HI everyone, I’m looking at purchasing a 2003 749S, the bike in question has some issues. I’ve had mostly Japs and BMWs over the last 30 years or so but always had an eye on 749/999s, even when they came out I thought the styling was fantastic, but I have no experience owning one. I’d like to get some others opinions on how much the below issues would affect the price or potential costs involved in repairing. 1) Speedo goes blank or flicks through random numbers. 2) Odometer doesn’t seem to work and is stuck on 45K km (is this high mileage for a 2003 749? No idea what the actual mileage is. Are speedos matched to an ECU can they be swapped out? 3) Neutral light is permanently on- Apparently the bike cut out when put in gear and current owners mechanic said it wasn’t the sidestand switch?? Current owner doesn’t know what was done to fix it other than some wiring bypass and Neutral light on permanently now.. 4) Bike has a history of firing on 1 cylinder, fixed now but current owner doesn’t know what was wrong or what was done to fix it. 5) Clutch needs to be regularly bled, I don’t know why, worn out seals maybe? 6) Bike wouldn’t start several times when I had it yesterday, press starter and nothing happens. (like kill switch is on) then tried later and it jumped to life. 7) The seat seems to have delaminated. Is this common? My rear was hot when riding so not surprised. They all do that! Do they all get really hot seats? Does the dry clutch always sound like that, Does the bag of spanners sound at any point indicate an issue. Thanks All.
I dont think I,d take it for free tbh Decent examples pop up on DD from time to time. I,d wait for a clean one with s/h.
Surprised to see the feedback definitive in the negative. I thought maybe swop out the speedo and replace the gear sensor switch and I’d be done. What are the red flags? Are these usually indicators of something else serious going on? Cheers
its your choice you can easily convince yourself to buy it but you asked for opinions ive got two of them and i wouldnt touch the above with a barge all the stuff you mentioned is a red flag
Have to agree with that. I think [1] it would have to be very cheap and [2] you'd have to have the time, patience, and confidence for a project ... I've always thought that older Ducs make good secondhand buys because a high proportion of Duc owners were/are enthusiasts / fusspots who didn't enter into Duc ownership lightly and generally took good care of their machines. This one doesn't sound like it falls into that category.
I'd buy it if it was cheap enough. But not because I wanted it as a bike to ride, it would be purely for the tinkering value, to keep me out of mischief over the winter. None of it sounds insurmountable, and doing the work yourself you could easily break even value wise when it's done. But, the question is - is your hobby riding bikes or tinkering with them. The Clocks are matched to the ECU by the way as mentioned, but getting somebody to disarm the immobiliser in the ECU means you can use a different set of clocks with it.
repairs are possible, although expensive. https://www.carmo.nl/index.php?main_page=dashboard_revisie_reparatie 749: https://www.carmo.nl/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=493_498_3038_3065
Clean the speedo connector near the RH rearset and treat with CRC contact protect or similar. Inspect the Superseal connector rubber seals. If the speedo does not work, the odometer does not work either.. Side stand switch will cause the engine to shut down when a gear is engaged. Neutral switch is most likely wired directly to ground to remain on all the time and allow the bike to run. Side stand switch isn't expensive and is easy to replace. Early bikes had coils with a connector directly on the coil housing. On the horizontal cylinder they are known from getting damage from moisture and debris thrown by the front wheel. Update to later coils (facelift 749/999, 848, 1x98) with a fly lead. Most likely the slave has bad seals, they are known to be junk. Replace with a larger aftermarket unit for a lighter lever pull. Starter relay. Located in the abyss they call a battery box. Not a huge task to replace. If you mean the seat looks like there's something 'bubbling' under the faux leather that's an indicator of excessive moisture in the padding. Fresh OEM seats are easy to find. With the OEM exhaust with a catalytic converter in the silencer they do. With an aftermarket exhaust (without a cat) they don't. Yes and no - an excessively worn clutch makes a lot of noise but there's no way of silencing a dry clutch completely. There is a mod for it and you can run a closed cover too. The bike sounds like a neglected one so unless it's dirt cheap (£2k) walk away and find a facelift model.
I tend to agree with @jusutus comments. Items 1+2 could be due to the speedo sensor cable. Item 6 could be the start button (I had this once) - take apart and clean contacts and check wiring connections. 45k Kkms (28 k miles) is a fair amount. I wouldn’t pay more than 1500quid for what you have described.
If the price is good, and you enjoy a challenge/ project it sounds fine. If you have been watching the prices of these on Ebay (great way to know market value) you will know what they sell for. There's two working, good condition ones at asking £3900 so do the maths! How are all the cosmetics on the bike, these can be fairly expensive to redo; possibly more expensive than the problems you listed. To me it sounds like a neglected bike that has some electrical issues. If everything else appears to be good it might be a good buy at the right price. Though if someone has allowed this number of problems to accrue, the chances are the the maintenance of everything else is also in question.
Thank you everyone for the great feedback. To clear up some confusion I caused, I had a Donkey brain moment and typed in 749 in bike owned, but I don't own one. I should have typed "1952 BMW R25/2 and R1150GSA". I did a nut and bolt, frame up, engine out restoration on both, so I have the tools and space for most tasks. Engine wise- I'm comfortable with top end rebuilds but bottom-end, I nope out. I've restored an RGV250R previously also. Swopping out gearboxes, replacing clutches, wheel/headstock bearings, general servicing etc. I can generally get the job done.. Electrics though, I am hopeless. and I have never had an Italian bike. I agree, the current owner isn't very mechanically minded and seems to have let issues accumulate. This worries me as I don't know what else is about to go "bang" that has been neglected. I would be buying the bike as a project to straighten out as I like to have something to tinker on in the garage. Like you say the price has to be right.
as long as you dont expect to sell it when done and recover anything close to your outlay youll be fine they are lovely things and im well into mine and theres a truck load of expertise here on things niner related
This is a great point, I probably prefer tinkering than riding. And yes his current price is way to high.
