Ride one and decide for yourself. I did....the 996S went straight up for sale and I bought the 848.
Same Ducati noise and feel as ever. Easy, flattering handling and more go than is decent
Best buy I ever made.
I haven't ridden a 749 and certainly not an R to compare directly, so unless you want to take the opinions of, by and large, people that haven't ridden one or the other, you need to get out and try it, see if it flicks your switch like it did to all the others that bought them
Don't listen to the bitter people that can't accept progress, they know nothing
Ducati don't stop putting what they learn from racing bikes into their new models.
I'm a distinctly average rider and it makes me look good anyway...