Hello All, lm going to ''see'' (we all know how that ends) a 996 on Sunday, its 5 hrs away, and i know what happens when i drive that far with a trailer lt has 22k miles its cheap/ish for my location. My main concern is the lack of history. ls there anything beyond the usual that i should be paying attention to when viewing /testing? For example, MV F4s rear hub bearings are a weak point and shit the bed on occasion, does the 996 have any weak links i should be looking for? Cheers
Rear cush drive rubbers can wear check for swarf on the rear hub, clutch slave can leak, wiring can be a bit dodgy in places make sure everything electrical works,
Thanks Cream, its just been serviced, fresh oil, old oil was clean apparently................one of the times i would rather it wasnt serviced!
Thanks Cookster, any spesfic way to check the cush or just as you would on a regular bike? Also, do they have or supposed matching engine and frame #s?
When the cush drives slip out the rear sprocket they wear the eccentric hub chain adjuster. If you catch early its new cush drive rubbers at about £80 a set and/or a new rear sprocket (these are expensive on the 996). If left it wears the eccentric hub to the point it's hard to adjust the chain. Google will bring up some images.
Valves need checking every 6k mls, that's the expensive service. If it's on 22k mls check when it was last done. Belts are every 2 years but many run for 3 years if doing low miles. Ask what was done in the last service. Apart from that it's like any bike really. What year 996?
The source of most break downs is the connector for the ac from the alternator stator to the regulator/rectifier. This connector is marginal and if there is the slightest electrical resistance in there it leads to overheating and a dead regulator/rectifier, burnt out alternator stator or damaged battery, but you can't check that without pulling the battery box. Maybe a check on the voltage across the battery with the engine running (you are looking for 13.5-14.2 volts on fast idle lights off). Ask if the seller has had any issues with the battery going flat, they need batteries well maintained and kept well charged. The most expensive regular issue is the rockers CR mentioned. They can be repaired (in the UK at least) to better than new for less than half the price of new ones, by now you would expect that issue to have mostly dealt with during servicing but an awareness of how to avoid it from the owner is a good sign. Check the usual items for age and wear and check shock and fork seals for weeping, the seals will be getting old and likely on their last legs. Ask the owner what his start up regime is, they need to idle for a while to allow oil to fill up the cambox galleries before you drive it and avoid giving it the beans until it is at running temp, they run quite cool btw. Don't be surprised if there is a slight clunk on the forks if you pump them - the Showa forks all do that and with 22k clocked it should be noticeable. Check the colour of the clutch fluid at the reservoir, it is normally black except for a few hundred miles after a clutch oil change, if it is clear that is an indicator of a decent service, dark fluid is however entirely normal
as above, but I would add- Footrest frame mounting points ( look down from above to see if alignment is ok and visually check the welds for cracks) left hand side of the engine, the small generator end cover, see if there is any staining from oil on the cover, as this can be a sign of major engine issues Under the upper fork clamp, check that the small recess for the bar clamp is intact as they bend out when the bike is dropped also its now a few years old and some of the Electrical connectors will now be starting to show their age, I have had an issue with Temp sensor wiring, Regulator, and also the connector on top of the coolant bottle. AMP connector spares are cheaply available on ebay etvc coolant bottle, these seem to give up the ghost at random, so if the bike hasn't had one replaced recently, factor one in on the too do list, as I have had x2 996 and a 748 and had issues on all three. starts with a little residue building up on the inside of the screen , always left side fro some reason, and at first you might think it is brake fluid, but the coolant bottles have a tendency to split vertically cost 50 euros new I think. visually check the radiator for rot, as they also are starting to show signs of age ask the owner if it has standard or a race filter fitted, if its a race filter and a sock or foam that covers the inlets then considers replacing it with standard or other style of filter as the No Toil style of filter are not great for air flow, and can deteriorate and be pulled into the inlet OEM are good, but I run BMC panel filters at the moment without issue. exhausts, if it has Termi cans fitted and also dB eaters fitted to the end pipe, check for discoloration on the out can sleeve, this is a sign of packing degradation so factor in a repack.
Fuel sender light thingy can go to so low fuel light sticks on. Its not a separate bit so about £100 IIRC.
