Rented a 696

[dbran1949]

I have just finished up day 2 of a 4 day rental of a new 696 from rentaducati.

Some impressions:

First thing is that I have been riding a 2007 S4RS for about a year and a half approximately 13K miles.
I'm 5' 10" 195 lbs. One ride yesterday of about 15 miles of freeway then up Wildcat Canyon Rd, Ramona, Poway, then back on the freeway. Today some general around town, through downtown San Diego, and some freeway. The light clutch makes it easy in stop and go


1. Starting the bike needed to use the choke even in 75 degree San Diego, ran about 5 minutes before it would idle without the choke.

2. The clutch was fantastic, although I missed that dry clutch rattle, it was so easy to pull I stopped worrying about finding neutral at stop lights.

3. This is the first bike I have ridden with a slipper clutch. Initially the bike would shudder as I started from a stop but it didn't take long to adjust my riding style. The benefit was being able to down shift any time without worry. On the S4Rs I have to be careful of just letting off the throttle let alone a poorly executed down shift

4. Shift lever travel seemed excessive

5. Brakes worked very well, rear brake typical of Ducati was for display purpose only.

6. Power was good, I could pass when I wanted to but had to make sure I had the bike in the right gear.

7. The bike felt stable in the turns, and was very flickable. I didn't encounter any rough stuff though

8. I actually liked the electronic instrument cluster. I wear glasses to drive but do not need them to read anything up to three feet away. This has the effect of making my analog gauges on my S4Rs hard to read, but the digital speedo was easy to see. This is important in Coronado where the speed limit is 25 everywhere

9. Speaking of 25 the bike has some fueling issues in the 2K to 4K rpm range at low throttle openings, but it is not too bad

10. The bike is super quiet needs the termi upgrade, I have heard one at GP with the termi's and it sounds great, about 3/4 as loud as my bike, which I actually think is too loud

Since I rented the bike I couldn't let anyone else ride it  ... But My friend who rides a VFR 800, and My son who rides a Nija 250 said that if they did have a chance to ride it they would most like have said this:

Friend with VFR 800 - Man this thing is light, I can't believe how easy it is to turn. Why are you complaining about the shift lever travel, it's much shorter than my VFR. Really like the bike but will hold out for a larger displacement model. (He did get to ride my S4RS for a while, was somewhat stunned by the acceleration - I warned him to take it easy in the first three gears which he did)

Son recently sold Nija 250. I want this bike! Brakes that work! Even though it specs a little heavier than the 250 it feels lighter. Acceleration in any gear without having to down shift.




One last thing - it's not going to be easy to shorten the tail on this. And the mirrors are a little close in

[Vindingo]

That last shot really shows you how outrageous the tail is.  What did it cost ot rent the 696 for 4 days? 

[ROBsS4R]

Nice review. 

I was wondering how it would feel coming off a S4R bike

[dbran1949]

That last shot really shows you how outrageous the tail is.  What did it cost ot rent the 696 for 4 days? 

They had a special for the month of July. If you rent for two days you get two days free. So I rented two days @ 140 per day but there is a 30 per day insurance charge, which I had to pay for the full 4 days. I hope these guys make it in the past any time friends have visited and we wanted to ride together they have had to rent harleys 

[NWapex]

Good review.  Sounds similar to my experience with my just purchased 696 coming from a VFR.