An R will only ever be any good if you can make use of it - they're not so easy to live with. I reckon a better upgrade route would be a bigger bike. There is no subsitute for cubes at the end of the day.

You mentioned that the reason you are looking for more power has mostly to do with your mate's ability to pull away from you in the corners on an 8 year old bike.

Before you go about spending a lot of money on upgrading your S, or even considering an R, perhaps you might just solve your problem with a simple change of sprockets first?

the 999 is 2 kg lighter than the 749, it's the same bike but more power so go for the 999,
it's that simple, same frame same engine but the sidewalls are thicker on the 749.
:burn::burn::burn::burn::burn:

Having considered all the above points with some interest
I would have to put my hat in the ring and suggest finding a

'slower Mate'

A cheap solution to a tricky problem

Is this the reason that you changed from the 999 to the 749?
To be honest, at the moment, i'm inclined to fit a set of termi's (54mm full system?) PCIII and see what difference some training will do. I know on the 748's that there was the 853 kit from sigma and the like, but not sure about the reliability aspect, and also the cost may be a bit high assuming there was something similar for the 749, though if I was to mod my engine, i'm not sure i'd go that far.

Really want to get myself on a CSS day, but they're all down south :(. So guess I should start looking for a good bike friendly hotel for a day or 2 near silverstone or Rockingham, i think the courses are.

When I got the Fila999r it was always a short term deal as I intended to sell it on make a few ££££ :D But, I did find that it was a good 30mph quicker than my 749s in most situations. I went down roads I know quite well, and on my 749 I would be doing a 100mph ish and it felt quick, down the same roads the 999r I was doing 130mph and it felt effortless. I did not sell the 999r cause it was a hand full, but, I did think that it would be easy to lose your license.

I went to the 2004 749r because I have always thought these will be the classic R to have. Great looking bike, homologation model, big tank and all the kit as standard.

I'd say if you have the cash go for a 749r. Buy 2nd hand and let the initial owner pay the depreciation. Pay no more than £9k and be happy in the knowledge that you will get most if not all of your cash back when you sell in a few years time.

Bet your mates on the Jap bikes can't say that.

As for CSS, go for Rockingham, book a Travelodge at least 3 weeks in advance and stay for £10 mid week, £26 max. Depending if you are north or south Manchester I would have thought you could do Rockingham in 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

[Edited on 23-5-2006 by Carbon749]

Make sure he or she has a harley aswell:D:D

Go for the 999.
I was going to buy a 749s last year but thought it was too expensive for what it was so I bought a K5 Gixxer 600 instead. After I crashed it, revved the arse of it and did 3000 miles in three months (including a trip to France) on it, I realised I hated it and I'd broken my golden life rule: Never compromise.

I bought a new 05 999s in July and even though it was over twice the price of the Gixxer and significantly more expensive than the 749s, I absolutely love it. I also tried a used 2004 749r and I've got to be honest, I didn't like it all. The 999 has got so much pull and set up on the shortest setting (i'm 5"8), I find it really comfy. I found the 749r really uncomfortable (although the dealer (3X) didn't even bother setting it up), the bigger tank seemed to affect the position and the clutch/gear selection felt nowhere near as sweet as the 999.

i don't really have any trouble with the bigger tank, as i've got one on mine. Travelled round europe a bit with it last summer, never found it to get in the way. Actually think it was fortunate I had a bit more capacity, what with all the wrong turns :)

you could get almost everything as good or better by upgrading a 749S, but the engine in the 749R has a different bore and stroke. I had a 749R myself and there is something special about them