Ok so a day (and 180 miles) later and I'm loving it. Here's my initial impressions.
The good:
Power delivery is fantastic. I played around with the different power modes a bit. You can specify high low or med power delivery in any mode. It still provides max HP but changes how sharply it's delivered. IN wet of course it cuts power to 100HP and the delivery is in low mode and it's really mild. I spent all day in sport mode and did a mix of city stop and go, highway and back roads. I'm taking it kind of easy during the break in but managed to average 46mpg through the first 180 miles which is way better than I thought it would. Ergos are also great and it felt no less comfortable than the CBR I just came off. The quickshifter works great and allows rapid upshifts with no hesitation at all. The Showa forks and Sachs shock are just fine on the road and handled varied road surfaces just fine. The front feels completely planted and the steering action is fast and easy. My previous Ducati experience is on the 748S (which I didn't like) and the 1198 (which I loved). It is easier to point and shoot than the 1198 is with way less steering effort required.
The bad:
That exhaust heat is no joke, I'm going to need to try and do something about it. Ducati has continued their habit of putting pegs on that have absolutely no grip at all. That's it.
Overall I'm really happy with this bike, its a huge upgrade from a Japanese 600 that's for sure. It's plenty quick, is oozing with technology and the build quality is typical Ducati. I love it! Is it more money than a CBR1000 or R1 without being faster? Yup, but do I care? Not at all. It's definitely a superbike that you can live with day to day and that's exactly what I was looking for. As those who would claim it's underpowered....it's lighter than an 1198 with 30 more hp than a 916. What more could you want?
