748 Thoughts On This Low Mile 748e

The dark lenses on the headlights are only covers which clip on, at 7500 miles i wouldn't have expected there to be any rocker flaking anyway and as far as mot advisories there's nothing to wear out in that mileage. It is top money.
Steve

 

You'll be dumping them old pirellis on it anyway but I think 4k would be a decent price for it considering the condition and mileage. Dont think you'll ever lose money on it if its kept in that nick, appreciating classic surely

 

I'd say that was top dollar for an E, I paid £3650 for a genuine 1999 748SPS one of only 20 UK models a few years back and with full provenance and all extras that came new with this bike.

It had only done 10,000 miles and was in great and original condition, an E is a very basic bike and I must admit that it seems an awful lot for what, performance wise, if nothing else, is not a great bike. It might be worth looking at other models for comparison.

The SP, SPS and the R are all much better bikes in the 748 range, all are more revvy and very rewarding to ride. Having ridden an E when they were new and I was on the lookout for a new bike I cannot say I enjoyed it, and ended up buying a new 998.

If you are keen on it then I would give it a very serious going over and try and get the price down if you can.

Just my take as I own two 748's at the moment and can speak with some little experience, each to his own though.

 

Well said Red
I'm trying my best to convince him to spend a little more on my SPS lol.

 

I'd have assumed so. Mine is UK supplied with mph speedo. Watch for the rev counter glass cracking too that's a mare to find another rev counter.

 

Yellow sps be a good buy.

 

An SPS or an early 748R (2000) would both be a good bikes to consider buying. Both should ideally have Termi's and chips that would give decent fuelling and you will find they provide a very satisfying ride. They rev a bit higher and that is what makes them such fun to ride.

A possible option could be an Biposto with a few decent\sensible extras, but price and condition should be the decider here and lower than the two above models, which incidentally, were both mono models and will have seats and subframes to match. A biposto can of course be converted unless you are after some riding two up.

The ultimate for many is the 2002 748R with full Ohlins, and I must admit that would be the one I would go after but that will be considerably more as they are a sought after bike and I have seen them advertised for as much as £8500. Whether they sell for that money is of course another matter.

 

Exactly same advice I think you gave me Red when I was looking. I looked for an R that was right and in budget but they didn't seem to be any around hence the choice of an SPS which to be fair has been everything I wanted. The R have a slipper clutch if I remember?
I've said same thing to OP, if it was me I'd avoid a standard bike and push the boat out for one of the limited edition models with the engine tweaks and extras.
There was a thread on PH with the usual sort of comments about the 748 not being worth having etc, 916 or nothing. I think I actually prefer the 748 and they are fabulous handling bikes when set up well.

 

Many bikes of that era were 'parallel imports' simply because they were a LOT cheaper in Europe than in the uk.
Doesn't make them a bad bike.

 

I agree as a bike they would largely look and certainly perform the same but the SPS and to some extent the SP were very limited UK imports. Only 100 748SPS models were imported in the three years they were available, mine being one of the very last in late 1999. Buying an import is fine as long, as to my mind, it's not being sold as a genuine UK model when it's not. There were some subtle differences between EU and UK models.

Provenence would come into it, at least for me, I would want to see it was a genuine UK model and not an EU model altered to look like an Original UK bike.

The SPS was\is probably the most purists model (for some reason!) and one that seems to be most sought after in totally stock form as per how it left the factory and with no accessories or upgrades, again that seems what buyers want from my experience of dealing with a few SPS's.

Mine is totally non stock and is even Red, but when rebuilding it I kept every original stock part to revert it back to stock when and if I want to sell it. Doing that gets me the bike I want now and preserves all the original parts in better condition than even some usage would bring.

There are of course no longer 100 SPS's on the road making them even rarer. I know of three that were written off and I have various mechanical (and body) parts from these bikes such as cams, pistons and heads etc. These parts are almost impossible to find now and the last of SPS cams I bought cost me £330 compared to £40 for a set of stock BP cams.

 

It's an early one and it had the least equipment of the three years they were on sale but in it's favour it's lowish mileage and looks genuine enough.

The real answer is to see and examine it in the flesh and then make a decision.

 

thats not mint by any means, its tidy but the headlights are gone, the bike wasnt looked after. fair price for a "fixer upper". for an R in that condition it was probably fair if the engine was ok and it had undergone genuine specific servicing.

dont let mileage be your be all and end all, low miles doesnt mean its good if not looked after. keep looking