With the 2017 season now over I have time to concentrate on 2018 and the updates I would like to make to the bike.

At my last event at Franciacorta I experienced some misfiring issues so my first step was to change the plugs and give the connectors a good once over. I checked the plug-top-coils for condition and resistance (even though this rarely diagnoses an issue) and reassembled everything back together after a good clean.

Unfortunately the issue only showed itself during full load at a higher RPM, which means I won’t able tell if this has done anything to fix the issue. I’m going to have to monitor it during my first session of 2018.

I’ve upgraded the intake with a BMC Race Air Filter, even though I already swapped this at Franciacorta last year.

For the 2018 season I have new bodywork panels to replace the last of the orange Repsol coloured parts; a new tank cover, superbike rear bodywork and seat. This now allows me to remove the hook and latch, together with the lock for some weight reduction in the tail section of the bike.

The bodywork is from Cruciata Carene in Italy, and it’s made from fibre-glass with a white gel coat. The superbike rear section is split into 2 pieces: a front and a back. This makes it much easier to mount when compared to the original bodywork and the seat form is moulded in.

Under the seat there is a reinforcement panel to support my weight and cover the battery. The only downside is that I now have to take off these two panels to reach the battery connection.

Surprisingly the entire rear section is only bolted in 2 positions on the sub-frame using the original shouldered bolts. Zeus clips will then join the two panels together.

The tank cover is bolted to the chassis using the original rubber isolation and top-hat washers.

Next steps will be to sand and then paint.

We finish off with the removal of parts that I no longer need on the bike for additional weight reduction.

I’d already removed the air-duct flapper valve system from the chassis side, so with the air-box off I had access to remove the rest of the system, which includes the flapper itself and the solenoid to control it.

As I no longer have lights on the bike I could remove the OE switch-cube on the LH side:

When I need to mount lights for endurance racing I will likely mount a bespoke switch-cube.