As said in an earlier reply, try both, in fact try as many different models of Monster as you can, then you can judge for yourself what will suit you best.
I had a 94 900ss from new for 2yrs, loved it, then bought a 93 888 Strada, totally outstanding bike, but then in 97, part ex'd it for another new 900ss, which performed slightly better than the 94 model. Had that one for 3 yrs, loved it as much as the 1st one, but fancied a 996 so part ex'd the ss and got a new 2000 model 996 Bip, another outstanding bike, but overall, not as good as the 888.
Had the 996 (aka the money pit) for 3 yrs, loved it very much, spent FAR too much money on it, then lost loads when I sold it, then got my S4 Cromo and I think this will be my last bike (unless they put the Desmosedici lump in a Monster), as I've found the S4 to be all of my previous Ducati's rolled into one, but more rider friendly and I don't think the S4R/S is different enough to make me want to change.
Sorry for going on, but I was just trying to show that it can take a while before you get to your ideal bike.
