As far as I know my mate Simon Knowlson still has the ex Xaus DFX 748RS for sale, has only been used once since the engine was rebuilt with new cases by AJR, probably talking around £8k.
Haven't managed to catch up with him lately, he'll be at Thruxton this weekend racing in the superstocks (not on the RS though)

Tony, i'd agree with Tim. You have the chance to get your track "fix" on the DD bike this year, and in racing terms it won't be too expensive a baptism.
Your 996 is in very good mechanical shape and is one of the sweetest i've had the priveledge of working on. It sounded sooooo sweet this morning and raised a few comments to that effect, aside of my personal opinions. Use it for the odd track day if desired, ride it on the road, whatever. Just enjoy her.
The cosmetics can be addressed as and when the need arises. It's not a nail by a long way ;)
If you want to progress, the DD bike should give you a good return should you wish to sell it on.
The RS route may be something for the future, but as we discussed, it won't be cheap. Listen to Felix...............he knows!!
Get the DD bike sorted and have a great year. You could always by the kids a Game Boy with the money you save on the RS idea!!


:P:lol:

You don't need an RS to compete in DP's Thunderbikes. On my SV650 minitwin at Croft (a power circuit) last weekend I took a 15th and a 12th place in that class against bikes with twice the horsepower. A well set up 996/998 or a 748R will be right up there.

It's the rider that counts. An RS would bankrupt you and put an early end to your racing aspirations. And if you haven't got previous racing experience then you won't get the best out of an RS.

[Edited on 10-4-2005 by twpd]

Tony,

Got a few mates with RS bikes, one with an ex-Hizzy 996RS which he's just launched into next week in SoT thunder last weekend, probably be about 3k to fix. The other has a 998RS02 which is absolutely amazing, has every toy and everything is like new, to the point where he's got something like 3 spare engines, couple of spare clutches, wheels, calipers.... basically everything you're going to need, but his investment is way into 6 figures, and the servicing costs to boot!

He did have 2 996R's one for racing and one for looking at! :o the one he raced he had the engine tweaked up to about 150Bhp, he now built another RS spec bike, but put the tuned 996R engine in as a "wet" bike currently, but is half thinking about selling, I must admit it looks amazing, and I am half tempted as you're getting WSB suspension brembo GP calipers and all the other bits and bobs, and an engine that doesn't have the huge servicing costs, best of both worlds for Joe Public like me and you!

Tony

What you need is a nice 748r... going cheap and perfect for track and with a bit of tuning would be reasonably competetive in DP races with the right rider on it!

Gwaaaann... you know you want to........ :D

or even a 749R

I have seen a couple of race bikes for sale recently

996RS about £17,000
A 998 ( looked like a full WSB/BSB spec rolling chasis with a more standard engine) £22,000

The running costs are only for the "enthisiast with a desire to make a small fortune" ( starting with a large one!!)


Ray.

Ray,

Sounds about right, an OK 996RS will set you back about 16-17K, but runing costs are astronomical, the 998RS is cheaper to run, not by much by all accounts.

I think the cheapest 998RS02's you'll see would be around 30K probably in need of a rebuild and no spares

Ducati London South have last years Legs 11 sponsored 749R outfit for sale at the minute TP .... thats a beast .... I'd love that as a trackday tool ...

I'm sure it is quite a weapon.

It was a long term plan anyway, I wouldn't move until the winter price drop. At this stage I've pretty much ruled out any RS.

I couldn't see the 749R on the DLS website though Dibs? What I can see on the JHP website is a picture of Richard Sneig's firebreathing 890R for sale. I've had a good look at that bike and it is a fantastic spec ...