Err. Back in physiotherapy. Weak quads? Rest of my body is compensating, causing issues. Fell last Aug (due to weak quads), broke my last remaining good arm, hospital missed the break! Now waiting on my second radial head replacement. I'm like the six million dollar man, but look like the guy that ran the baddy bar in Star wars.
Hi I took the plunge for a 996 monposto and love it got full service history plus belts valves done before I picked it up so hopefully not too many surprises it was from a knowledgeable dealer who deals in older superbikes and was £6000 but I'm very happy with her.
Hmm! A new honda cbr600fm is the ONLY bike that left me stranded at the roadside! I couldn't touch it myself as it was only a few weeks old and under warranty,I ended up diagnosing the problem(burst vac hose fuel tap)as the dealer was terrible,last time ever in a garage with a bike,my 851 runs perfect with 62 thousand kms and my backup 900ss runs perfect as well and has never been used for BACKUP!
They tend to get to a tipping point and that is what led me to my first Ducati. The 2003 strada I had was reasonably cheap although I probably over paid but I knew in advance a belt change and service was needed so an additional £400 spend was to follow. Only 2 bikes have ever left me stranded, the strada 1000 with it's stick a pin in the donkey with a blindfold on fuel gauge and back in the late 80's a suzuki gp100 that hated starting at 4 am. It's like any bike, research the bike, find out the servicing schedules and known faults and then search. A better informed buyer tends to reduce the risks of a regret purchase.
Just go add my ten pence worth....I recently part exd my 2004 749s. ..due to wanting a bit more sittie uppie. ..tho wasn't that uncomfortable. ...I had it for 8 yrs...always got a winter service deal at local dealership...did about 20,000 mikes in that time...and apart from usual consumables only failing was a 4 quid fuel relay lol...
I think as long as you go in with your eyes wide open and can workout roughly what the bike your viewing needs then you should be okay. I bought a 2 month old 748S back in 2000 and with only 500 miles on the clock had a valve drop into one of the cylinders destroying half the engine. Was fixed under warranty and did 6000 miles after that without any problem as a daily commuter. The 996 I currently own, when I viewed that I factored in the cost of a full service incl belts, plus chain/sprockets etc and thats what I paid. When I called about, Ducati wanted about £900 to do a full belt service, an Indi wanted £500 and in the end I just did it all myself for a fraction of that cost. Of course, since then the clutch went which I wasnt expecting, but again, easy DIY job. The biggest expense by far is when you start "tweaking" the bike. I have easily spent the same amount as the bike cost me in mods on it, lightening the bike loads, upgrading brakes, bodywork, exhausts etc etc. Looking at 996 prices now, they seem to have gone up a bit since I bought mine, so that kinda helps my man maths!
