I didn’t expect to be doing this so soon, but I’m offering my Ducati 998S for sale. I purchased the bike back in July 2016, having wanted one since I was in my teens and expected that I would never sell it but now a lack of space and house move means that it’s the sensible option for me. I’m going to be as honest as I can in my description and summary - so hopefully not going to put off any potential buyers. I’m sure you will all be aware of the specification of the 998S and the improvements over the base model, so I'm not going to dwell on these - you can see in the photos these include the Ohlins steering damper and rear shock. The bike also has Carbon Termignoni exhausts fitted which help make the bike such an event to ride. The bike is not a garage queen and has been used regularly in the summer months during my ownership, I’m the 3rd owner. The previous owner ran the bike from 2005 until I purchased it from him, he regularly took trips to IOM TT and Europe as well as the usual weekend summer riding. The bike did spend some spells not in use. Further details of recent service history can be seen below, but prior to 2015 the history is somewhat patchy and although I believe services were carried out more or less in line with the recommended mileage intervals I would have preferred more being documented in the gaps years. With that said, significant money has been spent in recent years and the bike was given a clean bill of health when the valves were checked last year by MotoRapido. It rides as well as I ever hoped it would and is a far more capable bike then I will ever be. The bike was originally registered on 16-8-2002, I have confirmation from Ducati Italy that the bike is a numbers matching 998S. The current mileage shows on the clocks as 25,471 but this is actually displaying in km and the mileage equivalent is 15,827 miles. The speedo is in mph and this displays correctly, but the trip and tacho record in kilometres – I assume a Ducati parts bin anomaly. In the last 3 years more than £4,000 has been spent on the bike this includes: MD Racing in June 2015 Chain and sprocket replaced Rear suspension stripped and rebuilt Full service including timing belt and spark plugs Front and rear brake pads 2x Pirelli Rosso tyres Moto Rapido in April 2017 Full Desmo service including plugs, filters, brake and clutch fluid Timing belt change Valve clearance check Front fork refresh New clutch plates New clutch housing Fuel level sender replaced The bike has always been garaged during my ownership in a dry integrated garage, and the same was true for the previous owner – as far as I could tell, he seemed like an honest guy. However, the bike is now over 15 years old so the finish on the engine and surrounding area is starting to show its age, however I believe this is only cosmetic. The real bad points of the bike are unfortunately down to me. I have dropped the bike twice! The first occasion was a very minor drop which happened about 200m from my home on a dusty/gravel lane – my foot simply slipped when I came to standstill and I couldn’t stop the bike dropping to the ground. The damage was some minor scratches to the side fairing and mirror and a broken clutch lever. The second was caused by a stall leaving a petrol station at about 2mph, again the damage was paintwork (but on the opposite side) and I also broke an indicator and the front brake lever. I have replaced the broken parts with genuine Ducati items. The damage to the bodywork is minimal there are no cracks. I've tried to highlight damage in the photos. I intended to have the bike fully resprayed and have been quoted £1k by a well-regarded local company to do this. However, I have decided to offer the bike for sale prior to this to give any potential owner the option of using their own preferred re-sprayer, perhaps as part of a full refurb project, and also to see that I’m not attempting to hide anything. If I do not have interest in the bike I will go ahead and get it resprayed and then will probably decide that I don’t want to sell it. MOT History: Keep in mind that the mileages quoted from the Tacho are actually kilometres… 30-12-2005 6,402 miles (km) [converted to 3,978 miles] 8-5-2007 11,488 miles (km) [converted to 7,138 miles] 30-5-2009 14,057 miles (km) [converted to 8,728 miles] 1-6-2010 14,864 miles (km) [converted to 9,236 miles] 23-5-2011 16,470 miles (km) [converted to 10,233 miles] 18-4-2013 17,474 miles (km) [converted to 10,857 miles] 28-5-2015 19,699 miles (km) Fail – Rear bulb, Tyre depth 29-5-2015 19,699 miles (km) [converted to 12,240 miles] 25-5-2016 22,690 miles (km) [converted to 14,098 miles] 18-5-2017 25,353 miles (km) [converted to 15,753 miles] 18-5-2018 25,477 miles (km) [converted to 15,831 miles] The bike will be sold with the rear paddock stand, dust cover, and original exhaust silencers in the sale. All books and documentation that can be seen in the photo will also be included along with 2 keys, and the suspension spanner. I also have a CTEK charger, which the bike is connected to when not in use which I can include. Bike has also just been given a fresh MOT until May 2019. I hope that I have captured all the information, please forgive the length of the post – but of course if there are any questions, please let me know. So in summary, the bike is honest and mechanically sound - perfect for someone looking to use and enjoy the bike rather than put it in storage. Cosmetically it needs some attention to be brought back to its best, and dare I say it, there shouldn’t be any significant maintenance bills for some years. Oh, and I’m not very good at riding sports bikes The bike can be viewed about 5 miles north of Reading in South Oxfordshire Price: £7,500 (this is the final price reduction before I take the bike off the market and re-paint. Following this work I may choose to keep the bike and not relist)
Thanks for the feedback Not sure what's going on with the broken image links, all seemed ok when creating the post. Found it difficult to know how to price the bike, hopefully not selling myself short
What are your views regarding having the bike re-sprayed versus leaving as is... Am I limiting the market I'm appealing to, or is the right option as it give any potential new owner the option of getting a mechanically sound and ready to ride bike that bit cheaper?
Do not respray the bike..nice to have some patina. Couple of small scratches, nothing major. Also potential buyers might notice it had been re-sprayed and that will only raise further questions. IMHO it is sensibly priced.
I dropped my 748 for same reason - stalled it at a junction. Also managed to drop it on a slope because of the flip up side stand that decided to flip up whilst I was leaning bike over. At least I managed to get something soft and squishy (me!) between the bike and the floor. Shouldn’t have bothered as it got written off by a pensioner in a Renault 5 a few months later. If I had space for another bike I would be tempted.
