Are you the original owner and bought it from Ducati? If not, I would be willing to bet that someone spent time and money dialing the bike in. Does the Marelli injection ECU still have the seals on the cover screws? If not, I bet that the cover has been off and it has been re-chipped. I am sure that some bikes ran better than others right from the factory due to differences in valve adjustment, cam timing, throttle body sync, TPS sensor adjustment, etc. All of these things make a big difference in how a Ducati runs. At the time Ducati was just interested in getting the bikes built and sent to the USA for homologation purposes. It was up to the new owner and selling dealership to set them up and get them running right. Typically many factory customer racebikes are almost assumed to almost be kits. You were expected to take them completely apart and check everything before even running them. Yamaha TZ250's were notorious for this. One year Ducati 748RS's had inlet cams that were so radical from the factory that if you ran the motor it would destroy the valve-train very quickly. So the bike was delivered to the new owner with spare less radical inlet cams and instructions to replace them before you even started the motor. I used to own one of Carl Fogarty's 1993 factory 888/926 WSB racebikes. He rode it to 2nd place in the 1993 WSB championship. It was converted and homologated by Team Fast by Ferracci to a 955 for the 1994 AMA Superbike season. Mine was ridden by Pascal Picotte to 4th place in the 1994 AMASuperbike championship. Here I am starting it for the last time before it went to its new owner. It ran very well..
Very cool video. I had pascal’s AMA 998RS. It came with like a little lawn mower starter to spool up the rear wheel when it was on the stand. I referenced the 748RS inlet cam issue a few posts above but I think that a little more needs to be said on the issue. With the case of the RS race bikes, Ducati expects every one to be completely disassembled and rebuilt before any use. That was true for the super sport bikes and the SBK bikes. With the homologation bikes, they were built well (with the exception of the 748R) but none were set up for optimum running. That’s because to come with what they needed for homologation and meet emissions laws that meant they had to be set up to run like crap. So they all need a proper going through. Doesn’t mean they had different tolerances from the factory from bike to bike. They just weren’t properly mapped and cammed (timing too) for best running. All easily solved by the way. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
I had the FBF Briggs& Stratton starter motor as well. Here I am using it to start my friend's Team FBF ex-Doug Polen 888 that won the 1993 AMA Championship. It was at an exhaust sound contest at a La Ducati Day. Needless to say it won (not really a fair contest against modified street-bikes). Both of us were wearing period Team FBF crew shirts. I think that the 998R is the ultimate expression of the classic 916-998 model line. I think that it would really compliment the rest of your Ducati homologation collection. Keep on looking, eventually you will find one.
Motob, thanks for sharing the video. If your friend is interested in selling ex-Polen bike, please let me know.
Thanks. I’ll update this this thread when I get something to add. In the meantime, if there is no update that means that I’m still looking. Any help is greatly appreciated!
I just came across this ad. We are looking to move some bikes to make space for other projects. Current offerings: - Honda RC30 - Honda RC40 - Honda RC45 - Yamaha ow-02 - Ducati 916SPA - Ducati 996S - Ducati Desmo Interested parties can contact us for formal information and pics. [email protected] 801-268-0100 Image Unavailable, Please Login
According to these guys in UK there were actually 702 copies of the 998R made, not 700. Evidently 2 of them were numbered "000" on the triple tree plaque and were meant for Ducati management. Here is 1 of those "000" bikes with 3500 miles for 29980 gbp on their site although it says "reserved": http://www.thebikespecialists.com/ducati-998-r-extremely-rare-factory-000-700-6166336 THE BIKE SPECIALISTS, TRADING STANDARDS AWARD WINNERS, Here we have for sale a stunning Ducati 998R. This extremely rare example is number 000 and was one of two originally supplied alongside the other 700 for Ducati Management with the 000 headstock plaque. This example is supplied with all the keys, headstock plaque and book pack, It also benefits from having the Termignoni exhaust system fitted. The bike has covered just 3500 miles and is in exceptional condition. This limited edition run 998R is in stunning condition and would make and excellent addition to any exotic motorcycle collection. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information as this desirable model wont be for sale for long. You could own this bike for just £500 per month with a £5000 deposit. *other finance options available* We also offer UK and worldwide delivery services Image Unavailable, Please Login
I hope it works out! 000 would be a cool one to have. adc, that Desmo and R7 are stunning...I would have a hard time parting with that pair if they ever were in my possession.
I'd have to decide if it's worth that massive premium they're asking (plus the cost of getting it here) but if it is available, I doubt I would let a silly thing like money get in the way. Plus, as Kiesan pointed out, the unaltered euro versions are better.
Cool man I hope something comes of it. If not "000" maybe they know of another. I'd never heard of those 2 extra bikes. Very interesting. For several years #001 was on display still new at the duc dealer in Rome. It got sold and put into service a few years back. The cynic in me would want to know more. Was this some sort of press release or test bike? Did every euro-trashy journalist with a Carl Fogarty obsession thrash it around San Marino? Did everyone and their italiano cousin have a go on it? The tires are certainly well scrubbed with some trace bits of rubber balling round the edges. Since its a $40,000 plus-dollar bike we may as well pick the nits. It may just be the flash, but the exposed carbon around the tail light looks faded in the top-view pic. Left fork seal leaky. Go figure lol. Inside of the headlight foggy. Easy fix. You'll notice the full-on right side pic shows aftermarket solid mount racing rearsets jacked up to the moon with a different rear brake lever. Also has red frame "plugs" in that shot. There is also a telltale zip tie right fork leg travel indicator in that pic. Was she a track whore? All that stuff is gone later. I've seen those plugs leave scratches inside the frame tubes once removed which might ruin your day. The oil cooler and radiator look a bit more battle scarred than one would hope for 3500 miles. Which points to possible track history. Hard to say for certain, however the ride height turnbuckle appears to be a virgin or at least used very gently. If you get anywhere near that thing with a wrench it gets all janky. All in all very clean though.
I noticed every one of those things except the fork seal and it's on my list. And yeah, for $40k there are a lot of questions.
Hey great minds think alike! The more I look at it, it is evident the ride height has been cranked up. When delivered new there is basically zero thread showing at either end of the turnbuckle. You can see some on this bike. A small amount of lengthening on that rod makes a big difference in the ride height. The angle the bike leans over on the sidestand is another telltale. I may be seeing things however look closely at the short vertical frame tube by the turnbuckle. I think I see a small chip in the grey paint which could easily have been caused by a wrench getting on the top turnbuckle locknut. Please let us know what you find out. I'd love to learn more about these 2 extra machines.
Will do. I’m not concerned about the ride height. On every one of my 916 era bikes I immediately have to jack the rear ride height to the max and drop the front a bit. If the guy didn’t even track it he would have done it if he’s ridden other Ducati’s extensively. I’ll look at the pics for the chips and see if I see them.
Have you tried calling some of the Ducati focused dealers in Metro areas? They usually know the owners and may put out a request for you. Call Geoff at MCC in Chicago or try Bill at Pro Italia in CA? I am looking for a bike to do track days and there are a lot of nice motorcycles for sale now. Good Luck in staying on point.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Oh yah I get it. Any 916 variant handles like a pig in “as-delivered” form. Higher at the back and lower in the front transforms it. I was only pointing it out as an indicator of track use. Looks moot as it’s gone from “reserved” to “sold”.
Yup, they didn't even bother to respond. Oh well, I'll hang tight and just keep watching the marketplace. In the meantime I have to finish the restoration on the 916SPS and do a light cleanup on the 888SPO LTD.
Sherpa time to get busy and look down under! 998R #209 is in Adelaide AUS and for sale. 46,000 aussie money units. Was originally sold in UK and modded quite a bit. Here it is for sale back in 2013: http://motorcycles-for-sale.biz/sale.php?id=824 Looks like it came to AUS at that time. Still has the original UK-spec mph speedo. Today it has the stock wheels back on with quite a few other tasty upgraded bits. Just over 6k miles now I’m told: https://www.bikesales.com.au/bikes/details/2002-Ducati-998-R/OAG-AD-14208378 I’ve corresponded with Richard from the Adelaide shop. He replied right away to my inquiry and sounds like a fine fellow. He was under the impression not all of the bikes had the sand cast cases however they do. The headlight fitment looks slightly off to me which is why he addresses that in his reply. Regardless, this example looks well setup to ride. The note and contact info for the shop below. He’s expecting you may call. Hello Kie The bike was imported by importer in Sydney NSW Australia Local man bought from him. Does have import papers,and has been previously registered in South Australia. We are told bike has had engine mods done to engine By mechanic who owned from new in England.Bike has factory fitted sandcast race engine fitted. Apparently several were done by factory in this last 998R series batch. The bike has had ECU replaced by local race team builder.Microtech .Nemesis ECU and Dyno tuned to suit.160 HP at rear wheel.Original ECU Died. Bike has not been Raced Mileage 6035 miles now. Head light fitment,blame Italians,never perfect fit. Price is firm at 46000.00 AUD. Hope answers your questions. Regards Richard White www.thebikefactory.com.au
$36.5k USD excluding shipping, import, and fees. I say do it and fix it up as much as you can. If you find a nicer one later, dump it and get that one or keep it as a spare.
Kie, no way. That is like top, top, top money for a bike that's had a few go's. I am going to keep looking. By the way, I got a very, very interesting call today....
Hi I just bought a 999R under 4,000 miles like new mint no stories, If you a really serious and interested I will sell it to you for $20K FIRM. Call easier 805-754-7264
I don't want a 999R. That's completely different motorcycle all together. My wanted ad is for a 996R or 998R. By the way, I own the last and most special of the 999R models, the Xerox (#69), with well under 4,000 miles and it was much less than $20,000 and it's pristine. A regular 999R is substantially less than that.
