(just bought a 696, am changing fto 1098 forks now)
some info-
yes, you can machine top clamp, shim lower clamp, and fit superbike forks-there's a thread on this site already showing that basic mod, it's been done 578 times on monsters. for 696 , fitting typical s/b forks will require the calipers changed to gold line brembo calipers and fitting a different fender, as well as the clamp modifications.
some more 696 bits:
-all 'normal' ducati forks are about an inch longer than 696 fork... all will need the clamps shimmed/ bored.
-the 696 forks have only ONE non-adjustable dampening cartridge, the other fork is just a spring....
-the visible casting for a compression adjustment doesn't matter, -they're isn't anything inside to adjust.
newer 848/1098 forks will fit the 696 calipers and fender, but need a 1098 axle, or a custom spacer to fit the 696 axle.
i'm intending to use the black 1098 foks on my 696. i also have that set of standard s/b forks and their goldline brembo calipers for another conversion, that i'll probably be selling.. the silver forks in the pics are the standard s/b forks, the black forks are the newer 1098 type.
hope that helps.
I`m not an expert on this but wouldn`t that be a huge downgrade in braking performance. Why would you want to get rid of radial brakes?