I've been looking for a 1198S for a while, but the plastic tank issue and optimistic asking prices are making me consider a 1299. So would the around £3k extra be money well spent?
Depends what you will be using it for, the Panis are a lot more refined than the 1198S but maybe not as iconic, for the 1198S budget you could get a very decent 1199S with ABS / TC etc .... may not need the extra 3k .....
The 1199/1299 stuff feels a little flat in the mid range compared to the older bikes. If you are happy riding IL4s it probably won't bother you, but if you like old style V2 mid range you may be disappointed with panis.
I've had IL4s for decades, I want grunt more than top end now. Had discounted the 1199 due to talk of them lacking mid range, thought the 1299 may have overcome that?
Nope. You want mid range it's the 1198 every day of the week. This is only one dyno chart but it's what the 1198 delivers.
Seems a lot of 1198 owners/sellers are in denial about the tank issue though...One of my favourite old bikes was my 99 R1, so easy to stand up in 2nd gear. I want that again, with a nicer noise .
Not really denial, its just that the rest of the bike (handling, Grunt, looks and NOISE!) more than compensates for a piffling tank expansion issue.... Seriously though ,if you get the chance to try the 2 bikes ,1198/1299 back to back i'm willing to guess which one you would go for.
Buy one anyway...you can always get a decent tank later or get it pro-sealed, if it really bothers you.
I really wouldn't worry about it. Fuel in UK is not a major ethanol threat. My original tank is 11 yrs old and no problems. My spare track tank is probably around the same age, again no problems and was under £200. Dozens of spare tanks out there these days.
Was it a tank from me?? Picked up from B'heath a few years back? Apologies if not, my brian is a bit addled these days
Ethanol content used to be 5%, I think it's up to 10% now. There's only one BP garage in my area. I'm betting plenty of those spare tanks will be bloaters too.
