Nichols Flywheel - Ducati.ms

TACAN · Jul 21st, 2008, 5:20 pm

I recently swapped the stock flywheel for the Nichols model; with their dual nut setup. Installation was straightforward, I made the case puller from a peice of Aluminum (easy to do). THen to home depot and bought several #25 torx bits for an electric drill- two for about $2.50. THey bend rather than break, and I got all of the rotor bolts off with one bit. Finding a deep 35mm socket was difficult, but a 1 3/8 did the job nicely. No problems installing the flywheel, fit and finish were excellent.
Riding the bike was a suprise- I was expecting to stall it a bit but there was NO adjustment necessary. If anything the bike was smoother at small throttle openings, and easier around town. Acceleration was phenomenal and the bike is noticably easier to turn. It felt like this was what the bike should be from the factory. This was confusing for a while- there should have been some downside , right? None. Then it hit me when carrying a passenger- the bike was a little bit more sensitive and abrupt. This all makes sense, Ducati seems to have rushed the HM, and transplanted the Multistrada engine without modification. THe Multi is 50 pounds more bike and likely the assumption of a passenger- then the extra flywheel makes sense. Overall, the Nichols peice is about the most bang for the buck of any aftermarket part I have ever had. Highly reccomended.

breakdown · Jul 21st, 2008, 5:35 pm

That's great to hear. I was thinking about ordering one for my bike. I'll definately get it now. I can't wait, I'm getting the Termi race exhaust, 520 chain conversion with +2 in the rear, DP seat and now a new flywheel. It should feel like a new bike.

Lumpy Idol · Jul 21st, 2008, 7:10 pm

what sort of a price point is the fywheel? Where do you get it?

dk

Quackzilla · Jul 21st, 2008, 8:37 pm

<$300

http://www.nicholsmfg.com/ducati-parts.html

Light flywheels are they worth it?

08hyper · Jul 21st, 2008, 9:02 pm

I think I'll try the DP flywheel, I'm still a little a leary of going "THAT" light,
the DP seems to split the differance between the stock and Nichols flywheels.
I'm only going to do the light flywheel after my engine mods, to see if I'll even need it. Aloha Alex

alounacara · Jul 21st, 2008, 9:27 pm

His claims sound a bit to good to be true
You take away to much weight and your low end torque will suffer bigtime
I learned that years ago on my old ass `72 Suzuki TS 400 Apache Enduro bike

The Hyper`s low end grunt is what makes it such a cool bike to ride
It is fun to spank the high revving GSXR`s and R1`s when you are rat racing

TACAN · Jul 22nd, 2008, 1:56 am

The lighter flywheel effectively increases available torque during acceleration at all rpm-you are using less power to overcome the inertia of the lighter flywheel. The key word is available- peak numbers do not change since the capacity of the engine to do work hasn't changed. On a dirtbike (spinning the rear wheel) less crank inertia will cause the rpm to drop faster when you close the throttle- more abruptness and less power. Less inertia makes the hit more abrupt when you open the throttle. Thus the move to add flywheel weight (crank inertia) when traction is scarce. Since a streetbike is rarely ever spinning (and the HM has low compression, rearward weight bias and plently of rotating mass) we only see a slight increase in engine braking. The HM is most likely going to be hooked up (not spin the rear due to the bigger hit) we see a noticable improvement in acceleration from not having to spin up that four pound plate. I think you'd need to take another four pounds off the crank before the bike became harder to ride .

frique · Jul 22nd, 2008, 3:07 am

Not to big a deal, but your starter is going to hate the extra work...

dukepilot · Jul 22nd, 2008, 11:18 am

The Nichols flywheel is a good mod if you want your bike to pick up revs quicker and to turn with less effort. Probably not a good mod if you ride a lot in traffic or very tight dirty roads where traction is limited since the lighter flywheel will make it much more sensitive and jumpy to throttle inputs.

Comparing the DS1100 engine to a two-smoke Suzuki TS400 is an apples to oranges comparison to say the least. The DS engine has plenty of flywheel and the weight of 2 pistons, rods, and camshafts. That's a lot of rotating weight to maintain inertia, even with the lighter flywheel. If the bike is in a decent state of tune, it will still pull very cleanly from low revs with the light flywheel.

Personally, I think it makes my bike more fun to ride. Some may not like it. Only way to know is to try it.

georound · Jul 22nd, 2008, 11:27 am

Hmmm...not sure I see the logic. I'd think it'd be easier on the starter to spin the crank/rods/pistons. I think the revs would be so low that the inertia of the flywheel wouldn't really smooth out any power pulses as each piston compresses or fires....
If I took out the spark plugs, the starter would have it made spinning the motor.