It really is a case of yer pays yer money and makes yer choice.

A 998FE is basically a 998s with Ohlins forks and a slight variation on the paint job, i.e. no number borads on the seat unit. It has the same motor as the 999s (very similar to the 996r But I am not certain that they are identical) You don't get termis included though.

A 996r has some carbon bodywork and they can be bought from about £10k upwards. You should get termis and std pipes with the ECUs to suit included.

A 998r has the full 999cc motor the same as the 999r, the bodywork is carbon including the seat unit. The top fairing is not carbon. Again you should get termis and std pipes with the ECUs to suit included. A 998r can be bought for around £13k upwards.

The other thing with any R model is that Ducati say change the belts every 12 months or 6K miles whichever is the sooner. It can make servicing a bit more expensive if everything is done by the book.

Ray

I do think the 998SFE is a great bike and actually I decided I will definitely buy one today. It's the last of a truly great line and for me the brilliant compactness and the looks of any of the 998 series are unequalled and may never be equalled. I think these should hold their value extremely well in the long term once they're all gone (won't be long), of that I am pretty sure.

However, just going back to my original main original question which so far I have no answer to-

Why has it got die cast cases when some other early 2002 S models have sand cast cases and what are the (technical) advantages of die cast versus sand cast cases? Maybe they slotted in the latest 999s motor which I know has die cast cases? I know a little about the manufacturing technique for each but not which is considered better to have and the reasons why. Or are sand cast and die cast actually as good as each other? Looking forward to some good technical discussion on this. Thanks in advance.

Good choice Mr R ..
 

... sorry, don't know the answer to the casting question - Shazzam, any ideas?

I agree Henners, I love my 998s Mono tobits and it one of only 27 in the UK.