Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 998 / 996 / 916 / 748 > What price for .... an RS

[TP]

... a 748 RS?

Or even a 996 RS or 998 RS?

I'm thinking of a pure track tool, wouldn't see road miles and might even be raced.

I think a 748 RS would be eligible for axe murderers but I don't fancy my chances in Supertwins seeing as its gone MRO! Although a bigger RS would be eligible for Derby Pheonix Thunderbikes (well I think they call it Thunderbikes)

So how much do you reckon? Kev (skids)? Felix?

Throw me a bone ...

[Edited on 8-4-2005 by TP]

[Nattyboy]

Ducati Bristol had a 748RS up for ages...fresh from the factory in its bare carbon kevlar bodywork (but I think the owners lad had used it a few times).

If my memory serves me correct it was up for £11k and its sat gathering dust in the showroom for a long long time...

Nat

[Felix]

Oh dear, Tony. You are about to get on a very slippery slope. One thing to keep in mind, is that the running costs are going to way above that for a road bike, especially with the 996RS. The 748RS is closer to the road bikes as it was subject to tighter rules. You can find decent 748RS for reasonable money. The 11k example is fairly typical. With 996RS bikes ii is a huge range. There is a lot of them out there that are either heavily modded road bikes to the point where it gets hard to tell them apart, or original RS that have not been maintained, i.e. have had lots of aftermarket parts fitted to reduce maintenance costs. A properly maintained 996RS still goes for well over £20k. And that is without any data-logging.

Lastly, only buy one that you know the history of, especially as far as the engine is concerned. It will be almost impossible to tell what state the engine is in from the outside. If it needs rebuilding, you could be looking at £5k+ bill.

Use extreme caution...

[Jools]

You get a lot of work done at Sigma right? Have a word with Neil Spalding about the top end of a 748RS.

I'm sure I read on the Sigma site that the 748RS race cam snaps the valves open and slams them shut really violently and, even though the valves are extra trick, they're usually breaking apart by 750Km. I seem to remember talk about top end rebuilds every 200 miles

If you can afford that and go DD racing, go for it!

In fact, if you can afford that and go DD racing...got any jobs going at your place?

[Rattler]

Avoid I reckon - this would be such a liability.

I reckon you're doing the right thing with a start to racing with the DD series. See how this goes this season and take a view later in the year.

Even then, there are much cheaper ways to go racing than getting a RS - wise words from Felix.

Maybe Supertwins is the next step up from DD if you fancy that? There are the 400cc series too.

IMHO, if you're serious about racing then I reckon you should be concentrating your efforts and cash on the racing and not on the maintenance side of things. An RS may be too much of a distraction - would be a great bike to ride though!!!

Good luck
Tim

[bradders]

why not just get a latest gixxer tho, instantly competitive and no hassle with rebuilds? oh, and cheaper to buy!

[TP]

I had a chat to Nelly today about RS service intervals and costs - blew me away! Don't get me wrong, I knew they were expensive but not that expensive! The 748RS isn't so bad but, call me naive, I thought the initial purchase price would be less as well.

Hey ho, no RS for me. And no job for Jools either

As an insight into my thinking ... I feel really guilty about what I've done to my 996. It was a mint bike when I got it and I commuted on it for about a year through winter etc without a lot of cleaning and protection and then crashed it at Rocky twice. Mechanically it would have to be one of the best examples of the breed getting around. After having Neil Spalding's and Nelly's hands in there it's perfection. Cosmetically, if I wanted to restore it to mint it would mean painting the frame, the engine and wheels. Then it would be mint again. I was thinking of doing this and then selling it for a track tool (Ducati only Paul) and something with a bit less go on the road.

The way I see it at the moment is that I'll have a racebike (currently the DD bike), a road bike and maybe a bike for my wife as well. Poor me, yes I know ...

I could keep the 996 and turn it into my track bike/race bike (the Derby Pheonix 750 IL4's and 1000cc twins), have something that I care nothing for on the road, I keep coming back to a motard for this - seems to make perfect sense. And Ange can have the ex-DD monster as her road bike.

My biggest problem with this is that I didn't really want to race in that class. Depending on how DD goes I was previously envisaging myself in either DD next year again - makes good financial sense, or running in minitwins. That would mean keeping the 996 on the road though and having an 800SS as the minitwin (if Mike Edwards doesn't let us bore the 620's).

So you can see the circle I'm going in. I think it makes sense to hang on to the 996 forever now, it's a great bike. But I don't have limitless amounts of cash and I can't have 4 bikes etc. Although if the kids only ate rice .... ahem, ...

Anyway, I'm rambling. I guess I just wanted to share my thoughts and see what you all think. Whaddya reckon?

[Rattler]

Just race in the DD series and take a view later in the year - no rush. Seems like you've got too much time on your hands and you're letting your thoughts run wild - haven't you got a bike to prepare

[bradders]

Seems straight forward to me (but I am a simpleton!)

sell DD bike next year and use that dosh to fund any race series you do next year.

Use the 996 all the time, after all thats what it needs not sitting in the garage for 10 months of the year like mine

and get the wife somethibg which you can use on really bad days, say BMW trailee or.....................use the DD bike on the road as your every day thing

[Jon]

Originally posted by Rattler
Just race in the DD series and take a view later in the year - no rush. Seems like you've got too much time on your hands and you're letting your thoughts run wild - haven't you got a bike to prepare

Just listen to this man TP, he's my mentor and hero

If your thinking about it, he's already done it and sold it on as well.