Personally I think it may be soe of the things posted in the why own a ducati thread.
KTM are slightly different yet have a character of their own including naysayers onprice and reliability... bit like Ducati
Have to say the 950 although not quite as good as the 998 sunds great, feels great, loks great and is stonking fun to ride!!
Yes there are better bikes but overall I love it so far
I reckon that KTM will be the biggest rival to the Hypermotard though