Out of curiosity I emailed a few dealers today just to see what they were offering in the way of p/ex for something more comfortable.Most did not reply, some would not touch a Ducati for some reason and a couple were taking the p**s
I was offered a new Honda CBR1000RR ( uk ) plus about £1200 back for my bike from one dealer with all the bits taken off, which I think I could possibly get about £1500 or so for. ( Subject to them all selling )
My brother has a new blade and it is much more comfortable on my arms with nowhere near as much weight on them but after looking at my bike in the garage I personally do not think anything would look as nice as the Ducati so I really do not know what to do, get something more comfortable and some cash back, try and sell the bike privately, or get some bar risers and hope I get better sooner rather than later.
I really am dissapointed in the way Ducatis seem virtually impossible to sell when at one time people would do anything to own one, what the hell is happening ???????

They are not winning as many races , the races they are winning are not being televised live by the beeb anymore and the japanese competition is so much better now.

Back when the 916 was king it could hold it's own on the road with blades and ZXR's , todays 999 is still too expensive compared to a K5 or an R1 and miles behind on performance :(

oh , it also doesn't help that everybody (including Ducati) is offering interest free finance on new bikes , why buy a 2nd hand bike with your own money when you can have a brand new one with free money from someone else , leave yours in the bank and collect the interest ;)

Yeah the 999 doesn't represent great value for money even for a Duke. Acceleration's about the same as a 749 and top speeds only up by 10mph. Handling, brakes etc are the same so for an extra 3 grand you don't get much for your money.
Anyway I'm still interested in some bits, you havn't said wether or not you'll sell any of them.

If I do decide to sell the bike I would prefer to leave it as it is as it would be a shame to take it to bits again, but if someone made me a decent offer for it standard I would sell all the bits separately.

Just thought, If I sold the clutch I will need an old standard clutch off someone as I sold my original clutch that came with the bike ? or p/ex it with the buyer.

Still do not know what to do, The dealer that had offered me a blade and £1200 back seems to have backtracked I think, even then it was only working out at £9000 for my bike as he had offered me the blade for £7800 anyway.

then how much will you loose on the blade in one year :barfy:

I have been offered a Repsol blade plus £3000 cash for my 749R, the Blade is nice and is more comfortable than mine but I do not know if I will be making the biggest mistake of my life ( apart from women ) or whether it is a good deal financially as the blade is much more saleable apparently ??

Just a thought, but if you were going to give up riding altogether, I would say sell the 749 and swallow the loss...the last thing you need at the moment is "Shall I sell it? Shall I keep it " stress...do the deed and move on.

BUT...

If you still want a bike , because riding gives you pleasure and you need all the positive vibes you can get, then surely its worth a couple of hundred pounds punt trying out some cycle-cat risers or similar?

If the risers don't work, and you still think a UJM is going to be more useable for you, recent posts seem to suggest that you could sell the risers on via this forum at a minimal loss, and you could then go down the UJM route.

I can't help thinking that you have lost most of the depreciation on the 749 already...if you do a swap to an IL4, the only one who is really going to benefit is the dealer. When you get on top of the ME (sorry, my "how I beat ME email" is on its way...its just harder to write than I thought) A 749R in the garage will be better than a Fireblade.

Best of luck whatever you decide, but it is a rotten market to be selling a bike at the moment and, if you can do without the cash, that 749R is going to be worth more in a few years time than a 2005 Fireblade.

I've never bought a slipper clutch before, but the ones I've seen have been between 500 and 600 quid new. How much was yours and what sort of money do you want with my standard clutch?
How hard are they to swop? I've changed them on jap bikes which was a doddle, but never on a Duke.
Where do you live? I'd be willing to ride to you with cash and either swap them myself or we could roll them into your local dealers to do the work which I'd pay for at the right price.

I'd also be interested in the carbon hugger, sprocket cover and exhaust guard.