Thanks for the great suggestions in this thread. I just purchased the Rizoma Sport Line grips and tapered bar ends (matching silver color) for my Monster 696:
(Grips)
http://www.motostrano.com/rispligr.html
(Bar Ends)
http://www.motostrano.com/ricobaren.html
I shaved off 8mm on the left side and ~10mm on the right side to accommodate the grips and bar ends. As the OP has so much success with it, I also used a pipe cutter (and dremel to de-burr) to cut the bar to fit the new grips. Worked great.
The result is basically the same as you can see here (minus the sexy mirrors and levers):
http://www.motostrano.com/enlarge.ht..._2080_13685674
Thanks guys!