The premier of the Ducati Monster 796 was yesterday at Motocorsa in Portland with about 15-20 people there, nevertheless, folks were huddled around the bike so did not get a chance to look at it.
So went to the dealership today and just my luck, the bike was there and they were willing to let me take it for a test ride - no complaining that it takes them 30 mins to prep the bike, etc. like I have heard salespeople say in the past. Took about a 25 min ride on the back roads. First impressions - very different power delivery vs. the 848 (ie.not a whole lot of power) but enough and very manageable. Bike was happiest around the 5-6k rpm mark and seemed to sputter at lower rpms. Power delivery was smooth, very linear, but that is what I was expecting from a Ducati L-Twin.
Very pleasantly surprised with the handling and ergonomics. Coming from a Monster S2R and a 848, the bike was amazingly comfortable with more of an upright position. Felt super light in the corners again more like a dirt bike or the Hyper. All of this helped me get comfortable on it really fast.
What I did not like as much was the clutch. It was super light, but hardly any friction zone there. It was either off or on. May be in need of adjustment, but that was the one thing I needed to get used to.
Fit/finish of the bike was what you would expect from Ducati - with the single sided swingarm, the 5 spoke wheels, it looks the part. Things that you would absolutely want to change as in any Monster, the mirrors. The signals seem unusually big, think aftermarket Rizomas would look cool on it. Tail section needs to be cleaned up. The stock exhaust has a good sound, but it as well as the heat shields did get get hot - so if nothing else, carbon fiber heat shields may be a good addition. Other than that not much to change here.
Overall, a really fun bike to ride
