Ducati Monster 696 launch

Hogan's not quite got the hang of his new studio lights

SO HERE I am up in the hills above sunny Barcelona for the international launch of the Ducati Monster 696.

In true Italian style everything that can go wrong so far has, and I only have a second to post a quick pic and give some feedback. Most of you will have already seen images of the bike but, I had a poke around the hotel and found a tricked up version with all the available accessories on it and it looked mega. Funky Termignoni cans, carbon this and that, and stunning five spoke Marchesini rims turn this bike from a slightly modernised looking version of the old bike into a tasty looking Italian Street Triple lookalike.

I haven't had the chance to sit on one yet let alone ride one, that will come tomorrow, look forward to some very bad video footage of this exciting little bike (and probably half of my thumb over the lens).