Unless you love the 998 shape Matt, you might want to consider a 1098 or 1198 (knowing you though, it would have to be a R :wink...acres of grunt, and muchos mph...if not quite as colourful as the older bikes. Could you not figure out a way of keeping the SPS and working your way towards a second machine, space and finances permitting? One things for sure, you wont be able to replace that raw grunt of a desmoquattro with anything else...you'll simply have to learn to love a later engine. btw £14k for a 998 is taking the pi$$
Yeah this 998 was a lot lower hense my interest.You can get really nice 1098R bikes for very good price now so surprised when I see 996R and 998R bikes for 16k plus same for Foggy reps.Someone with a lot of ducati knowledge also told me the later 999S bikes are very good.I really like em with black wheels and Xerox paint. The trouble is the 916 would have to go as I cannot afford two superbikes.Now I have made it perfect in my eyes and much improved that would be easier said than done.
It is a hard decision to make and where do you draw the line. Decent 996`s hold their value well, and with 1098`s dropping the line between the 2 price wise isnt much. I started off looking at 996`s then 998`s then figured for a little bit more i can get a 1098 etc. etc. In the end I went with a 996 as id wanted one for a long time. I had a 748 back in 2000 and whilst i enjoyed it, felt it was underpowered. Theres a lot of 996`s out there but not many nice ones. I looked at a lot of dogs before I found an enthusiast selling one. Down side was they wouldnt budge on price at all. Another downside was that I knew I needed to spend a bit on it getting it how I wanted. So, I forked out £4k for a 15k 2000 model, then spent about £1200 on it in the first week doing a monoposto conversion, then belts, oil, oil filter, fuel filter, chain, sprockets, brake pads, brake fluid, plugs and pretty much everything else I normally do to a new bike to ensure i know exactly whats been done on it. I could have probably got a 2002 model for same price but im more than happy with mine. Just going out for a ride on it and the whole experience is awesome. Sure, its like a dinosaur compared to my 2001 R1, but I find myself riding the 996 more.
youre probably right there Stew, but as you said you end riding the 996 more....thats the trouble with japanese il4's...there's just something missing..they're just a bit uninvolving...you could be on anything....fast but bland..annoymous....and here today, gone tomorrow styling... give me the clattery, noisey, lumpy thrill of a ducati any day of the week.. no bikers really know what a 'ninja' is, or looks like do they??
If i was going to have a Japanese inline 4, it would be a Gixxer 750. Jap bikes do have character, its just different. Sure a GSX750F or a CBR600F may be a tad boring and yawn. But you can usually rely on Suzuki to give you some excitement. Ive had GS750's which you can run with no oil and half the parts missing and it will still get you home. I had for many many years a GSX1100SD Katana which no-one can say looks boring. It pulled like a train to 145mph and would shake its head at 122 and the frame had more hinges than should be allowed. But it was so cool. Look how many drag bikes use GSX or Z1 motors. Its just different. Probably a bit marmite to some but I like em. The Japanese are superb engineers. I'd love a black k5 gsxr750. Darth Vader would ride one.
Ild love a 996s again. I used to love riding it, most I ever rode a bike my monster. Which is stunning as it's customized. Just doesn't do it for me, it's got to go now, after all you lot showing these stunning bikes
i had a long term insurance loan Gixxer thou (K7 or K8, cant remember which)....but is was utterly tedious and uninvolving..i felt like a passenger..plus it was whisper quiet....but to each his own i suppose.
My mate had a k7 and it was shit. Brakes were wooly as fuck. Sometimes you just get a dog. Not every gixxer is ok i admit. Some are pants but some are...well... Wouldn'tve been quiet with these on.
What sort of budget are we talking here. Ducati 996S (2001/Y) Motorcycles for sale | 7602176 | MCN DUCATI 996S / 7988 miles only / Full Service History | eBay Ducati 916 SPS | eBay Ducati Motorbike 998 S MONO-02 PRISTINE EXAMPLE | eBay There is also a nice fully loaded 996S for sale for around £8,000.916SPS or 996SPS gets my vote having ridden one it still gives me a mega adrenaline buzz at full throttle with the mental raw power delivery.Part of the reason I find it so much fun still after 7 yrs. Call that a exhaust Bootsam:wink: check out this Akrapovic evo makes ya ears bleed lol.
its was incredibly fast, very quiet, very smooth, seamless gear changes, perfect fuelling, amazing brakes, totally boring and uninvolving...probably great on the track though where you dont care how much fun youre having and are just looking at lap times.
Thx matt - the 998 is v tempting although I am coming round to idea of selling my sv1ks and spending a few bob on my 749. So indecisive I know!! Is that @ right money for the 998 - does look mint I must admit. Any nasties on these or fairly reliable? Also, I guess any clutch can be altered to some degree but any thoughts on these having esp heavy clutch? ( gives my sh*gged left arm problems). Thx all replies here. Cheers, Andrew.
At the price they charge (30 odd quid each IIRC) then I'd get all the openers (at least) re-surfaced by Newman cams on the first service and put that one to bed once and for all - in fact I did...
998S seems to fetch good money but 998BP are cheaper for sure.Ive seen 998s cheaper than that but probably due to more miles which aint a bad thing in my book. If you sell your sv1ks why not put that money towards a nice 749R.If you still have money spare go for carbon wheels and a EVR carbon airbox to.Clutch can be made easier by addition of aftermarket slave cylinder or brembo radial 18x16 clutch master cylinder. DoctorW id test ride a 998 and 996SPS & 749R before you blow money on your current bike. Don't let a few rockers put you off the desmoquattro motors though.As duke desmo states at 30 quid a pop it aint gonna break the bank.
Re 998 - are these a money pit for servicing, or "normal" for a duc? Thx all info although it makes me change my thought process each time lol. Work on my 749 = @ £7-800 for belts / couple of probs sorted, some cosmetic bits and db screen / rear sets so not too much wedge and options then still open. My 749 has clutch slave mod, but getting "something" else done also - not sure what though lol!!
Saying that id never sell my R1. I know it inside out and on the road im quicker on it than any of my mates on much newer, more powerful bikes. I did consider selling it a few times but am yet to find anything which I prefer. The brakes on my R1 will endo the the bike and are miles better than the brembos on the 996, the engine`s performance is just staggering, makes the 996 feel like its going backwards, the scream from the full titanium akropovic system is so addictive, and handling, well, it drops into bends like ive hit a patch of oil, straight over, knee down and back tyre rolling over its edge. Amazing machine. In comparison the 996 feels twice as heavy - just moving it about in the drive and its like pushing a truck, throttle response feels slow, the brakes arnt as good even with new fluid and decent pads, below 50mph and your constantly slipping the clutch and jumping about - dropping a tooth on the front sprocket helps a bit, the seat feels like its a plank of wood and the riding position seems more awkward than "race" compared to the R1. But once your out on it, the whole character, noise, rattling and experience is worth it. And when you open her up, the race termi`s just sound amazing and put the hairs up on the back of your neck. So for me, I find the 996 is more when im out for a relaxing nice ride out & I leave the R1 for when im in a psycho "wring its neck" thrash mood. Very often I find myself doing maybe 60 miles on one, then swap for the other so I get best of both worlds!
