms done.





Sorting the niggles slowly is a painful process, but after lending the bike to a journalist pal of mine it highlighted a few more small issues all typical with being standing really.
Griff at AP Workshops rebuilt the forks and did a fluids service for me and got it ready for Donington that weekend for me.
So my second ever ride was again on track, on a circuit i had never ridden before - what could possibly go wrong
Well again the slipping clutch was an issue (Now resolved) but needs a new slave and master cylinder rebuild.



With a road registration arriving from DVLA quickly it was nice to get a couple of road rides fairly local to shake down further issues and get some miles under its belt.
Parked stealthily at J&S in Delamere, no one clocked it or even had a clue what it was, that was nice not having to deal with endless questions and hear "eh mate you seen that 44 teef video on that youtube thing"
That said, on a forum i use quite a bit, some of the people involved in the project are still active and around, and its great to hear stories of these bikes, the companies setup to make parts, and problems they had and how they overcame - so few bikes have close knit stories like these.





At time of writing we are just shy of 400 miles and last night managed a Dyno run where it made a fairly conservative 121.4 at the wheel thanks to a mechanically sympathetic operator and no RPM pickup lead, so just a speed and power run really.

https://youtu.be/BH9lst2WpAs

It does sound somewhat angry, but what a bike. i am very lucky.

[TheGent]

Another day - another track day.
Last week i also managed around 8 sessions on the FP1 at the fabulous Jamie Whitham days at Anglesey
If you are fairly new to track days or want some excellent tuition in a safe and very quiet enviroment then look no further. you will not get a safer more fun day short of hiring the circuit for yourself.
The bike performed well and no longer being "run in" i have more than happy to explore the higher limits of the rev range.
It goes well - very well and is not anywhere near as loud as i would have expected either.


I let my pal Spike take it for a session - he normally rides a RC45 so he was in for quite a shock.
The brakes were the thing that really surprised him just how effective they were.

However sadly the fork seals also showed signs of leaking again and need replacing once again.
Why have they gone ? i suspect they were under damped and when bottomed out under braking popped and that was that.
Also the heat is starting to take its toll on the red paint on the seat hump now showing some signs of crazing.
That said the heat shield was not installed properly, and i have now fitted this correctly which should help keep the heat away a little better - watch this space.


I also ran my Aprilia RS660 on the day and after being used to analogue bikes all these years, the little RS is quite a weapon on track. the modern electronics are just sublime.
The lack of slipper clutch on the FP1 is annoying now. As such i decided to pull the pin on the Suter clutch and after a chat with MSS performance, i get the first new Suter FP1 clutch made for the bike.
Hmmmm its delicious cant wait to try it and see how the bike feels with a slipper clutch.



So with the possibility of one more day on track i think after that its time to tear the bike down and go through it again now wearing 600 miles or so.
Fuel lines and a few other jobs over winter all to reduce the risk of it becoming another "typical" FP1 fireball

anyway i think this picture sums up how i feel riding the FP1

[TheGent]

Well there has been a few things happen to my FP1 ovr the last few weeks,
A run over to Blyton Park saw a wet trackday and slippery circuit resulting in a couple of "moments" but came away unscathed but with a very dirty bike.





Forks seals were replaced again as they popped the Ohlins seals once again, possibly because the forks were too soft and resulting in bottoming out and blowing the seal.
So these have now been setup to cater for a little more weight and bloody astounding brakes !!

The oil and filter was done again, to be fair after only a couple of hundred miles, the old 300V was immaculate when dropped and no signs of any "engine glitter", but taking no chances it was replaced again.

Sadly a couple of weeks ago, i decided to take it for a Saturday morning run over into wales where the radiator ended up either getting punctured by a stone or just blowing out because it was rotten.
The result was limping home for 8 miles with barely any water in the bike, showing 99 degrees on the temp and voltage dropping on the LCD dash.
The bike actually made it just fine and even while being nursed never complained at all.

When home it was clear just how bad it was with a completely drained radiator.
Only some water behind the thermostat and the left hand hose, so i am hoping no further engine damage was caused like a blown head gasket. Time will tell.





The radiator had clearly been repaired before (even as a new bike) and i since found out a bit of the history of the rads.
With a recore being done by West Mercia Radiators for a reasonable price - once its back i can pressurise the system and see if it holds water and starts easily enough.

Turns out the radiators were actually built in Italy then shipped over in bulk. these were then modified, adapted and tested by Rad Tech in the midlands (hence mine being welded) before being fitted to the road bikes and rotting from the inside out sitting in their own old coolant.



Also suspecting my generator was weak, and the heat had started to make mine break down, so sent it off to West Country Windings - where they actually confirmed it was working perfectly.
Damn, so either the rectifier is failing once again - or i have a loom fault. I think i know where my money is going on this one.

I am going to make a small sub loom from the Rectifier, that connects the 2 green wires and runs direct to Negative (Back of the starter motor) and connects the 2 red wires direct to the battery (But will add a fuse too) to bypass the loom, If i get a solid and reliable 13 - 14v when the bikes running then i know i have some resistance in the loom.
After speaking with others, most have either found small issues in the loom, breaking off brittle soldered connections, twisted on only wires, small sections completely missing, it is safe to say the wiring looms are looking to be the weakest link for the bike and almost a service item.

I am looking to source a "new" loom, and with some time and effort try to reverse engineer it, map it all out and make a diagram.
I have been in touch with Rupert Paul (Ex PB Editor) who now owns Rupes Wires, and asked him if he would check the loom through in detail and repair where required.

Anyway this will be something for 2022 no doubt, the priority is to get the rad fixed, get the bike running and check i don't need to strip the head off it and replace the head gasket - or replace the motor worst case.
The Pence per mile running cost at this point is a bit stiff to say the least.

[TheGent]

It appears i have also found a bit of a software bug in the Dashboard.
My mileage is currently showing 510 miles, but in reality is closer to around 570 - 580.
By resetting the trip meter, and then cycling the ignition i found the trip would magically come back to the pre reset figure.
Also at this point the main bike mileage never increased while riding nor did the trip.
I cant remember exactly how i fixed it, but i think i reset the trip again, but before cycling the ignition, i scrolled the clocks back to another display (Voltage) before cycling the ignition, this resulting in the new 0 mile being stored and both trip and main mileage increased as normal.

I will try and replicate this and the remedy and document it properly. Not exactly the end of the world, but oddly i want my mileage to truly reflect the galactic mileage i plan on putting on this bike and not pass it off as some low mileage show pony.

[TheGent]

So after all of 2022 enjoying my bike, i realised i had not given any time or updates here on its evolution.

as of time of writing, Sept 2022 the mileage is now showing 1100 which is fairly impressive i think considering.
It has not been without issue though which i will summarise quickly.
Back in April or May i had some spluttering which felt like a plug fouling when doing slowish speeds like through town.
A thrashing or on a quicker road made this issue vanish but it felt a bit weak in the midrange compared to before.
If it was my old 500 Gamma, it would be simply a fouling plug or low on fuel - they were the exact symptoms.

Turned out it was actually the fuel pump connector which had failed and was being held on by "prayer"
As such the poor connection was to blame it would appear and after some extensive dyno runs and agressive injector cleaner run through, the issue with a new pump has vanished and all is well again.





Other issues were a blown #1 fuse resulting in no digital display and no brake lights.
Obvious cause here was the brake light circuit and sure enough the tail loom wiring was touching the heat shield and shorting resulting in a popped fuse. some silicon and tension adjustment gave more clearance and no more issue.

The LCD - after winter it went a bit mad. all crusty inside with salt corrosion looks like i caught it in the nick of time.
A pal stripped it, cleaned it and rebuilt it and the result is a nice clean bright display once again - sadly the birthmark / burn are still shown, but hey ho.

Engine and box wise its been ace, it starts, runs and just gets better and stronger as the miles increase.

Had a mate print me off a new plastic starter solenoid cover - in pink !!!
I also removed the stupid booster loom from the battery to the fairing nose which in my opinion is a fire hazard just waiting to happen. There is no need for this with a new suitable battery fitted and optimate lead so it can be kept charged. Removing this reduces the risk hugely of a short or fire.

one issue that has been ongoing is the clutch. With the new Suter slipper fitted it took some getting used to and messing about.
The 3 supplied slipper springs are too strong. 1350, 1100, and 950N all resulted in some locking when downshifting at Anglesey and Oulton. A rummage round and finding a 850N from a later R1 Suter slipper was installed and its much better however still could be dropped to 650 or 700 for that more "Ducati" experience
We also needed to trim down the 6 bolts a little as they were too tight on the main spring resulting in a notchy release on the lever as the threads serrated up the spring. so a few thou off the bolt centres sorted that resulting in a much better release feel and feedback
Also the mechanical screeching sound is still there too on clutch take up. as soon as the bike is moving its fine but still sounds like i have run over a cat or something, its quite disturbing .
So the only thing that makes this bike a pain to use is the clutch. If honest i do not rate the Suter slipper replacement. The OEM one which doesn't slip much is a bit easier to live with.



Otherwise on the road its superb and way better and easier to live with than other Homologation specials and even some normal road bikes too. It doesn't overheat, it always starts, it has a steering lock, its actually not that uncomfortable either.
The fuel economy is shocking, seats firm but comfy for a while, but the angle of the bars will finish you off quicker. but all that is academic as before your arse or back call time - you will need to pull in for fuel anyway.

So what's the plan for the bike now ?
I feel its done all i need on track, its scratched all the itches i had track wise. apart from a couple of classic track days per year i guess it will only be used for dry weekend blasts and the odd commute.

Hopefully another 1000 miles in 2023