The first thing I noticed was the throttle response...extremely sharp. I don't know if this is a characteristic of the bike or if there is a throttle linkage adjustment that could give it just a a little bit of lag. It seems like it would be very easy to screw up until one got adjusted to it.
The clutch...argh. Why is it so hard for bike manufacturers to incorporate an easy to operate clutch? I didn't notice any undo amount of noise in the transmission and the shifitng, both up and down, seemed very smooth, but I have been riding a Harley and a Buell so that's pretty relative, I suppose
When I started the bike, I was surprised at how quiet it was. It was a pleasing note, though. I also noticed a significant amount of vibration in the seat...until I revved it some...it smoothed out nicely. As I was riding I noticed a great deal of vibration in the fairing/shield but I didn't seem to notice it in the handlebars. Once again, my previous experience with the Harley/Buell V-twins might be coloring my impression a bit.
I had sat on the bike previously and had wondered about the height and comfort of the seat. I'm 5'10" with a short inseam (30"). I can flat foot it, but there is hardly any bend left in my knees, so pushing it around in a parking lot or on an unstable surface could be a little dicey...another one of those issues that experience and skill can compensate for, I believe. The seat seemed more comfortable than I anticipated, but I didn't spend enough time om the bike to really evaluate it.
Some have mentioned the wind blast with the stock windscreen. I can confirm this as a possible issue. I stayed on city streets and my top speed was only 50 MPH +/- but it was a wind day...perhaps 20-30 MPH. I was getting pushed around quite a bit. I would think that a different windscreen would be necessary for any sort of highway cruising speeds.
I didn't get a chance to try out any twisties with it, but I could tell from playing around in town that the bike is very flickable and has plenty of available torque for that sort of riding.
I have read about the brake shudder issue, but didn't notice anything strange, but once again... I treaded very lightly. I am a relatively new rider and rather conservative. This was the first test ride I have ever been on and I wasn't familiar with the area in which I was riding.
My budget and interest led me to a Monster today, but the MS made a pretty good impression on me. I believe many of the issues I had with the bike can be compensated for either by an adjustment of technique or optional/aftermarket accessories.
Not a expert, nor motorcycle magazine writer, nor even a very experienced rider here....but I thought this might be of some help to anyone thinking about this bike and doing some research as I was.
Brad
i am not too worried about wind blast, it can't be any worse than the GSX and the throttle responce is what I would want, the GSX was much the same, I had mine fitted with a pair of Scorpions and the power commander and it was producing 104ftlbs torque on the dyno 
so I am looking forward to owning the Ducati which should be a little easier on the arms and a mite more flickable 
