5_leaf_clover

Had my test ride and loved it. I know you know these bikes, but I'll give my mini review anyway.

Overall, it's everything I hoped it would be. Plenty of power and found myself going a lot faster than I thought at some points. Couldn't believe how easy it was to ride; the brakes and clutch were set exactly as I expected and I was able to concentrate on enjoying the ride as soon as we'd passed the 1st set of traffic lights. The 696 is very confidence inspiring in the twisties, the comfort was there and the weight seems almost toy like.

One of my concerns, the size, seemed ok. i did look big on the bike but not stupidly so.

So what's not to like?
In fairness, not much, but what is a review without some pickiness. On the whole, it seems Ducati paid great attention to detail in the design, all except for the bits you see when riding. The switch gear & brake resvs were horrible, on a par with my old chinese 125, the dash and mirrors & levers weren't great either. I know I'm supposed to be looking forward while riding, not looking down, but it did disappoint compared to the view from the Daytona's saddle. Perhaps these can be easily modded?

The other thing was the low rev limit. I know it's a V-twin, but the way the engine felt, it seemed like it wanted to go further before the jobsworth limiter kicked in. Can the limit be easily changed from 9k to say 10k / 10.5k without engine damage?

Finally, sound. It's great, but i want more of it. Unfortunately, the stock silencers work too well. Can easily be changed, I know, but because there's 2, it seems like a minimum bill of £400.

So, I'm left with a tough choice. The monster is exactly what I need and virtually exactly what I want. And if I passed a ducati dealer 150 miles into a rideout on the daytona, I'd buy one on the spot. But for now, I think I'm stupidly and greedily addicted to the rush and the cockpit of the Daytona. Hmm