The war begins....

that rsv is sweet.
if i wasnt so tall that is a bike I would look to own at some point

 

I bought an RSVR as 1098s were too expensive at the time. Big mistake as it is not a Ducati, lovely bike and all, but there was something missing. Kept it for 18 months and got rid at the first opportunity. I also had looked at a Buell, but the stories of unreliability put me off. You might get a good 998 at that price, same reliable engine as a 999

 

Yellow! You get great comments all the time! :smile:

 

And they dont all contain the word monkey or/and banana:biggrin:

 

Had a really nice RSV mille factory type R with all the bits and Ackropovics. Fantastic bike till I rode the 1098. No comparison. Nothing at all wrong but everything is just better. Not much help I suppose unless you stretch to a 1098.

Regards Steve

 

I had one identical to that. Great bike but it blew up on a dyno and the Aprilia spares back up is appalling. It took them 4 months to fix it under warranty. Rubbish and wont buy another Aprilia until they realise customers need spares to hand in short time.

 

now I can vouch for that.
a friend bought a falco a few years ago and the spares situation was dire then. he had to wait months for parts after he dropped it. and they are what I would have called bread and butter parts. levers, fairing panels etc...

 

Mine was only two years ago so nothing has improved from my experience.

Go onto the Aprilia forum AF1 and you will see owners still moaning about the same problem.

 

It's gotto be the Duke really. The Aprilia is too big for a twin and i dont think buells are even made anymore. I hate to make things worse for you, but i ride a TL1000 everyday and it's awesome, not Ducati awesome, but for your budget and requirements well worth a look.

 

Never ridden the Buell - would like to for the experience but know I wouldn't want one. Torque is all very well, but you also want a thing that is happy to rev. I just can't see an HD motor wanting to do that. Are they really designed to produce that much bhp?

I so nearly bought as RSV. I test rode two of them and loved them and was all set to buy one secondhand. Then I ended up getting a new 749 as I found it hard to be unfaithful to my garagiste who is good friend and totally trustworthy with the spanners. He doesn't sell Aprilia. I didn't like the 749 (bog standard Biposto) much and wrote it off a year later anyway.

Thence to a secondhand 999S (2003). Back with a bigger lazier engine (more my style). It would cut out in the rain (probably some little bug, but no fun when trying to overtake a car in the spray). So I bought a new 2005 black (the best colour) 999 and had it ever since. It has been basically reliable though overheats if ridden very slowly in very hot weather (i.e., stuck in traffic up a mountain pass in 32° heat).

The reason I have never changed it, is that it offers a level of performance on the road which is more than sufficient. No doubt later Dukes are faster and even better, but it's basically irrelevant at this level. I don't care whether mine has 120, 140 or 150 bhp. All I know is that what stops me riding it any faster is the law and road conditions. You will easily keep up with anyone, unless they have removed their brain prior to putting on their helmet. Great handling, great engine, brakes etc. A joy to ride. I don't think that a more recent sports bike would be any more fun. I could have different fun with another style of bike, like a Diavel or Hyper or Multi. Different, not more.

In conclusion: ride all of them, especially the Aprilia and Ducati and make your choice.

 

Was 2005 the cusp of noticeable changes on the 999? If so, an early model with late reg should be cheaper than the genuine later model.

but then I may be completely wrong, as it has been known :biggrin:

 

I can't comment as I never had to buy anything for it. Ducati are 1st class for spares though. I've never had any problems.

 

I think so, yes. look for the chunkier black swingarm and only one vent on each side of the nose fairing instead of two.

 

Poorly built, poorly finished, poor parts backup. Handling is a swine to get right, and when it's not right it tries to kill you spontaneously. It's cheap because the depreciation is murderous, which means if you ever decide to sell you may end up having to give it away. It was the last ditch effort from a company going down the pan, and it shows.

 

And yes, I made the mistake...Twice.

 

I think if you get one try and get the 999s if you can stretch to it. if not the 999 base is a very good road bike. but the S Has a bit more bling...and some years more power...

try and get a deep sump motor regardless. some early base models were shallow sump...look it up

i think the monopostos look better. so unless you need a pillion seat, that may be worth considering over the biposto.

if the mods are tasteful and well done then the more the better. you really want stock paintwork to help resale. no special race rep paint jobs unless they left the factory that way..not always but it can be indicative of an accident coverup with stickers to cover damage

if its got a termi or other try and make sure you get the stock can. never know when you might need it..

if a power commander is fitted ask if it been near a rolling road with graphs to prove.

some (in general not specifically ducati) buy power commanders and just download maps that are a poor match and probably lose more power than they gain

and paperwork re belts and servicing.
when I bought mine I called the dealer from the sellers house to verify the belt service was bona-fide done and not just a fake invoice.

if the sellers genuine they will have no beef you doing stuff like that

 

The 851 was amazing. When I got the 916, it was noticeably faster. When I got the 999, I had to recalibrate my brain again. Just as well the brakes were better, because I found myself arriving at corners a good 10 mph faster (if not more). So yes, you will find it quite a step up from the 900ss (though not necessarily more fun, which is an entirely different story).

All my bikes have been pretty much stock. My 999 is stock with the exception of a couple of stickers, and some carbon bits to replace plastic or aluminium. Depends how fast you want it to be. I even have the stock pipe as it is (a) not that quiet anyway (b) nicer to the environment with its cat (c) black in any case (d) less likely to annoy my neighbours and people in villages than a Termi set-up and (e) I don't feel worried cruising past the law. But if I had a grand or two I didn't know what to do with, didn't care about the environment and didn't give a stuff about what other people thought, then yes, I'd get a Termi. I had carbon zorsts on previous Dukes (and very nice they were too).

 

my cousin is looking to sell his yellow 999 at the moment.
Old thread, but he's still got it. I could pass his number onto you if you're interested.
http://ducatiforum.co.uk/f21/999-biposto-full-titanium-system-ecu-yellow-sale-part-ex-6308/