[Rettags]

A friend of mine is willing to sell me his 2002 748R and I wanted to get some opinions on this deal.
He had the motor swapped out at Fast by Ferracci, and had them put in a 748RS motor they had left over (never used). The bike has 2,400 miles on it, with only about 400 on the RS motor. He just brought it in for service and everything was checked and replaced where necessary. Included were the belts, new brake pads, filters, oil change and new tires.
He replaced the original body with full carbon (unpainted). I'm not too crazy about the carbon panels he bought because they don't all see to fit well. He still has the original body work, so going back to OEM isn't a real issue. He also has new Marchesini forged magnesium wheels, slipper clutch, clutch slave and FBF custom tune for the RS motor (and original motor is included).

Things that need to be addressed/replaced:
-Headlights are "foggy". Is this common?
-Coolant resovoir/upper tank has a crack. I think I can just route the overflow from the main bottle to atmosphere, is that correct?
-Bike came with steel braided lines, should they be replaced? They look like they've seen better days.
-Sprockets/chain have never been replaced, is it time?

From what I can remember, that's everything. The Ducati dealership that serviced it last week only mentioned the coolant bottle, but said it wasn't a necessary replacement.
So for $10k, should I take advantage of this deal? Is there anything else I should look into before giving an answer? I'm no suspension guru, so I wasn't sure if the Ohlins shock and forks would need anything (re-valve?).

I appreciate your insight and ideas!

Mike

 

[FuelIsFunToBurn]

I'm not going to hit every point, I will say though that I replaced the coolant expansion tank for the reason you describe. This was last April. Same problem with the new one. Pisses me off. Got a pic of the "foggy" headlight?

 

[mbevans]

What are your needs from this bike? Race only, streetride? living-room art, expensive track day bike? $10k is not a cheap price, though the bike is well loaded with a fancy motor and your friend has a sh*t-load of $$$$ in it.

If I'm not mistaken the 748RS cams play hell on valves/guides. I read somewhere from a team in the UK changed valves and guides every 1000-1200 miles, and needed it. I could be wrong. But believe that the RS cams are higher lift/longer duration than the R cams, creating much more top-end maint.

It's good the original motor is included!!

Headlight issue is common I have a 2001 748 headlight assembly that has fogged, yet if removed and bulbs extracted for cleaning from the inside of the light should take care of it.

Replace the tank, case closed. You want one there.

Sounds like a nice classic racer....

Yet $10k buys a lot of Ducati's that can handle as well, or better, and have more reliable HP's.

 

[FuelIsFunToBurn]

If I'm not mistaken the 748RS cams play hell on valves/guides. I read somewhere from a team in the UK changed valves and guides every 1000-1200 miles, and needed it. I could be wrong. But believe that the RS cams are higher lift/longer duration than the R cams, creating much more top-end maint.

That would definitely make a track only bike!

 

[tye1138]

-Headlights are "foggy". Is this common?

Yea, that can happen. Make sure there arn't any cracks in the glass. Also, there is a cap in the back of the assembly that some people misplace or could be damaged.

-Coolant resovoir/upper tank has a crack. I think I can just route the overflow from the main bottle to atmosphere, is that correct?

The upper container has high pressure in it, the lower tank is just over-flow. If the upper tank has a crack, it will need to be replaced (more info about that below)

-Bike came with steel braided lines, should they be replaced? They look like they've seen better days.

You can run your fingers up and down the lines and see if there are any cracks or damaged bits. Lines are cheap, so if you fell it warrants replacement, you're not looking at much. When it comes to breaking, if it looks screwed up, just replace it.

-Sprockets/chain have never been replaced, is it time?

With roughly 2500 miles? Put it to you another way, my 848 has 12,000 miles and the factory chain/sprockets look new. I'd pull the chain off, make sure it feels OK and none of the links are damaged. Then I'd let it sit in lighter fluid for a bit. Once thats done, I use the ol' WD40 to clean off any more bits and then spray it with whatever chain lubricant you use. Most decent chains will come back to life... The sprockets should be nowhere near gonzo.

So for $10k, should I take advantage of this deal? Is there anything else I should look into before giving an answer? I'm no suspension guru, so I wasn't sure if the Ohlins shock and forks would need anything (re-valve?)

Its an old bike and I think the price is too high. Clean 748R's go for roughly $5k-$7k. 748RS with all the race goodies go for not much more, one sold here this year for $10k. So a street going, home-made job 748R with an RS motor... its risky to be spending money.

The 748RS motor is similar to the 748R motor, but its lifespan is minimal. Its not designed for the street, the cam's are tuned for top end 12,000 RPM redline. Also, nobody has any data on how long it would last in street conditions. They get SUPER hot, much hotter then 748R motor's, which already get hot as they are.

On street bikes, suspension fluids should be replaced every 3 years. So you should re-build the forks and shock, if you wanna get back to the feel of the bike. The slipper clutch on the 748R/748RS is also a piece of junk, so if it hasn't been upgraded, you'd probably have to do that as well.



100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3

 

[mbevans]

That would definitely make a track only bike!

My thoughts also....Though even though I loved my 748-853-890 motors and how they handling in that style of chassis. And I love my 996sps big nasty motor in that type of chassis.

Not sure that in today's lousy market I would invest that much into a high-maintence bike that is 15 years old technology, except if I had $$$$ to burn.

$10k will buy a cherry 2006-2007 999s, 2005-2006 MV-1000, one year old 848 etc. etc.
Higher HP, better handling, less maintence..... That's if I wanted to ride the street and few track days a year.
That's if I wanted to stay in the Italian world.......

 

[Rettags]

Thanks for all the great info so far. The bike would be mainly street riding. I take my car to the track mostly and try to leave it at that.
So you guys are saying I should maybe stay away from this because of the RS motor, right? Of course I love the idea of having an RS motor, but if that means more frequent maintenance, and more expensive maintenance, maybe I should forget it.
I've had a 996 and a 1098, on top of a few R-1s. The 1098 styling didn't excite me after a couple of months, so I sold it. I'm really looking for the old 916 classic styling. Basically a bike to enjoy on weekends and that's it.
Any more input, let me know please! Great stuff to think about so far.

 

[DesmoDuke]

Check out Sigma Performance's article about 748RS.
http://www.sigmaperformance.com/service-interval.html

Especially the service schedule listed on that page...

 

[mbevans]

Thanks for all the great info so far. The bike would be mainly street riding. I take my car to the track mostly and try to leave it at that.
So you guys are saying I should maybe stay away from this because of the RS motor, right? Of course I love the idea of having an RS motor, but if that means more frequent maintenance, and more expensive maintenance, maybe I should forget it.
I've had a 996 and a 1098, on top of a few R-1s. The 1098 styling didn't excite me after a couple of months, so I sold it. I'm really looking for the old 916 classic styling. Basically a bike to enjoy on weekends and that's it.
Any more input, let me know please! Great stuff to think about so far.

If you're used to machines with over 120hp in a de-stressed state of tune, a pumped 750 motor will not be that much fun on the street. I can appreciate a pumped small bore motor, but never as a street bike.

Your friend has a nice peice, if it was mine in today's world it would be put in the living room, as it is waaaay to expensive to run on the track and for the street, well that's not an option.

Cheers,
M

 

[Rettags]

Check out Sigma Performance's article about 748RS.
http://www.sigmaperformance.com/service-interval.html

Especially the service schedule listed on that page...

Good read and a lot of info. Based on that service sheet, there's no chance I'm running the RS motor, especially on the street. That's a lot to clean and/or replace in short intervals.

Thanks, I guess my search will continue...