I recently had my own "come to Jesus" talk with myself over the two bikes and eliminated the HM796 even though it has the better engine and SM-style handling superiority. Why? First, I have an SM now and can't tolerate riding more than 20-30 minutes at a time due to the strain the riding position puts on my upper back; when I get into the twisties, it's second to none in terms of riding fun, but they're over an hour of highway droning away from my house. Second, this will be my first Ducati, so I'm going to start with one that has broad appeal so I can sell it in 2yrs or so when I grow tired of it as is my pattern of motorcycle ownership for the last decade or give it to my wife (she rides occasionally). The things I can't settle on are color (black vs. white) and exhaust (Arrow vs. Termignoni); the black is very understated and devoid of pretension, but the white is more visible which is a concern when commuting to my office at 6am; I've had Arrow and Akrapovic pipes on my Triumphs and other bikes and loved the sound and build quality, but Termi seems to be standard for Ducs. As an aside, I plan to get the DP ECU even though it's 4x more expensive than a PowerCommander due mostly to the raised rev limiter and "designed for" aspect of the DP ECU.
My dealer is closed until next Tuesday, though, so I can't pull the trigger on the bike. Does anyone know what, if any, the next round of Ducati incentives will entail?
-Hyper is a better commuter
-Hyper position puts less strain on the back then a Monster
-A 696 is not the definition of "broad appeal", be prepared for it to be worth half of what you pay after a year
-A Termi kit usually comes with an ECU
