996 SPS what to look for
 

A lad on the TDR site is looking at a 996 SPS

"I've been wanting something a bit special for a while now
I've found an sps 996 that ticks all the boxes for me

Is there anything I should check on this version ?
Anyone have any experience of one ?
It's a road bike and I won't be tracking it - I want one as a bit of garage eye candy
Couldn't afford one back in 2001 and I still can't now - but hey you only live once
Thanks "

Can anyone offer anypointers?

Regards

Paul

First thing is to check its a genuine 996SPS there are a few relicas around
Otherwise its all about the general condition, does the mileage look like it matches the condition and does service history, MOTs etc match up with the mileage.
There are always those bkes that get stored so have a gap in the paperwork, but in general reasonably low mileage and good condition ones are preferable over high milage tatty ones without service history.

Hi Paul. i have a 996 sps. Its quite an amazing bike when its going well. Not the best bike for general road use. Mine has played up a bit but when ridden hard on the track it goes great. I would segest you read up about the sequential injector set up they have and the P8 ecu. A few guys have had heaps of dramas tuning this bike and end up disconnecting the second injectors. Mine coughs and splutters under 5000 rpm unless under load. As soon as i get up it ,the thing is an absolute beast. I have friends with s4r monsters and my 12 yr old sps simply blows them away. They have dyno tuned ,changed eprom chips and pipes , gearing ect. and they still cant believe it when we hit the main straight at lakeside i just fly by. So , yep , an SPS is a lot of bike to handle and is made for track work. Look under the seat and make sure it is running a 1AW 1.8 p8 ecu. Check for water leaks around the cooling tank on the right handle bar side, take off the side covers (30 seconds) and check to see if it been dropped. eg. bark off the cases. Make sure it has no problems starting and idling perfectly. Dont be too concerned if it seems pretty jumpy and rough at low speeds. They are all the same, unless the eprom chip has been changed and the sequential injectors disconnected.
good luck.
ned.

Personally I'd go for the year 2000 model with the Ohlins forks, the last one before the 996r

I did over 20,000 miles on mine, mainly road use and thought it was a great road bike. Superb mid range punch followed up by great topend, matched my 996r everywhere on the dyno except for the last thousand rpm, in fact sps had a bit more in the mid range. Frame and suspension susposedly the same as the r but my sps just semed to handle that bit better, maybe something in the set up which i could never isolate when I owned them both together.

Only problem I had with mine from memeory was a split header tank and the sprag clutch on the starter motor went some time after i sold it to my best mate, but they have a hard life starting high comp engine. Make sure the battery is kept well charged before starting if it's been left idle for a while. I wouldn't be put off by high mileage if the condition and service history is right. I think they're better if used rather than stood idle for most of the time.

Good luck, fantastic bike, wish I still had mine

Search the archives here and you'll find my write ups on both.

Full service history for sure and make sure the rockers are checked as they can be expensive to replace.

As for pointers it's simple, buy one... best bike ever, but then I'm bias.