Only 19 miles! Factory Shipping Crate Collector's Item Rare Find 03 04 05 06

Description

Wow, hat an opportunity! At just 19 miles from new, his 2003 Ducati 999 Superbike (Biposto) has been stored since it was ridden home from the dealership! Here is your chance to own the Ducati you wanted to buy new in 2003. Or, erhaps this model is not yet in your collection, n which case you will likely never see a more collectible 2003 Ducati 999. The motorcycle is complete with factory tool kit, anual, oth black keys, ed key, nd original extended warranty information. The title is clear, nd there are no liens. (The warranty has expired, owever). This motorcycle was over $17,000 when purchased originally.
A gentleman in his 60's purchased the motorcycle new, ode it home, nd there it stayed until I purchased this item right out of the same garage it had been parked in some 12 years earlier. Despite having purchased a 5 year extended warranty, he first owner did not ride the bike after bringing it home!
Condition: This motorcycle was carefully stored for over a decade. It is in excellent condition overall. The fluids were kept fresh along the way, nd the battery has been replaced. The tires are original, ut are not cracked or dry rotted. The mold "hairs" can be seen on the tires still, n addition to the original tire markings!
The bike starts easily, nd runs as it should. If buying this motorcycle to ride, would recommend a belt service due to age, ut it would be ready to go otherwise.
Also included in this auction is an original Ducati Factory Wooden Shipping crate! They don't use these anymore... today's "crates" are little more than steel frames covered with cardboard!
Terms: No test rides, nless cash in amount of agreed upon purchase price is in hand. I will helpaccommodate shipping requests, ut shipping will be at buyer's expense. Payment must be made in full before motorcycle will ship.
A review of the Ducati 999 motorcycle:
From "Sport Rider" Magazine:

OK, e're not going to diddle around with all the controversy surrounding the design of Ducati's 999, r the man behind it, ierre Terblanche. Nor are we going to delve into all the major mechanical details of this innovative machine, ince we covered most of that in our First Ride in the December 2002 issue.

So let's just cut to the chase, hall we? What's Ducati's latest flagship like to ride on the street? One of Terblanche's mandates in designing the 999 was to make the bike easier to ride than its Tamburini-designed predecessors, hile still improving the all-out performance that the desmoquattro has been famous for. So once you get past all the "Shoot Terblanche!" and "Burn the heretic design!" griping and armchair critiquing, he big question remains: Have Terblanche and the Ducati design team succeeded in their quest?

Let's be frank here-while the 999's ergonomics are a vast improvement over the 916/998's uncompromisingly racebike-replica riding position, he 999 is still a narrow-focus sportbike, ot a soft-core model like the Kawasaki ZX-9R or the older Honda CBR600s. Yes, here's a lot more legroom for taller riders, nd the broad, lat seat has much more room to move about, n addition to offering far more support for your derriere. The adjustable seat/tank unit, djustable footpeg assemblies, nd adjustable foot control components all contribute to a more adaptable motorcycle than the previous "take it or leave it" design.

But there's no overlooking the fact that the 999 still has one mission on its mind: to get from point A to point B quicker than its predecessor. Which means that while there were some accommodations made for comfort, here weren't any compromises included with them. The seat may be more supportive and roomy, ut the padding is still pretty thin. And although the 999 doesn't force as much weight on your wrists and arms as the 998, t's still a very aggressive sportbike posture that will have your body crying uncle on any highway drones longer than 30 minutes.

Nonetheless, he 999 feels even smaller and thinner than the 998, bike that already made other sportbikes look like pregnant guppies by comparison. The bars are closer to the seat (and the reach can be made even shorter by moving the seat/tank unit forward), nd the Ducati's midsection between the rider's knees is even narrower than before, iving you an impression more akin to a bicycle than a motorcycle.

The same air of quality fit and finish is apparent everywhere you look, rom the hollowed-out top triple clamp (contrary to popular belief, he top triple clamp does not have to handle large side loads) to the molded brake/clutch fluid reservoirs and incrementally adjustable control levers. Turn the key, nd both the analog tachometer and LCD panel display glow a pleasant green hue, s the ignition system goes through a diagnostic check before settling in to its default digital display of speedometer, oolant temp, attery status, ime and odometer (tripmeter, mbient air temp, uel consumption and a lap timer that also displays top speed and rpm can be accessed by pressing switches that bracket the tachometer).

Starting the 999 in the morning requires that you remember a single mantra: Do not open the throttle or fast idle lever until the engine fires up. You must simply hit the starter button and wait for the engine to come to life after a few seconds of listening to the starter motor struggling against the engine compression and crankshaft weight. Attempting to crack the throttle open will only force you to run the starter motor longer (and possibly drain the battery). Once the engine begins to idle, ou can open the throttle or fast idle lever at any time. We theorize that the 999's "shower" injectors are the guilty party here; while they have many advantages over conventional setups that position the injectors inside the throttle bodies, old engines require a lot of fuel to fire up. Much of the initial fuel spray from shower injectors probably condenses on the cold surfaces of the throttle bodies and intake tracts before it can get down into the combustion chamber to aid startup.

DAILY LIFE
Getting underway reveals the same tall gearing from the 998 (top gear at 70 mph has the engine loafing along at 3500 rpm, uch too low for any decent acceleration), hich calls for some clutch work to get off the line smartly. The clutch in our test unit also protested with a bit of grabbiness and noise when used aggressively, nd lever effort is still a bit high. Transmission feel and action is much improved, owever, nd finding neutral at a stop no longer requires deft shift and clutch lever work. Contrary to our first impressions at the Misano track launch, he 999's mirrors, hile an improvement over the 998's tiny afterthoughts, till require body contortions to see what's directly behind you unless you're near full race tuck.

That same body positioning is also required to see the warning lights rimming the top of the tach clearly, s the edge of the windscreen obscures them from a normal riding posture. The 999's fuel tank is smaller (4.1 gallons vs. 4.5 for the 998), o the fuel level light comes on much sooner, ypically at around 125-130 miles; we often were able to reach 150-160 miles on the 998. We stretched one tankful on the 999 to about 150 miles, ut that was pushing it; as we filled up the tank, e discovered the Ducati was running on fumes. The battery level display converts to a real-time mpg readout when the fuel level light goes on, hich we found a bit silly; we'd rather know how many miles we'd run since the warning light came on.

Engine heat management seems better, s we never suffered from the roasted thighs common to our rides on the 916/998 in traffic. We'd read some reports in other magazines about the exhaust collector box underneath the seat radiating a lot of heat to the rider's butt (it contains one of the 999's two catalytic converters), ut we never encountered that problem. We can't vouch for the biposto version, owever, hich has thick heat-reflecting foil covering the entire surface underneath the passenger seat. Incidentally, he 999 biposto model does not have the fore/aft adjustable seat/tank unit like the monoposto edition.

WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED FOR
OK, o the 999 hasn't exactly been gentrified into a soft-core, nfinitely refined sportbike. So what. The instant you grab some throttle heading into your favorite set of twisties and flick the bike toward the first apex, ou'll discover that Terblanche and Co. have indeed succeeded in improving the breed. The 999 is simply easier to go fast on, equiring far less effort from its pilot to run at an aggressive pace through asphalt curvature.

The most noticeable difference is in the 999's steering. Even though our test unit had its adjustable steering head angle set at the more conservative 24.5-degree setting (we saw no need to use the racier 23.5 degree position), teering manners are so much lighter than the 998 that you may find yourself running off the inside of the first corner if you're not careful. Granted, he 999 isn't a razor-edge rapier like the Honda CBR954RR; instead, he 999's front end is precise yet forgivingly neutral, nd by no means flighty, ven while accelerating hard through bumpy corners. Nor has it lost any of the 998's trademark front-end feedback that inspires high entry and midcorner speeds. Picking the bike up from one full lean angle to the other no longer demands the massive upper body effort that can quickly tire you out after a while.

Revised suspension rates also contribute to the 999's improved handling. Although the spring and damping rates appear to have been softened up considerably (which helps the Ducati's city/highway manners immensely), hey can easily handle the rigors of aggressive backroad/racetrack charging without losing their composure. Minor bump compliance is much improved, et the bigger hits and massive weight transfer that occur while riding at anything above a 7/10ths pace are handled without breaking a sweat. We would, owever, ike Ducati to provide a rear spring preload spanner in the tool kit (which is cleverly hook-and-loop-fastened to the inner right fairing lower); we had to crank in a lot of preload, nd the lack of a proper tool and shock access forced us to use the ol' hammer-and-punch method, hich dinged up the spring preload ring. Not the way to treat your $17,695 baby....

Let's not forget the 998cc Testastretta motor, hich may be virtually identical internally to the 998's powerplant, ut breathes much easier by virtue of a larger airbox and improved exhaust system-even with two catalytic converters installed. This parlays into a much-improved midrange punch over the 998, specially off of medium-speed second/third-gear corners; you can let the revs drop to 5000 rpm and still accelerate strongly at the exit. Throttle response from the 54mm Marelli shower injectors is a little fluffy below 4000 rpm riding in traffic, ut it sharpens up anywhere above that, roviding a crisp response that lofts the front end easily in the lower gears.

Even top-end power was improved, espite the flow-impeding cat-cons: our test unit cranked out 119 horsepower at 10,000 rpm, n increase of eight over our previous 998. Like its desmoquattro predecessors, he 999 builds its speed smoothly and deceptively, ntil you find yourself hurtling into the next corner way faster than you expected. In fact, hat acceleration is deceptive enough that it's sometimes difficult to know where you're at in the rev range, nd banging into the 10,200 rpm rev limiter is a much harsher experience than on the 998. Where you could stretch a gear on the old bike by just carrying the rev-limiter, he 999's rather abrupt limiter causes the engine to stutter way too much for this practice to be comfortable (and to make time). Hitting it midcorner can also be startling, lthough it's not abrupt enough to upset the handling. And the shift light on the dash isn't bright enough to catch your attention in daylight.

Thankfully, he brakes have been upgraded to keep up with the increased steam. Brembo's latest four-pad calipers have finally made their way to a mass-production Ducati, nd not a moment too soon. Paired with the usual 320mm discs up front, he new Brembos ironically are a major factor in the 999's easier effort at making time. Their power, risp response, rogressiveness, nd excellent feel literally make two-finger braking unnecessary for all but the most aggressive situations; one finger effort is often all that is needed. This frees up rider concentration and physical effort for other riding chores while charging through a set of corners, hich results in higher speeds.

SO IS IT REALLY BETTER?
Ducati and Terblanche took a big risk in tampering with a formula as successful at Tamburini's 916/998 design. There's no doubt that the styling has generated controversy, ith many Ducatisti crying for Terblanche's head. Styling is a subjective, motional subject that can polarize the most loyal of bike fans-especially those of an Italian marque. Even at the SR offices, pinions on the 999's appearance are mixed; some like it, ome don't. Whatever the case may be, e caution that you view the bike up close and in the "metal" before you pass judgement. Photographs unfor-tunately don't do the 999 justice at all.

But what isn't debatable is that the new 999 works better than the previous generation. In every aspect of backroad performance, he 999 is superior to Tamburini's 916/998, nd it accomplishes this without pummeling the rider physically. Sure, here are the usual warts that keep the slate from being perfectly smooth, ut they don't impede the 999 from achieving its intended purpose-and performing it better than before.

If you're more concerned with how a sportbike looks, hen by all means check out a 999 up close and make your judgement. But as one of our testers said recently: "Hell, don't know about those other guys, ut I can't see how great the bike looks while I'm riding it."

Also published at eBay.com