Welcome Drumnagorrach.
I might be able to draw some vague comparisons to the Guzzi.
My ex brother-in-law used to own a lovely LeMans and we used to swap rides when I owned a 31/2Sport Morini and also a 750SS Ducati. All three "Italians" were perfectly reliable and simple to maintain.
They were all pretty much in the same league really, suprisingly, even the 350 was not handicapped by any lack of cubes. The first thing that BiL noticed with the SS was that it seemed to be doing about 1000RPM more than the Guzzi at any given speed.
My observation was that the Guzzi felt heavier off the stand than the SS, but on the roll it was just as nippy...I liked the feel of all those power pulses through the frame..
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Comparing my memories of the Guzzi with my Monsters. I think the Monster is definately a lighter and easier to handle bike, both in the yard and on the road. It's also by far the most comfortable bike I have ever had, and far ahead of a LeMans (Obviously).
If you go for a 2 valve 900 then I think the power is similar except that the Duke will be a
bit more buzzy than the Guzzi but probably smoother. The chain might be responsible for smoothing out the power pulses I suppose.?
The engineering in the Ducati makes the Guzzi look agricultural by comparison, and mainenance is essensial but simple. Tha valve clearances are proper fiddly, twice as much so on a 4 valver, but you don't have to do that too often, and you can always pay someone to do it anyway.
Same as any bike, making sure that all the connections in the charging circuit are good, should prevent any grief with smoking regs and batteries.
Monsters tend to defy a test pilots analysis of the handing and ride quality because it just does what it should do without any fuss. The thing you might notice is a slight cramp in the cheeks from the permanent grin...
My personal favorites are the 2 valve 900s, carb or injection, it matters not. You will discover a hard core fan base for the 750s on here though, and there is a sound argument for them being better than the 900s.
I think that whatever model you end up with, you will fall in love with it very quickly....Monsters are special...Good luck with the chase..