I think that although the 916 is "Iconic",it also brought Ducati into the mainstream,so everybody wanted one either because of the name,kudos or whatever.The shape has now been going for 15 years and i think people are bored with how common it is(in all it's variances) and are therefore looking for the same performance in a less common form.I.E the 888's.You then get back to the original format of rarity,desireabilty and brutal(not softened) v-twin power.I have had an 851,an 888,an SP4,then a hiccough with the 748/853 and now the SP5,the 888's are just everything that Ducati means to me(including the little "fire"!!
).