998R - what\'s it like on the track??
 

Planning to sell ot px my 748SPS for a 998R as a track bike

(advised by JHP to go for the 999 engine)

Can anyone tell what it's like to ride on the track, I've got two main questions.......

Can the 998 chassis handle the power from the 999 engine ( can I!!)

What the power delivery like - progressive/an on off switch??

Thanks in advance

Chris

u2u andyb he will know.

the chassis can easily handle 180bhp ask troy bayliss etc, the bike is superb, turns faster than annettes 996 sps, the power is so linear that even a numpty like me was starting to slide the rear without automatic bowel evacuation! the engine is more reliable and has better lubrication than the old 4 valve engines the only reoccouring fault is I keep braking the shim retaining clips in the valve train(no problem the valves cannot drop out) but this is probabley due to me using the upper reaches of the rpm band a lot more than most R riders who seem to clock up surreally low mileages.
My 998r is my all time favourite bike! the 999r is easier to ride fast but not as involving and the sound from the air box on the 998 at high rpm and full throttle is more addictive than heroin.

buy it, you wont regret it, after your 748sps it will feel so smooth so fast and so much easier to wind the throttle exiting bends!!

dave
:burn:

DOH! Now I want one ....

Dave! Why did you have to go and post that!

I'll be joining the queue behind Tony now!

me too

The 998r motor has so much more pull from low down than the 996. I have no idea how hard they were trying but on a airfield day I could hang onto race prepped R1s (Dean Ashston?)in a straight line compared to being left for dead on a 996bip the previous year.

The brakes are fantastic as well.

Can't comment about the cornering too much as the corners require a lot more skill and bottle than twisting the grip in a straight line!!!

Guido had a short run up the road on my 998r after jumping off his 748r not sure if he was on it long enough to make much comparison though??!!

Ray.

[Edited on 14-10-2004 by Ray]

U2U Nelly, he's got a customer thats just bought one and did his first track day at Cadwell on it on Monday (prev used a 748R which he's still got) apparently he went really well.

Sort of on that subject...
 

.... can someone explain, in words of one syllable suitable for a non-mechanical numpty like me, what the difference is between the 996R and 998R?

Ta muchly.

2 and about 5 bhp!!!:D:D:D:D

2 what Rattler?
 

cc

but otherwise the same? Not like the different engines in the 996 and 998 base models?

[Edited on 14-10-2004 by lizzie]

No it's not 2 cc.... it's just 2 - thats the difference between 996 and 998... geddit?

They both use the same testastretta engine.

[Edited on 14-10-2004 by Jools]

998-996 = 2 !!! Sorry:D

It is a different spec engine (storke/bore), the 998R is 999cc (and was used in the 999s when they were released - albeit a detuned one in the stock 999). The 996R had a 998cc engine - simple huh!!!

The 996R has the first of the testastretta engines and this engine was further developed for the 998R - change of stroke (shorter, means potential for higher revs). As the article says the SPS engine had been developed to the max.

In road trim there's very little difference between the 996R and 998R (although asthetically the 998R had a carbon seat unit). There's a few more BHP, but it enabled Ducati to produce a more powerful engine for racing.

My view is that the 996R is the better bike, as
1. there are fewer of them made than the 998R
2. they're the first of the testastretta engines and were handbuilt (factory were'nt set up for manufacture yet!)
3. Last and in my view most importantly - it won the WSB with Troy in 2001 - the 998R didn't.

An official release statement in 2001 - interesting about the 999R reference too!!

"At the Milan International Motorcycle Show in September 2001, Ducati pulls another ace out of its sleeve with a newly revised 998R model for the 2002 year, effectively the current 996R but with an even shorter stroke engine Testastretta motor at 104mm bore x 85.8mm stroke displacing 999cc and stock compression raised from 11.4 to 12.3:1 and rated at 139 horsepower with street tuning. The even shorter stroke engine will allow even higher RPMs and proportionally more horsepower, possibly as much as 220 hp when fully developed, and certainly more than present race tires can handle. This new short stroke Testastratta should correctly be called a 999R to differenciate it from the 998 longer stroke models, but just like the 996R, Ducati has a history of confusing us this way to tie-in the race bikes to the current streetbikes, possibly for marketing reasons. "

The 996R is a great track bike, near-linear power delivery and very stable, its better than the 996SPS for outright trackspeed (as the power is morepredictable and there's more of it). But lacks the SPS's character.

Tim

Thanks for all your advice

Dave - that's pretty much what John Hackett said - I'm guessing it'll be a quantum step up from my 748sps - & easily tuned to 150 if you need it - not that I will

After 4 years of trying (& failing) to make up in the corners what I lose on the straights I've decided that for someone of my ability a better strategy would be to make up on the staights what I lose in the corners!!!!

Ray - I like the sound of the straight line power.......

Tim - your view wouldn't be influenced by the fact you have/are selling a 996R by any chance??!!

As a non techie all I know is that's what JHP recommended which is good enough for me & these comments seem to back it up

Thanks again

Chris

What - by saying that a SPS has more character????:D:D:D:D

I agree with tim although the 998R is more powerfull and is definately better on track due to the linear throttle It lacks the manic hit you get on a 996SPS when it hits the powerband, which is great fun but can be unsettling on the track also wheelies take more skill on the SPS again due to the non linear throttle response (remember my track and wheelie skills are poor compared to tim etc).

favourite ducatis
996SPS sunny day road fun bike
998R track bike dry or wet
916 biposto comuting and wet track bike



dave

ps the difference is 1cc and a shorter stroke , as I said to annette a shorter stroke with a bigger piston makes all the difference!!:frog:

my sps has a very linear power delivery, with no massive 2 stroke type rush, is there something wrong???:o and it makes a fair wack of power to, only a couple down on an 96R with more torque. Maybe its my riding style, sloooow and steady;) must admit, I think I would go 998r with my cash - last of the proper dooks and with more reliability

Bradders - its all relativem if you've ridden a 996/8R then you'd know what we're talking about. There's no 2-stoke rush, but relatively!!!

Tim

Lizzie, you should know Rattler's "sense of humour" (I use the phrase loosely" by now! :lol::lol:

The 998cc 996r is probably the better bike than the 998r 999cc, at least having won the WSB title. But hasnt the 999r won it twice now, where does that put it? :o:lol:

Sorry Andy but I think Troy Bayliss lost ducati the title at assen with an unforced error, having said that Honda had the better rider in Colin Edwards. Colin may come over as a bit of a bumpkin but to do what he did that year was very impressive as the honda was not the best bike.(ps sorry tony but although I admire troy bayliss the record speaks for itself).
As for the 999r it was not challenged in 2003 due to the massive advantage michelin gave the fila team and this year if it had not been for ten kates problems in italy and france and the disqualification at monza ten kate would now be champions. The 999R handling is far better for mortals like us as it makes riding fast easier, but on the limit it is flawed ask mssrs hodgson, xaus, toesland, laconi they will all tell you the front end is vague when on the limit at thier race pace and the pirrelli tyres have not helped!!

dave

excuses, excuses! If my Auntie had a pair of nuts, she'd be my Uncle!

Frankie Chilli certainly prefers the set up of the 998 chassis for track purposes, although he does use the 999's engine.

This months Bike Magazine (Dec 2004) has an article which compares the 999 and 998 on the track.

In summary, the 999 has less chatter from the rear end due to it's dual sided swingarm, improving the bike on worn tyres. However the conclsuion is that overall, the 999 is a much trickier beat to ride, due to too much weight over the front wheel.

Apparently the 999 has 6 kg more weight over the front tyre with the same set up, making it more crash happy. The team has run 998's and 999's in back to back seasons and riders say the 998 feels more positive.

Phil Borley (MonsterMob Ducati) says: 'From Bayliss and the 998 in 2002 we never broke a lap record with the 999, which means the bikes no good'.