Do you / have you own(ed) a 748R?
 

I took a 748 R out on a test ride on Friday.
I have a few questions that I would like answering.
Do not want to bog down this part of the site with stuff that may have been covered but I thought the motor was seriously awsome, the throttle response poor, the fueling strange at low revs, the rear suspenion a revelation, the front end off-the power-banked-over not good at all, noise - fun but I wonder if I was riding a dog ('00 model Showa with 6.5K on the clock on 207rr)

my email is tim@t-f-p.com if you have any comments / real experience / knowledge as I feel I may need to try a 2nd bike as this one threw up too many unanswered questions that would not warrant the extra £ over a bip.

thanks

The light weight wheels were a major difference too.
Forgot to mention.
When pootling along, she was one bike up to her engine, and the same as my bip there uwards.
Felt odd and I put it down to her light wheels.
The clutch was dreadfully heavy.
You could not ride her in traffic for long.
The fueling was so poor and the play on the throttle of almost 1/2 inch (seemed like that) meant that I really did not come away impressed - except the engine above 8K was a rush, and I mean rush - wow.

The extra £ might be best spent on an 996 or 916sp maybe?

Too many issues for road / track work combined it would seem (?)

aws

Hi,

Ive actually just bought a 748R, but have still to pick it up.

From what you say it seems like a rubbish bike, most people ive spoken to praise it and really say it is an awesome bike. But a lot different than the 748bip.

I had a 748sp a while ago (wasnt for long) and i bought it in pretty cheap, unfortunately i havent been able to test ride a 748R and went on insticts.. hope i was right, can any one tell me how similar it is to the 748sp... also is it really that bad?

I think it may have been the one you test rode. Remeber if suspension is played around with it changes the whole feel of the bike, especially if its not to your weight and sizing etc... also how up-to-date was the service history? maybe it was due a service, did the bike have aftermarket cans?

TJ

Sounds like a bad one, especially as it doesn't come with ohlins front.... 748R are designed to spend most of their life above 7000rpm, the newer ones have F1 style shower injectors as fitted to the 998, which sometimes cause the engine to stall when braking sharply, as you pull the clutch in.

PS what are you doing banked over and off the power? :P

Mate, get as newer one as you can, tyhe spec is better,including free 50mm termis etc

Get it jhp and change the chip for £25... fuelling sorted!!!

The 748r runs probably the lumpiest cams of any Duke. The best way to trade off the lack of bottom end is to fit a 38 tooth rear sprocket.


So to recapp-
best bike you can afford
jhp chip
rear sprocket and or carrier

Worked for me, i had a 2002 748r( with the shower injectors), excellent fun.

Mate, get as newer one as you can, tyhe spec is better,including free 50mm termis etc

Get it jhp and change the chip for £25... fuelling sorted!!!

The 748r runs probably the lumpiest cams of any Duke. The best way to trade off the lack of bottom end is to fit a 38 tooth rear sprocket.


So to recapp-
best bike you can afford
jhp chip
rear sprocket and or carrier

Worked for me, i had a 2002 748r( with the shower injectors, excellent fun.

Mate, get as newer one as you can, tyhe spec is better,including free 50mm termis etc

Get it jhp and change the chip for £25... fuelling sorted!!!

The 748r runs probably the lumpiest cams of any Duke. The best way to trade off the lack of bottom end is to fit a 38 tooth rear sprocket.


So to recapp-
best bike you can afford
jhp chip
rear sprocket and or carrier

Worked for me, i had a 2002 748r( with the shower injectors), excellent fun.

Mate, get as newer one as you can, tyhe spec is better,including free 50mm termis etc

Get it jhp and change the chip for £25... fuelling sorted!!!

The 748r runs probably the lumpiest cams of any Duke. The best way to trade off the lack of bottom end is to fit a 38 tooth rear sprocket.


So to recapp-
best bike you can afford
jhp chip
rear sprocket and or carrier

Worked for me, i had a 2002 748r( with the shower injectors), excellent fun.

Mate, get as newer one as you can, tyhe spec is better,including free 50mm termis etc

Get it jhp and change the chip for £25... fuelling sorted!!!

The 748r runs probably the lumpiest cams of any Duke. The best way to trade off the lack of bottom end is to fit a 38 tooth rear sprocket.


So to recapp-
best bike you can afford
jhp chip
rear sprocket and or carrier

Worked for me, i had a 2002 748r( with the shower injectors), excellent fun.

Mate, get as newer one as you can, tyhe spec is better,including free 50mm termis etc

Get it jhp and change the chip for £25... fuelling sorted!!!

The 748r runs probably the lumpiest cams of any Duke. The best way to trade off the lack of bottom end is to fit a 38 tooth rear sprocket.


So to recapp-
best bike you can afford
jhp chip
rear sprocket and or carrier

Worked for me, i had a 2002 748r( with the shower injectors), excellent fun.

Wow!
Lots of emphasis on that last post.

The spec on the 748r is the same as all Dukes. It changes every year.

Thus the Showa shocks front and rear are standard.
The front end was squirming (the only way I can describe it really) off the power, once you were on the power, it was fine, so I think it was this bike from OnYerBike.

Unimpresed over-all, all but the engine to be truthful.
This bike had the lightweight wheels & felt different from the off.
Those wheels make a massive diffence and if you think otherwise - you need to ride the 748 bip.
It seemed to need more attention and just sometimes, I want to enjoy my fav back roads.
Baldock - Buntingford
The Ring
Due at Fort Willian this w/end
Get the drift?
Am I asking too much?

I need to try a sorted bike as I am going off the whole project!

aws(ome)

[Edited on 9-5-2004 by aws]

i have got a 2000 'R',showa frt and rear(i remember the late Ronnie Smith of Performance Bike not getting on with a Ohlins equipped bike,he liked the showa better!!),shower injectors etc.i jumped off a procession of jap stuff,my last one being a sorted marlboro r6 .Once i got used to the duke it ****ed all over the r6.fueling is crap below 4k,mines got 50mm ti termis and a dp chip(soon to changed).it could be the way the previous owner has set the suspension up.38t rear going on mine in next week.clutch is heavy but you live with it,mine gets used to commute as well as the usual fun on the way home!had 207rr's on the r6,suited that bike and i thought they were great tyres at the time,lot better tyres available now.Not everyone with the later ones will have the "free termis"with the bike as they will have probably been sold privately.think you may have just ridden a bit of a dog,maintenance can be a bit expensive but then you don't buy a ferrari and get it serviced at halfords.keep looking and you will get good one.:lol:

throttle response can be down to the play in the cable,when i bought mine and rode it home fron dealers it felt like it had 2ft of play,had to give it a big handful to blip on downchanges,got home,adjusted cable went back out loads better.it still spits a little on the overrun and now and then will cutout but not sure whether thatsdown to the chip or just the general fuel injection setup!!:cool:

748r \"v\" 996(s) who has the inside track?
 

If you have read my 748R post you'll know that the bike is less than user friendly.
Whilst the engine is awsome it has many isseus clearly not resolved. No one really has a perfect set-up and advocates the "turn a blind eye, she's worth it" attitude.
Getting a bit weary of that as I want maybe waht I can't have.
I love my 748 bip, and thought the R would be a quantum leap - it was motor wise but everything else is not right.

It remains may bikes to many people and is thus fatally flawed.
So, is it best to plum for a 996 or even a 998(?) as lets be honest here, I want a multi role bike.
Funds are not good!

Most of my time might be spent on the track, but if I want to work a bike hard , especially with the fueling, I would be better off on a race bike 4 track days and have 2nd one for the road, which is not the point at all.

Going to bed, my head hurtrs!

Thanks for all the 748R postings - I loved her too, just not enough to think she was worth the extra £.

aws(ome)

I bought a new 2002 R last year after 3 years with a 748bp.
Do it! but make sure its a good one.
I use 65 profile front 207RR and have had the suspension set up by Kais ( £400) Miles better.
The cutting out while slowing down is a technique thing in my opinion, never happens to me.
My clutch action is no heavier than a BP either.

I bought a new 2002 R last year after 3 years with a 748bp.
Do it! but make sure its a good one.
I use 65 profile front 207RR and have had the suspension set up by Kais ( £400) Miles better.
The cutting out while slowing down is a technique thing in my opinion, never happens to me.
My clutch action is no heavier than a BP either.

Ahhh Keiths posts are inspiring put a smile back on my face :D


Thanks dude, cant wait to pick it up!

TJ

400 quid for a suspension setup?!? :o

Jesus, ws thinking of sending my ohlins stuff up there for a service, but a those prices I might not bother!!!!

Hi Dj Tera
£400 was for a full day with them.
Re spring both front and rear to suit my weight, the rear end re sprung twice in fact.
Re build with new oil and seals both ends.
I thought it was well worth the cost,prior to this the Ohlins felt worse than my old showa stuff on the BP

Forgot to say, Re valved to suit as well.

Some dealers you go to to have suspension overhauled will be done by Kais in fact and then have your dealers mark up added as well. When you pay your bill will they have told you that?

Keith out of interest what do you weigh?

I owned a 2002 748r, for me it was a nightmare, really bad around town despite being chipped and a gutted exhaust being fitted, the problem is that it is a track bike, the butterfly fueling system is at the heart of the problem, the fuel is just dumped into the large injector fine above 5k, **** around town.

So I sapped it for a 749s, much better, but now run the bike I love the most, S4R-comfortable, You can see where you are going, blood fast too-Recomended

Ah... but for those that are youing and want a full on track bike and some road riding, no town riding or very little, a 748R makes sense ;)

I had a 748R and it was fantastic when you rode it with a bit of comitment but no good for around town or commuting. If riding fast is what you mainly do you will love it :lol:

Darren

PS wish I had took it to a trackday I bet it would have been fun :devil:

Daz, nice bike mate, wrong color though ;)

The 748R is basically a race homologation special. It'll never be particularly friendly...it isn't meant to be. There's only one way to ride them - FAST! :D

Proper set up by someone who knows what they're doing helps a gr8 deal but, at the end of the day it's no commuter.

Imo none of the 9**/748 or the new 999/749 range are ideal for commuting.

Obviously if you force yourself to commute on them its a different story... but i once commuted on my short term 748sp and i just coulnt take it, in traffic my arms were aching etc, but when it was clear in the morning it was fun opening up and hearing the thumper sound.

TJ

I bought a S/H 2002 748R last week after 1 year with a 2000 748bp.
This bike handles and performs like a different machine, and looks good as well.
It feels right but it only had 800 miles on the clock with 2 services and new belts!
I have a lot more corner confidence on this bike, so no regrets so far!

A few thoughts.......... Have owned my 2000 MY 748R from new. As mentioned previously Take it to JHP to sort the fuelling, I tried every chip combination and JHP chip along with a set up by John was a revelation and completely transforms the bike, smooth power throughout with a nice top end rush.

Regarding the handling - my bike originally had Showa front and rear, I had this upgraded by JHP fitting Ohlins springs to the front and Ohlins rear shock. Again a total transformation. Interestingly, I later changed to Ohlins Forks and did not like the feel as much as the modded Showas.

Tyre wise I think Dunlops suit the bike best 208GP's for track use as they have a much steeper say super corsas etc. and sharpen the turn in no end.

If you want any more info re ownership give me a buzz for a chat my no. is 07970 658533. I've done most things to this bike including putting a rod through the side of the motor at 11,000 rpm (not recommended).
Regards,