Am looking at buying a used Pinagale. The 899 appears to be a bit more expensive than the 959. Are they more sought after?
Early model, the first Pinagale? Maybe folk are paying more for tradition vs quality of purpose - beats me
Are people also thinking the 899 might be worth more in the future, seems to be less of them for sale on the open market
Have ridden 899 and currently own a 959 and a V2 - in order of overall "best bike" of the bunch, newest is best from my experience to own. V2 has more electronics, slight improvement handling over 959 but no real power gain - in the looks department, dont think looks as good as 899/959 but single sided swing arm makes up for it! 959 is a great bike, slight power increase over 899, handling almost identical - but let down by stupid shotgun exhaust 899 Great bike - only concern would be soft conn rods so not an ideal choice for track bike, not a major issue for most road users The only thing on all of them, unless you get the special editions with Ohlins - the standard rear shock is terrible!
I've owned the V2, and a 899, and I've ridden the 959 a lot and on track. The 899 is the best of the lot... Honestly, it does lack a slipper clutch which is probably it's biggest issue for track use, but it fuels well, it's the lightest by quite a bit, and personally I think it handles very nearly as well as a V2. I think the 959 is an example of the power of magazine reviews, because everyone focussed on the exhaust, and the changes were not that big, so it sort of was a 'let down' and that just hurt it. The V2 I think is SO expensive for the advantage it gains over a 899 that it's dragged the prices of the 899 up, remember also rarity plays a part, there are probably half the amount of 899's kicking around that there are 959's. I wish I'd never sold my 899... I truly do, and I've bounced around since, I've had another 848 Evo, I've had a F3 800, I've had a new Panigale V2, and the 899 is the one I want back.
That’s brilliant, thanks for the comprehensive reply - I’m assuming it’s worth paying extra for a low mileage 899. Also is their a preferred year for the 899?
As a word of caution, I don’t think either the 899 or 959 are investment opportunities Sought after? Maybe due to numbers available in the market the 899 edges it. I’d personally go for the better presented bike, with best mileage and price point. Irrespective of model. I had a 959 and had 1299 exhausts on it, yet I still struggled to sell it at a price I thought was fair and ended up selling it for less. I found that strange, but maybe that shows the ‘kudos’ the 899 has.
I don’t think anything sells particular well ina private sale market - I take your point, I’ve had to practically give away high spec mtb’s to get rid. I think people are attracted to buying monthly through a dealer
