Transplant surgery... looking for donors!!
 

This time of year I get to ponder a bit durring the long dark nights and start thinking of all these questions that I'm sure some of us folks ask themselves from time to time and was just curious if anybody would be so kind as to elaborate?

For all intents and purposes a 996R is Virtually idententical to a full spec 748R, bar a couple of cubes, so why are they so much more damn expensive?
e.g 02 996R 5k £11300 -- 02 748R 5k £5700
twice the price!

Surely it's feasable to buy a couple of 748R's and carry out a spot of transplantation....... Bob's your Auntie

Ok! they wouldn't be orfentik.. but it would cover the brief..
R spec 996 engine... lets say £9500?
Anyone got a 996 engine? or even 998 for that matter... or even a 999... now that would be something! would a 999 go into a 748..mmmm questions questions.

Don't even go there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!111:sniff:

I have stuck a 998Bp engine into my 748RS chassis and along with Mag arm, mag yokes, Mag wheels and Ohlins forks I have a very decent spec bike for around £8.5K max

Exactly my point!
Is it only the hardcore Duker's that would turn their nose's up if you were flog it as a 998R?.... lets say £12500?

thats why I call it the Hybrid, as it is a 748RS with a 998 engine that is nowhere near the spec or the service costs or power of the 998R motor, It has a FBF slipper clutch, and 50/54mm exhaust system with the appropriate ECU and a DBtronics mixture adjuster. The 998Rs do not come with the longer Mag arm/rocker and higher spec Ohlins that my bike has, neither do they come with the Mag yokes, Brembo Radial mastercylinders, Harris rearsets etc. I also have the 4 pad callipers.
They do come with carbon bodywork. So for the difference in what my bike owes me and what a 996R or 998R would cost me I am happy enough, but then again if earlier last year if I had had the money I would have had Lapmans 998R which had loads of Extras including mag arm, carbon tank, Spa dash, but then again it was getting on for twice the price of my bike.

I may be wrong here, but isn't there some significant differences....

the 996r has the testa heads
the 996r is the homologated (sp) version of the wsbk winning bike and is a pretty rare and sought after bike
the 996r has carbon bodywork
I am sure there are other extra bits that the 996r has

then maybe a more realistic look at the price differences... you could probably get a reasonable 996r for around 10.5 and a a 748r for around 6.

yes if you just wanted the performance side of things you could go the donor route as skids has done which makes sense. If however you want the bike for what it is not just what it can do then you wouldn't onsider it in my opinion.

I reckon you're spot on there Lily. You're paying for the carbon bodywork and the 'exclusivity'. That's what the top 'R' models are all about.

Don't forget subtle differences in frames and airbox sizes, injectors etc, all different across a lot of the models, and from my knowledge not easily interchangeable

still looking for a 996-998 lump to throw in as I have done to much work to just start over again with the bigger bike.
what about this years bikes then 749r 999r
the 749r definitely came with more goodies but was considerably cheaper for a few cubes. still if you have 13g to throw at a bike what's another 5g ?

Keefer, I would agree for a standard bike or an S thats its worth putting a bigger engine in if you have the time, patience and skill to do it. I just don't think its the same thing with the 996r, but thats just my viewpoint.

I agree on the new price of the 749r to the 999r though, it does seem a bit hefty, although having said that it would appear that the 749r might hold their value slightly better than the 999, especially now they have downgraded the spec of the 05 749r.