[Lelebebbel]

Someone I know is selling his. 30k miles, services have been kept up. Some aftermarket stuff I can see, termi pipes, rear sets, Öhlins shock, EVR slipper clutch.... also supposedly 998R heads (?)

$5k canadian. I have always wanted one since the day they came out... but I also have a nice '94 SS that I just put back together...


Yes or No?

 

[ProphetPVD]

Someone I know is selling his. 30k miles, services have been kept up. Some aftermarket stuff I can see, termi pipes, rear sets, Öhlins shock, EVR slipper clutch.... also supposedly 998R heads (?)

$5k canadian. I have always wanted one since the day they came out... but I also have a nice '94 SS that I just put back together...


Yes or No?

As long as it is in solid shape and well taken care of I would grab that in less time than it took me to compose this...

That's a yes from me.

 

[t_bare]

$5k CND sounds very fair.

t_bare

 

[flynbulldog]

Hmmm now that I look at it the 998R head statement has me a bit skeptical. Somebody's been jacking around with that bike. $5000C is a good price but I would be very cautious, there's probably a reason for that price.

 

[Lelebebbel]

Well the history I know off is that it belonged to someone, who sold it to his friend for a "friend price" of $5k last year. This friend is someone I know. He's not a mechanic, the bike is stored in a multi-garage in an apartment complex, and his previous bikes where more modern Ducs with warranty and such. I'm guessing the owner before him did the mods. It has been on some track days. They are still friends and still ride together so I'm guessing it can't be that bad... It also only has 22k miles, not 30k, and comes with a tub full of OEM bits like the clutch and such.

The reason he is wanting to sell it is that it is a bit much for where he lives, and he is looking into dual sport type bikes that are happy below the speed limit... its not posted anywhere.

I am gonna go for a ride with him next weekend and have a look at the bike in person and find out some more. I have photos and it looks immaculate, at least with the fairings on. The thing with the heads is my biggest question mark as well. I have the feeling that this is just something the P.O. explained to him, and it is possible that he is just referring to the testastretta heads that the 998 models have (which first came with the 996R from the previous years if I am not mistaken?). But the 900SS I bought last year was full of surprises, and not all of them where good ones, so I will proceed with caution.



Actually maybe you experts can help me out a little bit, here is a photo. Anything that doesn't look right at first glance? The black text has me wondering but it is both on tank and fairings, maybe some canadian spec?

 

[kaos]

Most likely had the 998-999s heads installed with the better cams , common easy mod . Sounds like a decent bike for sure . If it’s local at all Willy’s motorbikes in Nanaimo will know it , he’s the former duc tec . Might be worth asking him about it

 

[Lelebebbel]

Most likely had the 998-999s heads installed with the better cams , common easy mod . Sounds like a decent bike for sure . If it’s local at all Willy’s motorbikes in Nanaimo will know it , he’s the former duc tec . Might be worth asking him about it

That's a good idea, and I'll talk to Savage in Victoria as well.

 

[ProphetPVD]

...Actually maybe you experts can help me out a little bit, here is a photo. Anything that doesn't look right at first glance? The black text has me wondering but it is both on tank and fairings, maybe some canadian spec?

A larger pic would have been easier to inspect, but that looks like an '02 to me. Same graphics as mine, save the number plate contrast "paint" on the nose. Nothing jumps out at me as being off... I will say this. That thing is immaculate. If the ride checks out, I would not hesitate to grab that at that price.

 

[Lelebebbel]

A larger pic would have been easier to inspect, but that looks like an '02 to me. Same graphics as mine, save the number plate contrast "paint" on the nose. Nothing jumps out at me as being off... I will say this. That thing is immaculate. If the ride checks out, I would not hesitate to grab that at that price.

Thanks. I got the pictures by text so they are small. Here are two more. Only thing I can tell that is off is that the heel guard on the exhaust is missing, and I'm not sure if that's a full exhaust system that was installed there? Also, looks like aftermarket clip on bars?


The last thing I need right now is another Ducati, but I also have the feeling that I'll kick myself for years if I don't pick this up. If the paperwork is ok, of course.

 

[Made_in_323]

Walk away

5000 canadians? 22k miles is kind of normal so the price is very low. I do not believe you can really make a bargain deal on such popular bike. People know the price. Unless the guy is in dire straits or you are willing to put 2k straight up the minute you buy i'd say the price is too good to be true.

 

[ProphetPVD]

Thanks. I got the pictures by text so they are small. Here are two more. Only thing I can tell that is off is that the heel guard on the exhaust is missing, and I'm not sure if that's a full exhaust system that was installed there? Also, looks like aftermarket clip on bars?

Those look like the OEM clip ons, albeit with bar ends/extenders. And the exhaust mid pipe is OEM so those are most likely 50mm slip on Termi's.

 

[Lelebebbel]

Thanks once again. And yes if this price is really that unusually low, extra caution is required, but due to the back story on how the bike found its current owner it is not unbelievable. I can also understand his reasoning of just wanting to sell it for what he paid, to someone he knows, rather than dealing with craigslist.


Hopefully this Sunday or Saturday I will be able to make a call on it after seeing the title and VIN.

 

[Doddste]

Factory 998 decals were only sliver, if I’m not mistaken (excluding the R’s unpainted carbon lettering). Could be that the decals were changed for looks, or because the fairings were resprayed.

 

[flynbulldog]

or it's been crashed and has a full set of Chinese fairings...

$5K C is about $3800 US. Nobody sells a 998 for that cheap unless something is drastically wrong.

 

[dspear99ca]

Thanks once again. And yes if this price is really that unusually low, extra caution is required, but due to the back story on how the bike found its current owner it is not unbelievable. I can also understand his reasoning of just wanting to sell it for what he paid, to someone he knows, rather than dealing with craigslist.


Hopefully this Sunday or Saturday I will be able to make a call on it after seeing the title and VIN.

I have bought and sold a few Ducatis in the past couple of years and have been keeping a pretty good eye on the market in BC, mainly the Lower Mainland as that's where the majority of the bikes are. $5K is at least $3K low for a reasonably low-miles superbike in that kind of showroom condition. Of course there's lots of potential legitimate reasons for the low price and this isn't your first rodeo so you know what questions to ask. Beautiful looking bike, it will be hard to resist. Curious to see the inside of the fairings to see if they've been repaired and repainted, but for $5K if it's good mechanically... who cares. You could probably part it out and get your money back.

 

[SS904]

Font size on the fairings are much larger than OEM. Black was not the original color. Silver came on the red bikes, except the R models which were exposed carbon, so they looked black from a distance.


That, along with the extra white on the nose, screams re spray. Every re spray has a story... Might not be a big deal at all, but worth asking. On the plus side it has Cycle Cat bars and rear sets. That doesn't suck!

 

[Doddste]

or it's been crashed and has a full set of Chinese fairings...

$5K C is about $3800 US. Nobody sells a 998 for that cheap unless something is drastically wrong.

Or that. I would be extremely curious as to why the priovous, or original owner made this change.

 

[dspear99ca]

Or that. I would be extremely curious as to why the priovous, or original owner made this change.

You said the bike had been tracked, one highside = all new fairings and OEM are not cheap. Lots of track bikes with aftermarket fairings for this reason, the Chinese ones do the job. Problems are generally with fit, less so with finish these days and it was probably painted locally anyways.

If you watch WSBK or MotoGP you will see that these bikes can take a TON of punishment and be back on the track the next morning. Rear subframes, tanks and front forks do sometimes get replaced but mostly it's clipons, rearsets, windscreens and fairings as the majority of crashes are (relatively) low-speed washouts and slides.

 

[Doddste]

You said the bike had been tracked, one highside = all new fairings and OEM are not cheap. Lots of track bikes with aftermarket fairings for this reason, the Chinese ones do the job. Problems are generally with fit, less so with finish these days and it was probably painted locally anyways.

If you watch WSBK or MotoGP you will see that these bikes can take a TON of punishment and be back on the track the next morning. Rear subframes, tanks and front forks do sometimes get replaced but mostly it's clipons, rearsets, windscreens and fairings as the majority of crashes are (relatively) low-speed washouts and slides.

See bold; I never said that. I said replaced decals or resprayed fairings. I also said that, if it was me looking at the bike, I’d be curious as to why this was done.

Not sure if it was directed towards me, but I certainly don’t need an explanation on track fairing setup, Chinese fairings, or durability of bikes in a crash. Between myself and the previous owner, my 748/853 has 4 crashes with no major damage.

Regardless if it’s in pristine condition now, and even if everything looks to be straight, I’d want to know that a bike was laid down or had aftermarket fairings before I purchased it. Some know what to look for, some don’t. Just trying to help the OP.

 

[dspear99ca]

Geez, people are touchy today.

The OP said it had been tracked in Post #5. Guess I could've been clearer, honest very minor mistake. I assumed the OP would be reading the replies, I just included your text for context.

As for the fairings, all I meant to impart was that it's not uncommon for track bikes to have replacement aftermarket fairings. Fairings are easy to damage in any crash. Note in my first post that I too mentioned that I was curious to see the inside of the fairings.

My apologies if I offended you, just trying to help the OP as well, and I have no knowledge of your experience or skill level. Nothing I said was directed at you, just passing along info that might be useful to the OP looking at this buy.