West coast we all know the name KTM but they are more of rare bike compared to say Honda... It sounds to me like you've made up your mind with the Ducati... Reread your posts and that should be an indicator for you what YOU really want

 

KTM is very rare on the East coast. There are quite a lot of dealers, but very few do street vehicles.

I know, I like the hyper, just wondering if it's the best option...not sure what else is out there!

 

Maybe this will help you decide:

 

So I think I've made up my choice...and some of you could probably see I'm really liking the Ducati Hypermotard.

Reasons I am choosing this bike over the rest :

After thinking about this for a few months I've come to the conclusion that, in what may seem like a strange bit of logic...the Ducati is actually cheaperto own and maintain then a Honda. Some of you may be wondering how this is possible! Well, the Ducati is a whopping $505 more than the Honda. That to me is a negligible amount in the span of the price. However where the big cost difference comes through is insurance. The cheapest I could find to insure a 600rr for me was $3,000/year. The Ducati on the other hand is under $1,000/yeah. Even though they have the same power and the Honda has a significantly larger amount of torque the Ducati isn't a supersport! This is HUGE. The new Ducati motor seems to "solve" a lot of issues people have always had with the Ducati platform. For example it's not air cooled any longer, and no more dry clutch. The hyper has a water cooled, wet (slipper) clutch system. Not only does the new motor have the same service intervals as the Hondas (18,000 miles), they are also way ahead technology wise (in my mind).

The new systems this bike has installed are crazy. The ABS system prevents the wheels from locking up (duh), but not only that...it also controls the rear wheel lift. I can make the thing keep my rear wheel planted on the ground!! The TCS will cut throttle to the rear wheel if it starts to get loose (I see this being handy in the wet) and not only that but it will control the front wheel lift. Basically if I desire I can sit at a stoplight, hit a button on my dash and absolutely pin the throttle off the line with no risk of the bike lifting off, it'll cut the throttle as needed to keep the front wheel down.

Now I know a lot of people are going to hate all this technology crap, but it's really quite cool, and the best part about all of it? It's 100% adjustable. Which means (in theory) I would be able to adjust it so that it allows a certain degree of endo, or wheelie before it comes in, it also means that I can turn it 100% off. I'll probably ride around with the stuff on most of the time since I do a fair bit of back road (at night) riding and am always afraid of coming across a moose or deer, and a fair bit of urban riding too. Unlike other bikes that share the same "riding mode" idea you don't even have to pull over to change modes, just press the button and it changes!

The new technology paired with better performance than the Honda, and similar service intervals really puts this bike on top for me. The $505 price difference is so worth it for what you get with this new bike. Plus...it has a much more upright riding position which will be nice on my 5 hour rides to and from school. I personally can't wait!! The bikes don't hit dealers until the 26th or 27th, gotta get my pre-order in soon!!

Also, I think I'll have it in red. Don't see it being worth the extra $2,700 to upgrade to the SP for some tires that will wear a lot quicker and suck in the wet, some better suspension components, and some forged wheels. None of those things will really make a huge difference to me since I'm still a new rider.