Johh, $1700 is a great deal. Now I understand. I say jump on it!
The oil drain is on all ktms. And you're right about the granny missing on the 300- it's sort of moot with all the torque. I forgot about that. Even uphill on slow, tight technical climbs you rarely need to clutch as long as your speed doesn't drop below what the engine can rev. 9 times out of 10 you just give more gas & it pulls it. I totally understand why the mags sometimes called it a "3 stroke".
If you find yourself in need of a headlight, let me know. I have all the internals for a stocker, minus the shroud & lense. I haven't priced a new shroud, so it might be cheaper to get a whole new Acerbis unit. But if you want, it's all yours. Brand new, never used. And I'll never get around to using it.
With the conventional forks I've never had a prob with leaking seals. I do run seal savers on both bikes, though. Front brakes on both are strong, but the rears are hard to modulate. I've never been very smooth with rear brakes but these are particularly hard (for me, at least) to modulate. It seems like the 99 is more prone tolocking up, though. At DW, during the team harescramble for example I stalled at least once a lap, sometimes twice, when braking hard into a corner. I don't remember having that happen as much on the 98.
Ergonomically I can't tell a difference. They feel identical.
Oh, and the 99 has a better axle set up. That's about it. I've ridden newer ktms and I guess I don't ride hard enough to notice that much of a difference with the newer years, other than specific changes from model to model. I'd guess that with things like suspension & handling, it's all about setup. If I ever spend money on a bike, that'll be where my money goes.
Good luck!