Lee,
Sounds like you're in a similair situation to me. (I posted a thread
here). I love the grey 748s, looks fantastic IMO.
£8700 - was this from
Daytona bike shop in Islington? That's the price they quoted to me. I think
Taz have them down for £8195. I called them to ask for details and they said it was not an official UK spec one (the one at
Daytona was) but it can be PDI'd at an official Ducati dealership, for about £37, which would then give it the official 2 yr Ducati UK warranty. They told me it was basically the same bike but just needed clocks and headlight changing to suit, which they would do.
The only stumbling block I have before I can get my Ducati is that it HAS to be garaged to get insurance cover on it (unsurprisingly). I don't have one and need to get one of those metal bike sheds to get round this as I live in a flat. The problem is the decent metal garages are about £1300!
e.g. -
secure-a-bike Hope the test ride helps... you're lucky to find somewhere that has one available to test. I haven't found anywhere that's got one myself.
Good luck with it and post something when you've got an update.
Colin