[John]

The obvious difference is the ergos. I thought you were on a mission for a 998?

 

[John]

Sounds like that 996 with 3K miles was the one on Craigslist? It did look nice in the picture. In its defense, I bought a 95 916 with 3K miles on it last year with no service interval paperwork too. I inspected the bike in person and talked to the owner. He wasn't a scammer. The bike was mint with original tires, belts, and I swear the oil! He was kind of a weird dude. I hear you about the tip overs and why people ignore required service intervals (cost?). My bike had two unfortunate "shit happens" tip overs. One when the kickstand went through soft asphalt and the other the bike fell over in my trailer. I'm in the process of getting the damage fixed, but to be honest I don't know if your search for the perfect bike is realistic. Hell, I change my oil every 2K miles but don't keep any receipts. I don't know how you can go wrong with a 3k miles bike if everything else checks out even without receipts. On the 996 my main concern above everything else would be the condition of the rockers.

I think the S4R is a nice bike, a buddy of mine's wife has one and she really likes it. More standup seating and raw with the wind blowing in your face and body all the time. I would like to have both bikes really.