SPS advice needed please
 

'went to look at a year 2000 996sps tonight and would appreciate your views.

bike is the full ohlins model, so desirable.

it looks mint, no scratches and nothing missing.

bodywork, frame and wheels are unmarked, good tyres, worn to both edges

FSH and originally supplied by Pro Twins

3 owners, present owner just over a year

mileage 4000

new battery (no optimate)

stored in front room

no alarm

n/s mirror removed as glass broken (seen)

rear carbon number plate and indicator carrier removed, but seen.

bike is a german import, service book in deutsche and clocks are kph

present owner bought bike august '04, from Pro Twins (receipt not seen) which is when the mot ran out.

claims to have ridden home, parked in front room (as you do) and not used since. SORN since last december

has not got any of the sps extras like stand, cover, exhausts etc.(is that what they came with?)

approx 400km covered on odometer since last MOT was issued (seen), in august '03.

the bike started and ran ok and the oil looked reasonably fresh through the sight glass

no scrapes, evidence of ham-fisted servicing, or lockwire.

the owner also has an R1, on which he tours and does overseas trackdays etc., plus a boat at brighton marina and numerous other toys.

he was very blase about the whole thing, saying that he has got to pay a large tax bill, so has to sell and swore that he did not use it for trackdays

my first thought was that the bike has been used as a trackday tool, so the alarm had been removed, speedo disconnected and no need to tax and mot etc


this guy is clearly wealthy, but my suspicious nature tells me that you don't pay £8.5k for a bike and then not use it

i cannot imagine any dealer selling a bike with less than a months mot either.

the only other exlanation is that it was bought as a company vehicle, just to stop the tax man getting his hands on surplus funds.

anyway, that aside, is there anything wrong with german import sps's and can the clocks be changed?

i got a good feeling about it generally and i am a fussy bugger, but i am sure i must be missing something vital

I will phone Pro twins to see what they can tell me, but what do you think guys?

oh, its up for £6.5k by the way

cheers

Gaz

Gary ...
 

Run the engine and frame numbers past Mrs Stephanie Chappell, Customer Service Dept: info@ducatiuk.com

We have alot of problems with cars and bikes coming in from Germany having the speedo altered or changed or even people selling stolen bikes as living in Sweden they are much cheaper than here. Though my first Ducati I brought when I moved to Sweden was from Germany and I had no problems but I brought it from a shop.
The bottom line is look at it and maybe you will get a feeling that its the right move or that you should just walk away, though with Ducati's its hard to do that.
Good Luck, you never said how much it was ?

Thanks guys.

If i did not know it was an import, i would have bought it there and then, because it looks absolutely mint.

I know that in a lot of cases, logic doesn't always feature when people buy bikes, but this is the stragest one i have come across.

Anyone know if german models are restricted?

By the time i have brought it up to uk spec, i will have spent enough to buy one anyway.

I'll see what pro wins have to say a bit later, then see if DUC can help.

By that time, he'll have sold it

Que sera etc

Gaz

:rolleye:

If you are in ANY doubt don't buy it.

You will find the one you want and from my experience you will know its "right", your sixth sense kind of tells you.

Is that the one advertised in MCN this week? I saw it and thought it looked cheap.

Mine is a UK bike and came with the stand, cover, termi's and chip (as well as standard cans). Budget for a full service in with tha deal, but I'm sure I could live with a Km clock with a few mph stickers added since the first SP's all had Km clocks anyway. Mine lives on an optimate, it's the only way to ensure it starts! and I would think you will need an alarm to get a decent insurance quote.

Happy hunting, Ian.

'spoke to pro twins just now.

They confirmed selling the bike and know the seller and his brother, who they have not seen since they sold it.

when i asked about selling a bike with little or no mot, they replied 'might do!'

apparrently no difference between uk and german bikes except the speedo.

i remember the log book giving the chassis number but not engine number, is this normal?

No this is NOT normal. The bike I brought from Germany had a service book and it had the engine AND frame number.
If you are not sure, wouldnt it be better to wait as it looks like its a buyers market out there? I saw one on EBAY from a shop with the ÖHLINS for £7000 so they are out there and they didnt sell it.

The end of the story folks....

I phoned the seller to get the engine and chassis number to run it past DUC UK on Henners advice.

No response was the reply.

After seeing there was no engine number in the log book, could it be that the bike was bought from Pro Twins without an engine and then subsequently one was 'aquired'?

They were certainly very cagey when i asked them and clearly requesting the i.d. numbers from the seller seemed to hit the spot.

Now i am not making accusations, far from it, this is all just my theory.

It did look nice tho'

:(

Thanks Henners, i didn't realise that DUC UK would check frame numbers out for us and clearly the very thought of it is enough to put the willies up some sellers.

Anyway, it gives me time to sell the 996bp in advance.

Anyone????

Gaz

...by the way, this is the one adverised in this weeks' MCN as being in "as new" condition 4000 miles, in case anyone else was thinking of having a look.

Gaz

Gary

As a motorcycle sales manager and an SPS owner maybe I can help.

The first thing is that I know pro twins both professionally and personally, and if they have serviced the bike before selling it to the last owner it will be one of the best ducati services available. their techs are secondond to none.

Don't worry that the log book doesn't have an engine number. All it means is that the person who imported it didn't bother to fill in that part of the form when they registerd it in the uk, as it isn't legally required. If the owner wont give you the vin number don't think bad of it, the has every right to be as suspicious of you as you are of him, baring in mind that with the reg and VIN number you could ring a stolen bike to look like his. I recommend that you HPI check the bike, this will give import dates and number of owners and the VIN/engine numbers. I once had an import cbr900rry that had brown on the log book (it was red) and only the last six digits of the vin.

The 2000 sps is a great bike ( the best of the series in my opinion) but buy with your eyes open. Check that there is no damage in places that would be hard to fix such as engine cases and frame lock stops. Ask to remove the body work and have a good look under the panels, it doesn't take long with the Duzus fastners. Don't worry if it has been used on the track, most have and it was after all what it was designed for, I've taken mine on the track and it is a fantastic experience that I would highly recommend. Just make sure it didn't end up in the gravel trap ( easy to see because it looks like it has been shot blast) and use the price of new tyres to beat him down on price.

At the end of the day buying used bikes is a gamble in as much as you can not know its full past, most bikes have been dropped at some point to a greater or lesser extent (including mine), only buying new will prevent this. Just make sure YOU are happy with what you are buying or walk away as there are plenty others. I would wait a week phone him back and if he still has it make a silly offer on the ground of :import, needs two tyres, needs belt service after sitting around, you have cash and will make a quick sale so he can pay his bill. You are in control as the customer.

Hope this helps

Thanks bryan.

By the time i have bought an alarm, service, mot and tax, i could have probably bought a uk bike with all of the bits that should come with an sps, which this bike has not got.

Even then, it would still have km clocks and i have no idea how much they would cost to replace with mph ones.

It is still in the back of my mind as it looked so good and yes i did have the panels off and the engine was as clean as a whistle.

As you suggest, i may call him in a week and see if he still has it, if not, i won't lose any sleep over it.

With a bike like this, i would rather play it safe.

I still have my 996 bip to sell, anyway.

Thanks for all of your views and advice on this.

Gaz

in the german V5 the engine number isnt recorded
where was it PDIed and first serviced?? wasnt "The Superbike Centre" in Gütersloh by Chance!!!

No, it was Pro twins!

After much thought, i have decided to give this one a miss as there are too many questions and not enough good answers.

When i have had to 996bp serviced i will put it up for sale and then start looking for a proper uk bike with all the bits.

Thanks guys.