I had a choice of buying the 996R or the 998R I brought the 996R, all for the above reasons, eg, last of the 916 - 998 range to win, first of the testa motors. I just liked to 996R more, Its my dream bike and are luckily enough to be able to own one, One of ONLY 2 in SWEDEN But I doubt you could go wrong with either, no one would complain if they had a 996R or a 998R sitting in their garage .
At the end of the day, no matter what 996R owners say ... the 998R is the ultimate bike in that shape.
I looked for a 996R initially because I'm a Bayliss fan and it was the last one to win a championship ... but the 998R is the highest spec bike ever to be built in the iconic shape. It's that simple.
No matter what you say you can't circumvent that fact.
The 998R is the best bike ever built in the iconic shape.
I would be happy with either. Not actually bothered that the 996r did better in WSB and all that. I do prefer the seat unit on the 996r compared to the 998r. Even though the 998r has the carbon seat I just prefer the plain old 996 one. Havent ridden the 998r so I dont know if there much difference between them. Dont know how many 998r exist but the 996r is the one everyone seems interested in.
I bought my 996r off ebay and will not sell it in the forseeable future. Funnily enough the bloke I bought it off has just emailed me asking if I still have the bike and how I'm doing with it. He replaced it with a 749r with fully race kit etc. He did say he still misses the 996r though and has thought about getting one again. I've pointed him in the direction of DSC and mentioned TPs 998R for sale.
Bikes: 998S Chili trackbike,749R (corse kit), 748SPS
Posts: 1,223
Join Date: Jun 2001
Mood: Flange - it's a state of mind....
The 998R is the better bike - no question
I was going through the same decision a year ago & in the end bought a 998S - same performance as 996r - but a lot cheaper - I do a few trackdays -imagine crashing a 998r!!! - I don't think I'd ever forgive myself
I personally think the 2005 999R will be a good buy in a few years.....discuss!
Your all wrong.... Mines the best 996R. Pumping out 160BHP at the crank. Thanks to John Hacket. my bike is awesome. Roll on France and the Napolean route in 2 weeks time. Bring it on.
996r 
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