Jasper, you love posting that pic don't you .. git .. still get tingles when i see it .. awesome bit of kit that was ...

PB, you are right, your 748 with fibreglass fairings and 27k on the clock is worth very little, not enough to top up with 2k and get a decent 996.

If I were you I'd do the conversion, call Nelly at Cornerspeed (he runs an 853 of his own) and Neil at Sigma, I imagine this time of year is quite quiet in the workshops and one of them may well do you a deal, I'd happily let either of them spanner my bike, and have in the past used both.

You then have a completely refreshed lump in a chassis you know the history of and a bike that you have built a rapport with.

Just my opinion ... but I reckon you won't regret it ....