Sounds like good advice. - thanks everyone.
I'll make some adjustments once I've got a new rear tyre - noticed a big screw sticking out of it this morning :( so thats put a bit of a dampner on having a play with things at the moment.

cheers,
Ben

Ben,

The reason for the Ducati Tool is so that you have a Refernce Standard by which the distance can be accurately set following chain adjustment.
If you follow Rattler's advice and do some experimenting with the tie bar length and find a length that satisfies you (Ooooer missus :lol:), then you can use the Ducati Tool to record the height between the refence point and the rear spindle.
The tool in question does not need to be a specific Ducati one - it just needs to be able to accurately record the geometry. I made one from a bit of MDF I found in my garage and a bit of Ally to measure the vertical distance.
I have my steering head at "steep" and have raised the rear end - but then it's all down to preference..

In summary:
- Obtain massive tool
- Raise your back end
- Select a suitable length
- Play around until satisfied

nice summary - so basically fine tweaking of position will definately lead to increased rider satisifaction and possibly improved feedback - at least thats according to the Swiss Tony book of Motorcycle Suspension setup

I have a Drawing with all measurements of the ride height tool if you want it.