Hi Guys Just a quick intro, have briefly owned a 749s a few years ago now but it was one of a few bikes I bought in Tokyo with a bike Shop owning mate (we did about 5 trips, was a lot of fun). Was bought and sold pretty quickly but I have lusted for another red beast ever since. My bike background was in 250 Production (Rgv's, NSR's and later Aprilias) and then at 33 years old moved to MX and managed to qulify for a few nationals here etc....lots of bike background but very little Ducati and or big capacity road bikes. I retired from MX at age 43 last year (immediatley after winning one of the Auckland Vet champs .. go out on high before i hurt myself again I figured :biggrin 2 wheel retirement didn't last as long as i hoped within 3-4 months I got the itch and promptly bought an 07 GSXR 750 which I love but just can't shake the desire for the italian exotica that is a 999 or 749. I am one of the few that actually loved the design on release and it has only increased over the years. It's nice to see that the design has slowly grown on people (from what i can tell reading the forums these past few months anyway.. :wink: ) Hope that is an okay introduction! Cheers Mark.
Hello and welcome in, I had a 1996 Aprilia RS250 which I loved, did a few trackdays on etc. My mate has a VJ22 and a VJ23 which is always broken but lovely all the same! I think the general feeling is that the 749 was maybe a big design step for the time but has come into its own.
Thanks for the really quick welcome guys, fantastic! Yeah I would love another 250 2 stroke (I actually built up a pretty cool NSR in Marlboro logo like the Yamaha GP bikes with Tyga fairings, ehaust etc) problem is at 44 years old, 6'1" and 103 kg's and wideing around the middle ever solslightly these days I feel horendously self conscious on a little 2 stroke!! I love riding them and in fact they go fast enough on the street for me, just feel out of place on them nowadays. One I built up as a race bike/ track day bike was an Aprilia with full Japanese F3 kit on it, had around 70-75 HP at the wheel and was a real blast to ride. But an electric start, 4 stroke torque and then add in some italian red exotica and I just cant bring myself back down the 250 scene...in fact I have posted a question on the 749/999 section about a couple I have my eyes on.
I agree mate, I was 108kg when I first had mine and I did a massive diet and got down to 82 kg which was much more comfortable. I sold mine because I had a load of expensive stuff coming up , but it went for. £2500 and now would be worth at least £4000 over here! The Ducati is enough exotica for me though. Good luck with the hunt. I did restore this a couple of years ago and still have it just so I can smell Castrol R...
Hi mad kiwi,and welcome. I'm new also. Seems like a good bunch here;lots of welcome. Like you I never had a problem with the looks of the 999 and came close to getting one . It was only my old, arthritic bones that stopped me. If you haven`t done so already, get that bike. Life`s too short....
Hi, and welcome from another Kiwi, I think I have seen the bikes you're looking at on TradeMe, don't dawdle, days are getting shorter already.
Cheers guys. really struggling with a decision. If you could have a look in the 749/999 section and offer thoughts, suggestions, advice...
oh and for Phils reference this is my last 250 2 stroke I built..... your photos are great, they are such fun to blast on, fast but not mach3 (get killed or pulled over) fast!!
That's really nice, liking it a lot. I think if I got another 250 I would want a new bubble shape one as I really liked them, but they are just stupid money. Basically they are very nearly tidy Ducati 1098 money and when you think of it like that it's just not easy to justify.
