I think the Ohlins "upgrade" on the Ducati setup is silly. In this example, the $2000 difference in msrp between the standard and S, Ducati literally passes all the cost onto the buyer. You could sell the stock Showa forks and Sachs shock on eBay that came with the standard model and then buy "real" aftermarket Ohlins while staying within the cost difference of OEM. The set you buy would be sprung and valved for your weight and riding type as well. I guess you could also apply the same idea to the stock components. Take the $2000 you saved, pocket $1000 and revalve/spring the stock stuff for $1000.
Regarding the Ohlins, I know they were purchased aftermarket new and installed by the dealer, having the same controls and such that are on the S model as far as I'm aware. As to whether they differ internally from the OEM Ohlins, I dunno To me it doesn't really matter all that much on this purchase as I highly doubt I would be pushing the suspension to its limits outside of a track or some offroad. And I'm sure that it'll be a good while before my skills are sufficent enough to reach those limits anyway. So whether or not they'll be useful to me is probably not very relevant aside from potential resale value, which again is kinda lower priority as I'm probably going to ride this bike into the ground (hopefully figuratively and not literally).
For those that wanted a picture, this is all I have. I managed to get a quick snap with the phone before I removed the luggage gear, put on a cover and went to bed. I wished I remembered to get another one with the luggage removed as it looks much more sporty. I do need to do some detailing/engine cleaning. I'm planning on swapping the tires and chain (maybe front sprocket) all at once, probably tossing on a red chain. If I have some spare money and feel like wasting it with something totally useless, I'll see about annodizing or coloring the rims while the tires are off.
And as an aside, after seeing one in the dealership, I became an instant fan of the smaller 600 and 700 Monsters. I'm quickly turning from the fully faired bikes to the smaller, midweight, naked or 1/4 faring bikes.
mmmmm Ohlins
I would say the stuff for duc is middle of the road in the fork department. The rear is a TTX, thats the real deal no faking it.
Regarding the Ohlins, I know they were purchased aftermarket new and installed by the dealer, having the same controls and such that are on the S model as far as I'm aware. As to whether they differ internally from the OEM Ohlins, I dunno To me it doesn't really matter all that much on this purchase as I highly doubt I would be pushing the suspension to its limits outside of a track or some offroad. And I'm sure that it'll be a good while before my skills are sufficent enough to reach those limits anyway. So whether or not they'll be useful to me is probably not very relevant aside from potential resale value, which again is kinda lower priority as I'm probably going to ride this bike into the ground (hopefully figuratively and not literally).
For those that wanted a picture, this is all I have. I managed to get a quick snap with the phone before I removed the luggage gear, put on a cover and went to bed. I wished I remembered to get another one with the luggage removed as it looks much more sporty. I do need to do some detailing/engine cleaning. I'm planning on swapping the tires and chain (maybe front sprocket) all at once, probably tossing on a red chain. If I have some spare money and feel like wasting it with something totally useless, I'll see about annodizing or coloring the rims while the tires are off.
And as an aside, after seeing one in the dealership, I became an instant fan of the smaller 600 and 700 Monsters. I'm quickly turning from the fully faired bikes to the smaller, midweight, naked or 1/4 faring bikes.
Nope. Even the 1198 TTX does not have quite the same adjustability as the 'identical' off the shelf TTX.
Generally speaking, the only people that would notice any difference would not be paying for the suspension they are riding on anyways.
The fork legs in my picture are the real deal. I have the 2k bill to prove it
Enjoy the luggage. If you've never owned a touring machine before... you find that even for day to day commutes and runs to the store, they are awesome.