Hi,
I've just moved upto 696 from a 749 Mono
The only thing I've noticed that the clutch bite seems to be at the very end of the levers travel - ie almost right out - which initially took a bit of getting used to. I've queried this however on the Ducatisti site and it appears to be the norm and is not adjustable - apart from fitting different levers.
Bikes done 200 miles now and the box is crisp and a joy to use. Gears just 'snick' in nicely - somebody might mention this to the journalist who did a test on a 696 for MCN and complained of a clunky gear change !