I don’t think all buyers need trade in or finance and dealer prices are much higher than 9k - £8200 is pretty pessimistic. I paid for mine in full and even if I hadn’t had the cash I could have taken out a loan for far less than dealer finance. Hell I could have paid for it on credit card and transferred the balance at 0% for 20 months if I wanted to make my cash work for me. If some one wanted to offer me £8200 I would keep the bike. Obviously the big negative with ex race bikes is that they are thrashed every single time they go out - and you are right - if they are being sold at the end of the season they are likely to need an engine overhaul which could get expensive. I’m really thinking a write off would be the best option but sourcing one at the right price would be the challenge.
write off ......... bottom triple clamp, maybe a fork and wheel, swingarms do bend on them, bar and levers, you may need a key, fairings, front and rear subframe. Ask me how I know lol...
Without sounding like an arse...you expect dealer price for yours but an ex race bike with 3k worth of extras is a grand or two cheaper incl spares and wheels..
I'm just trying to fully understand the plus & minuses of what you are thinking of doing as its interesting to me. I will never do it and find out firsthand as I'm not a track rider. So if you get £9K for your bike, and buy a good well prepped one for £7, spend a £1000 on it, you make £1000, save £3k = total £4K but have to deal with buying & selling. Sound about right?
I guess that’s all relative - I bought the 959 as I wanted the reduced power so I could learn to ride on track in a style that doesn’t involve just using huge power to blast down the straights. Lots of riders buy big powerful bikes and are bloody annoying on track as they are slow into corners and then hammer it down the straights making it difficult to pass - not such a problem in a race where stuffing it up the inside is part of the game, but on track days where that would be a shitty move catching up with such riders can be frustrating. It’s too easy to pickup bad habits with the big bikes if you haven’t worked up them properly and I don’t want to be one of those guys. The Trioptions bikes run 1.32’s round Cadwell and Josh Brookes managed a 1.26.44 this year in qualifying so considering the difference between the bikes and class of rider it’s not a huge gap. If a 959 was subject to the same rules as superbike and could run lightweight wheels, a tuned engine, slicks and 165kg weight limit then that gap would close. For me part of the attraction of the 959 is to create one that can give the bigger bikes a run for their money.
Why am I expecting dealer prices? I seems that 9k is a fair percentage cheaper than any other 67 plate I can see advertised. As for the price of race bikes - yes they have thousands of pounds worth of extras on them - in realty far more than 3k - the 3k is what it would cost me with used parts! But there is a smaller market for them so it’s all about what someone is willing to pay - plus as mentioned in another post there is a high possibility that an ex race bike would need an engine rebuild due to the thrashing it has had!
That would be a very fortunate scenario but that’s the general idea. There are lots of unknown factors - and it’s more likely that a half decent race bike would go for more than that - and my bike wouldn’t make that much. But overall I think it would be a better deal for me - and I wouldn’t be as concerned about binning the bike if i didn’t have as much invested in it.
I read your thread with interest - you were in fact one of the inspirations for my current line of thought! Do you have a write off category system in Oz - yours looked like it had a fairly big shunt? What kind of saving on an undamaged bike did you make?
If you are confident you will enjoy it more and therefore get more out of your track days, provided the right bike and the right buyer appears, I'd do it too. More fun and for less cost - whats not to like. You'll have to keep us updated on how it all turns out.
Unless you can see and run the bike you are taking a big risk, when crashed some may lay on the side running for a while you also may buy a bike that someone was very badly hurt or killed on. You also need to know what your doing when you rebuild one because as you know your neck is on the line. The 899 fell into my hands and had a lot more damage than I first thought, the 1199 I have was my previous track bike low mileage non crashed and was a breeze to work on. I've just put it back to stock after running it for 2 years at the track and should get reasonable money for it which is what you should do, you know it's history and you won't have to do 2 transactions then be faced with a build.
Good points well made. FWIW my GSXR 750k8 was £3.5k last February and is probably nearly as fast as a 959 and like the 959 you can't rely on 200 bhp on the straight...... but it's not as beautiful as a Ducati.
id say carry on as you are.. as in finish your bike and use it.. the few grand difference (although not chump change) is not a massive amount of money and at least you know the history of your bike and have the opportunity to build it to your specs and spend money in the areas you want.. yes, the ready to race pre owned option has had the money spent in the right areas but its not necessarily set up for you and some parts may need replacing due to wear and to suit you.. at the end of the day its only money, but its your money so your call! not to take away from the good advice asked for and given here...
I'd imagine this year and especially next year a lot of ex tri-option bikes will be coming up for sale as the paddock migrates over to the V2. My 899 is ex-tri options. As is; @Paul55 @simmytt @carson They often come loaded with all the good bits. Obviously check for yourself as some parts might be removed for the next/new bike. I'd suggest looking for an example that has been owned/raced by an individual rather than a team, as team bikes are often used in other events (like endurance racing) than tri-options races. Having said that, team bikes my have a bigger budget for maintenance. I've owned my example for almost 2 years (longest for me) and it's been trouble free. (touching wood). Apart form some wire breaking off an electrical valve. I know simmytt (simon) took the precaution of a rebuild with his, due to poor service history. I believe the other two examples have remained mechanically as purchased. My own bike, and I know the same of Paul's have been on numerous track days in the UK and quite a few euro trips and booked to do several more... Certainly worth considering as an option.
Everyone is looking for the perfect bike... Bargain price Fully loaded Low mileage IME one of the above has to make way for the other. There's always miserable and uniformed peps out there that believe they know the price of everything, but grasp the value of nothing, all from the comfort of their armchairs. Life is short.....
I was in the same situation a couple of years ago and again ore recently. I had a 1299S and loved it, but I shit my pants every time I went on track with it and I knew I wasn't riding anywhere near what I could or would on a track bike. I put some track fairings on it and decided to track it but in the end I couldn't bare to ride it on track. I ended up buying an ex Tri-Options 899 bike that had recently been rebuilt by Moto Rapido. It was a bit rough cosmetically as a lot of them are but it had all bits on it. I spent a few quid on it replacing the bits that the Tri-Options rules don't allow and in the end the only upgrade that was missing from it was a set of lightweight wheels. At the time I was really enjoying the bike and I went so much faster on it, it was definitely the right decision...then. Two years on and I get the new Gen 4 Beemer and it's night and day compared to the 899 and got me hungry for more power again. I'm left with the dilemma of tracking the new bike or getting something else. Jumping from the Beemer onto the 899 wasn't working for me and I wanted something similar to the Beemer for track only. This is where the problem came in...trying to sell the 899. I had it for sale for about 3 months and dropped the price right down on it in the end as I'd seen another bike I wanted. I've yet to see another 899 with the spec that mines had but I could not shift it and therein lies the issue with the 899. Their amazing track bikes, so confidence inspiring and they will make you quicker to start with, but they're a niche bike and not everyone realizes how good they are or they just don't want them. In the end I sold the 899 and I went for a Gen 3 Beemer that was track ready, but also had all of the standard body work and parts, so that when it's time to sell I can put back to standard and either trade it in or flog the track gear and extras. For me that's the route to go down, buy a track ready bike that has the standard stuff with it as well.
Here is my story, its been 100% reliable, i have changed very little apart from the calipers and mc, lacks a little top end but i put that down to the custom baffles. https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/got-one.57211/ One thing i will say is if you are looking at a tri options bike try to have a word with one of the riders (couple on here), they know who maintains and run a good bike, there are some dogs out there.
