Chris,
If I was to go for a 916 style I would like a 998r, but, not looking for the 916 style bike at the moment.
Rob & Nat,
Both make good points and this is what I would do if buying with my head rather than my heart. I also bought an early 749s in Feb 2003 and went through all the hassle of re-calls and then the heart ache as they tweaked the bike in 2004 to a better looking bike

. All this does make for a strong argument to wait 12 months
