[anicca]

just picked up a 2010 696, 101 miles so far. red is the color.
only issue i have right now is with finding neutral. seems i have to push up, then press down lightly to get it into neutral.

 

[UP2duc]

My 09 m696 shifting progressively improved during break in period. I also had a difficult time finding neutral when it was show-room new, but by the time I had about 600 miles on it, it was no longer an issue. Welcome to the forum!

 

[anicca]

that's good to hear that neutral gets easier to find.. another thing is the helmet locking cable that's supposed to be under the seat. did yours come with one cause I can't seem to find mine. maybe I'm not looking hard enough.

 

[UP2duc]

Helmet Hook

Keep looking, its there. I personally do not use my helmet hook because I think its a hassel to unlock the seat, thread the helmet cable thru my helmet's D-ring, then get the loop of cable on the hook, then replace and lock the seat. Seems like quite a ritual just to secure your helmet when you park your bike. I generally take my helmet with me when I go places like restaurants or visiting friends. But if I was going to, say, take my bike to go shopping and wanted to avoid lugging my helmet around with me, I would probably just carry a small padlock and use the helmet cable somewhere other than from under the seat. One word of caution; wherever you secure your helmet be mindful that the wind will blow it around if it is dangled by the cable, so if you have nice Arai or Soumy it could get nicked.

 

[UP2duc]

Whoops just re-read your post. The cable should be in the red velcro pouch that contains your allen wrench. This pouch was bungied under my seat when I bought my bike. If yours is missing, it would seem your dealer could quickly send you another.

 

[anicca]

yea i have a red tool pouch. didn't bother looking there. the instruction manual seemed to indicate that it would be in the recessed compartment that's higher up. thanks for the clarification.