748 or S4R ?????

[Jasper]

Afternoon everyone.

I've been without a bike for a couple of years now but i've always checked this forum a few times a week just to keep up to date with the latest chat and the many good pictures that are posted on here.

My first bike was an M600 which i kept for a couple of years and i loved that little bike so much. After endless fettling, modifying and polishing i had to let it go and i ended up with a CBR600RR, which was a great bike but the actual pleasure of ownership was pretty low......It was just too perfect,it always started first time and never let me down!

Anyway, i find myself in the position of looking for another bike. It was always going to be a Ducati but i can't make my mind up which model, so i thought i'd put out a thread to see what you guys thought.

i'll have about £4500 to spend and i've seen some examples adverstised. I want the best bike for taking my lovely, amazing fiance (she's sitting right next to me :chuckle:) out for a blast. other than that i'll be using it for work.

Any info and opinions would be very gratefully received.

Thanks.

[Albie]

Hello mate. Well having just got back from weekender on s4r 2up it has to be that. Solid comfy and pokey. I also have a 748 bip which my partner hates pillioning on. Nice bike but have to ride it to get max fun. No grunt like the 9**'s

[Nickj]

ended up with a CBR600RR, which was a great bike but the actual pleasure of ownership was pretty low......It was just too perfect,it always started first time and never let me down!
I want the best bike for taking my lovely, amazing fiance (she's sitting right next to me :chuckle:) out for a blast. other than that i'll be using it for work.

And a Ducati will let you down?? Never happened with mine, well cept for major mechanical mishaps that was and one battery death. Having said that the 250 desmo I had as a youff did lots but that was :cough cough: a few years ago.

LOL thought that said 'lovely amazing financier' for a moment... Depends where you're getting to work wise, probably the S4 would be comfier for both uses specialy if you're likely to end up mixing it with lots of traffic.

[jerry]

Go for the S4r its got a Testastretta engine ..more reliable less chance of expensive rocker faliure than a 748.More comfy also.

[Snips]

You've come to a Monster board, so you can expect us to say S4R.

Go to a Italian superbike board, they'd say 748.

As you came to a Monster board looking for help, it's clear your heart wants the S4R ;)

[Pomp1]

They're two different machines. Your other half she will probably hate the 748 (at least mine did), but for 4.5 k you'll find a very good example. Not sure if a good s4r can be found for that sort of money but is a lot more comfortable and just as quick (if you got good neck muscles that is).

[dunlop0_1]

Ahhhh my 748.

But...........Louise's M750 has the x factor for sure.

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q289/dunlop0_1/IM001383.jpg
http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q289/dunlop0_1/IM001212.jpg

[PDL]

Jasper,

I had a 748 for 5 years and I now own an S4R.

748 - great to ride fast, very revvy, feels like you have always been out and thrashed it, great handling. But they were not built to carry pillions, you have a racing postion so poor for commuting, basically this is a race bike with lights. But probably the most beautiful bike ever made.

S4R - Loads quicker than the 748, grunt everywhere. Very easy to ride quick but deceptive and then you look at the speedo and go oh sh1t. Awesome handling, comfortable to ride and commute, comfortable for a pillion. But you can't thrash these like a 748 so sometimes you feel like you haven't got the best out of it, it's a different style of riding on the bigger twins. The S4R will shock a few of the lesser riders on the bigger jap bikes. And it's a monster, the bigest selling Ducati bike ever. Monsters also have the most envious style of all naked bikes.

Servicing costs are the same, mpg is the same, handling is very similar, but overall the S4R is a far quicker and comfier bike. So I would say go for an S4R if you need to commute, if you just want a Sunday bike then get a 748.

[JerryXt]

WelcomeJasper. You don't say where you're commuting, but if you're in town at all, I'd go for the monster. I've got a couple of ducatis - 998s, 749r and an s4rs. The two sports bikes are just awesome on the track, but the monster isn't far behind and is by far the most comfortable on the road.

I can see the point of sportsbikes on the road, but TBH, it's mostly about speed or posing.

[Jasper]

Thanks so much for all your info and opinions. I took the S4R around Mallory park with the UKMOC track day back in about 2005 and i thought it was excellent.

I'll keep you all informed.

Cheers.

[PDL]

Jasper, good point. Go to a Ducati dealer and test ride both bikes with your pillion.

[gremlin]

Having been pillion for a while, I'd say go for which ever is most comfy for your lovely lady. Being scrunched up on a beautiful bike is ok but being comfy on an equally lovely bike is preferable. If I had to be a pillion, I'd go for the monnie, it's not very elegant trying to unfold legs after being on a hyper sports bike, and it's not much fun being folded up like origami!

[NattyBoy]

I've had both mate - and on balance from what you say..an S4R. Ive ridden both the S4R 'stretta and desmoquattro bikes on road and track and for that sort of money i'd recommend a nicely modded desmoquattro bike.

Good luck

Nat

[JMo]

Hello mate. Well having just got back from weekender on s4r 2up it has to be that. Solid comfy and pokey. I also have a 748 bip which my partner hates pillioning on. Nice bike but have to ride it to get max fun. No grunt like the 9**'s

You see... you don't get that honesty (or stupidity) on any other forum - guy with a 748 to sell recommends the one he wants to keep...

You know it makes sense!

xxx

[Jasper]

Afternoon,

Following on from my original thread of a 748 or an S4R i find myself in another dilema!

I love the S4R and i've had a look at a good example but i think i could find better. I would prefer the blue and white version over anything else.

Here's the new factor in my complicated existance, "how about the S2R 1000"??

I've ridden the S4R but never the S2R, so i was wondering what you guys thought was the better option. I know that for about £4500 you could get a 2006 S2R in great condition but i'd be paying at least that for a 2003/4 S4R.

Once again, any advice and opinions would be gratefully received. The better half is getting impatient!!:Furious:

[JMo]

Afternoon,

Following on from my original thread of a 748 or an S4R i find myself in another dilema!

I love the S4R and i've had a look at a good example but i think i could find better. I would prefer the blue and white version over anything else.

Here's the new factor in my complicated existance, "how about the S2R 1000"??

I've ridden the S4R but never the S2R, so i was wondering what you guys thought was the better option. I know that for about £4500 you could get a 2006 S2R in great condition but i'd be paying at least that for a 2003/4 S4R.

Once again, any advice and opinions would be gratefully received. The better half is getting impatient!!:Furious:

I'm sure you'll get the "M1000 is the best of the lot" crowd on here any minute... but they do have a point - the engine is almost as powerful as the S4R, certainly torque wise it is probably superior (I don't have the figures, gave up on that malarky years ago) - a stonking powerplant by all accounts... you probably don't need those few extra bhp you get with the water-cooled bike, not when the M1000 is so fast anyway?

It also retains the 'classic' no-radiator look, which many people prefer. Certainly the plumbing makes the S4/S4R series look a bit fussy?

It is likely to be cheaper to insure, but probably not by much... but at least you're getting a newer bike for the same money as you say...

And you won't get a blue S2R1000 of course... (although it so happens that I have set of pristine blue bodywork (no flyscreen mind you) which I might be willing to swap for yours, as I intend to get it painted shortly anyway...)

xxx