What price for .... an RS
 

... a 748 RS?

Or even a 996 RS or 998 RS?

I'm thinking of a pure track tool, wouldn't see road miles and might even be raced.

I think a 748 RS would be eligible for axe murderers but I don't fancy my chances in Supertwins seeing as its gone MRO! Although a bigger RS would be eligible for Derby Pheonix Thunderbikes (well I think they call it Thunderbikes)

So how much do you reckon? Kev (skids)? Felix?

Throw me a bone ...

[Edited on 8-4-2005 by TP]

Ducati Bristol had a 748RS up for ages...fresh from the factory in its bare carbon kevlar bodywork (but I think the owners lad had used it a few times).

If my memory serves me correct it was up for £11k and its sat gathering dust in the showroom for a long long time...

Nat

Oh dear, Tony. You are about to get on a very slippery slope. One thing to keep in mind, is that the running costs are going to way above that for a road bike, especially with the 996RS. The 748RS is closer to the road bikes as it was subject to tighter rules. You can find decent 748RS for reasonable money. The 11k example is fairly typical. With 996RS bikes ii is a huge range. There is a lot of them out there that are either heavily modded road bikes to the point where it gets hard to tell them apart, or original RS that have not been maintained, i.e. have had lots of aftermarket parts fitted to reduce maintenance costs. A properly maintained 996RS still goes for well over £20k. And that is without any data-logging.

Lastly, only buy one that you know the history of, especially as far as the engine is concerned. It will be almost impossible to tell what state the engine is in from the outside. If it needs rebuilding, you could be looking at £5k+ bill.

Use extreme caution...

You get a lot of work done at Sigma right? Have a word with Neil Spalding about the top end of a 748RS.

I'm sure I read on the Sigma site that the 748RS race cam snaps the valves open and slams them shut really violently and, even though the valves are extra trick, they're usually breaking apart by 750Km. I seem to remember talk about top end rebuilds every 200 miles :o:o:o:o

If you can afford that and go DD racing, go for it!

In fact, if you can afford that and go DD racing...got any jobs going at your place?

Avoid I reckon - this would be such a liability.

I reckon you're doing the right thing with a start to racing with the DD series. See how this goes this season and take a view later in the year.

Even then, there are much cheaper ways to go racing than getting a RS - wise words from Felix.

Maybe Supertwins is the next step up from DD if you fancy that? There are the 400cc series too.

IMHO, if you're serious about racing then I reckon you should be concentrating your efforts and cash on the racing and not on the maintenance side of things. An RS may be too much of a distraction - would be a great bike to ride though!!!

Good luck
Tim

why not just get a latest gixxer tho, instantly competitive and no hassle with rebuilds? oh, and cheaper to buy!

I had a chat to Nelly today about RS service intervals and costs - blew me away! Don't get me wrong, I knew they were expensive but not that expensive! The 748RS isn't so bad but, call me naive, I thought the initial purchase price would be less as well.

Hey ho, no RS for me. And no job for Jools either ;)

As an insight into my thinking ... I feel really guilty about what I've done to my 996. It was a mint bike when I got it and I commuted on it for about a year through winter etc without a lot of cleaning and protection and then crashed it at Rocky twice. Mechanically it would have to be one of the best examples of the breed getting around. After having Neil Spalding's and Nelly's hands in there it's perfection. Cosmetically, if I wanted to restore it to mint it would mean painting the frame, the engine and wheels. Then it would be mint again. I was thinking of doing this and then selling it for a track tool (Ducati only Paul) and something with a bit less go on the road.

The way I see it at the moment is that I'll have a racebike (currently the DD bike), a road bike and maybe a bike for my wife as well. Poor me, yes I know ...

I could keep the 996 and turn it into my track bike/race bike (the Derby Pheonix 750 IL4's and 1000cc twins), have something that I care nothing for on the road, I keep coming back to a motard for this - seems to make perfect sense. And Ange can have the ex-DD monster as her road bike.

My biggest problem with this is that I didn't really want to race in that class. Depending on how DD goes I was previously envisaging myself in either DD next year again - makes good financial sense, or running in minitwins. That would mean keeping the 996 on the road though and having an 800SS as the minitwin (if Mike Edwards doesn't let us bore the 620's).

So you can see the circle I'm going in. I think it makes sense to hang on to the 996 forever now, it's a great bike. But I don't have limitless amounts of cash and I can't have 4 bikes etc. Although if the kids only ate rice .... ahem, ...

Anyway, I'm rambling. I guess I just wanted to share my thoughts and see what you all think. Whaddya reckon?

Just race in the DD series and take a view later in the year - no rush. Seems like you've got too much time on your hands and you're letting your thoughts run wild - haven't you got a bike to prepare ;)

Seems straight forward to me (but I am a simpleton!)

:o sell DD bike next year and use that dosh to fund any race series you do next year.

:burn: Use the 996 all the time, after all thats what it needs not sitting in the garage for 10 months of the year like mine:(

:eureka: and get the wife somethibg which you can use on really bad days, say BMW trailee or.....................use the DD bike on the road as your every day thing

Just listen to this man TP, he's my mentor and hero:D

If your thinking about it, he's already done it and sold it on as well.

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 ...

I doubt race bikes (RS) will drop over winter, not as much as a road bike...

996RS will be 16-17K all day long for a few years yet depending on spec and maintenance

Can't afford the maintenance schedules on one of those bad boys.