An act of social conscience

Glawster

Glawster

New member
I spotted this ad on ebay this morning and assumed it was a p/ex at my local Triumph dealer.

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I called to have a look at it but Blade Triumph didn't have it. I tracked it down at Blade Harley Davidson. This was a bit of a shock to see that someone had chopped in a 996 for a Harley! Anyway I felt it my duty to rescue the poor Italian thoroughbred from it's crappy surroundings. Otherwise it would have been like leaving the dogs home without rescuing the prettiest one. So with a nice discount I'll pick it up tomorrow.

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Thing is - I know almost nothing about the 916 range. What I think I've got is a bog standard 996 Biposto with 20k and a pretty good service history. Last service seems to have been done by Baines and included shimming and belts.

I'd be grateful for anyone more knowledgeable to give their thoughts and possibly to post some links to interesting articles. I'm mainly into old Bevels and have never owned a 4 valve Duke. It just seemed very good value for money and I'm thinking it should appreciate in value. How I'll manage to fold up my old frame into the required riding position I don't know...
 
At 4K from a dealer that's a good price. It appears to be original and Baines have a good reputation for servicing.
 
I didn't pay £4k for it Derek. Take off 15%. The guy who sold it must have hated it!
I'm not sure how old you are drewV2, but I can assure you that it's definitely radical for a old codger like me. Anyway, I'm encouraged by your optimism! Let's see tomorrow.
Cheers,
Derek
 
Don't think you'll be much older than myself. Age starts with 6,,,. Still like a wee tour on the 916, lemans, last year , south of France before that, you can do big milages on them, very comfy. I'm just short of six foot, thirteen stone and a bit. You'll love it , fact
 
Glawster said:
I didn't pay £4k for it Derek. Take off 15%. The guy who sold it must have hated it!
I'm not sure how old you are drewV2, but I can assure you that it's definitely radical for a old codger like me. Anyway, I'm encouraged by your optimism! Let's see tomorrow.
Cheers,
Derek
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There will be a few on here that would give you your money back for her :D :cool:
 
Hi Bob,
Based on Bevel prices I'm thinking that the 916 range will only go up once they thin out a bit. I know it's "only" the "cooking model" (but for sure with too much power for me) but the price of the SP / SPS / R models seems to be increasing. My wife agrees that it's a first class investment...
 
Glawster said:
Hi Bob,
Based on Bevel prices I'm thinking that the 916 range will only go up once they thin out a bit. I know it's "only" the "cooking model" (but for sure with too much power for me) but the price of the SP / SPS / R models seems to be increasing. My wife agrees that it's a first class investment...
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Yes indeed - and a first class ride. They don't hang about.
 
Good job, sir. Well found.

From what I can see from the picture it looks like a very nice looking original example of a 996 Biposto - 1999 judging by the colours of the frame and clutch cover.

I'd recommend a rear hugger, if you're going to use it regularly. Some on here will tell you that this spoils the look of the rear but if you don't want to lose the rear shock (voice of experience) it's well worth the money.

....and you will grow to enjoy the riding position :flash:

Watch out for the side stand though, the lack of a switch mounted at the pivot suggests it's one of those awful self-returning ones - never park it out in the wind.
 
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monster_998 said:
...snip...
I'd recommend a rear hugger, if you're going to use it regularly; some on here will tell you that this spoils the look of the rear but if you don't want to lose the rear shock (voice of experience) it's well worth the money.
...snip...
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Yes indeed! This is what happened to my 916SPS - the excuse was checking/lubing the rose joint isn't part of the service schedule. Hugger will help...
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I didn't have a car then and the SPS was my primary (only) mode of transport and did a lot of miles. Ducati refused to pay for the replacement.
 
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Update..
Picked it up this afternoon and crossed town to get home. I've never ridden such an uncomfortable motorcycle! Clip ons down by the front wheel spindle, knees up round yer ears and blasts of heat pouring out of everywhere. Bloody hell it was horrible!
I put all the suspension settings back to standard and put some air in the tyres (new Diabolos). Blade HD made a big song and dance about their 97 point check but it still had less than 20 psi int the tyres.
Then out for a quick 40 miles on nice country roads.
- The engine is fabulous. Plenty of nice soft power at low revs, but it's a missile when revved. I never got beyond 7000 rpm which was more than adequate for my lousy eyesight.
- Handling's also superb and I'm surprised how stable it is. I had a GT1000 which would shake it's bars at any bumpy bends but this was really stable.
- The suspension also seemed surprisingly supple for a sports bike
- You seem to need to be doing 85 before the wind take the weight off your arms.
- Anything below that speed remains horribly uncomfortable

So - it's a totally unsuitable bike for me, but just wind it on down a nice sweepery road and it's great. And for sure it's a thing of beauty.

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A couple of questions. These are the keys I have. Both look like they have some kind of Ducati fitted alarm. I haven't tried them for fear of immobilising it. Is this standard fitment? Also I don't have a "red" key - is this a problem?

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The clocks seem to be for the USA market - no kph on the speedo and water temp in Farenheit. Is this correct?
Also is that bit of carbon fibre round the clocks standard? It's just loose and can be picked off the foam backing.

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Neil - yes I got diverted from buying the Le Mans as you can see. Just fancied trying a 916.

I'll probably think of some more questions tomorrow.
 
Let me try to address your points in order.

It'll hate towns and slow running. Many folks fit a14 tooth front sprocket which seems to help.

The riding position is more extreme than the later 1098 or Panigale but you should become more accustomed to it. My 998 was my first sportsbike and it took a bit of getting used to but it was worth it.

There is no red key as the bike had no built in emobiliser. The fobs you have are definately for a retro fitted alarm but if it was mine I'd cut it out as they are not worth the hassle and don't make any real difference to your insurance premium.

Those clocks are correct for a pre 2002 bike as Ducati did not put kms on UK speedos until someone told them it was a legal requirement. Not sure about the fahrenheit temp guage but I have seen it on similar bikes so I have no reason to believe it is not wrong. The carbon fibre trim is not standard and should be easy to remove from the foam with a bit of heat to melt the glue.

Hope this helps.
 
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Yup, lovely bike. If it was perfect you wouldn't want it!

I think you bought the bike everyone dreams of finding.
....and you will grow to enjoy the riding position
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I still walk in the foetal position... never recovered.
 
I remember riding a Senna , when they first came out I thought it was a mini moto but apparently it was full size :)
It was brand new and after 20 odd miles half the screws had fallen off.......Definitely a no no for 6ft +
 
Use it regular. It will end up fitting like your favourite pair of gloves. Had mine 15 years now, it's semi retired, but still my favourite if I want to go out and just enjoy a run, you won't be disappointed. Lovely bike by the way and will be an appreciating asset in the long run anyway. Enjoy
 
I bought some 25mm raised bars from Ebay and ran them for a while until I got used to it and got rid of some of the beer gut. I'm back to the standard ones. I'm 53 and 5'7" so it fits me quite well.
 
Think I have a spare new carbon hugger somewhere if you're interested. I fitted an Oberon clutch slave cylinder which helped with the wrists!
 
Gentlemen, your optimism is infectious!
Cateren - the clutch pull is a delight compared to my Bevel twin which requires about 100x the effort. Thanks for the offer on the hugger - few things I need to sort out first.

In the meantime I've been told in no uncertain terms that the 996 is the last bike purchase - otherwise my wife can't get her bicycle out to go to work...

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Hi Glawster, I have a UK 1995 bike and it has Fahrenheit on the clocks and no Km so I can back up the previous reply. I waited 18 years to get mine, they say never meet your heroes, well couldn't be more wrong in this case!! No other bike has left me with such a smile or had me lingering around the garage staring so much :D Enjoy!!
 
I couldn't agree more. I'm 64 in September and still love riding my 916. I've made it more comfortable with helibars, an Oberon clutch slave cylinder and 20mm higher screen. You made a wise buy but beware - they are very addictive! Get the suspension set up for you by Eddie at Knockhill it really does make that much of a difference. Unless your name is Casey Stoner in which case you can ride around any problem.
 
In its defence the bullet does have a gas_flowed head, race cams, big carb, alloy barrel which has been shortened to increase the compression ratio, high compression piston, electronic ignition, close ratio gearbox etc etc! But the brakes and suspension are still original (crap) so I still have something to tinker with. Maybe Norton Roadholder front forks and Norton brakes would do the trick?;)
 
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