Lots of good info here, thanks Z3n for some detailed write ups.
I had a similar problem with my 08 690 SMC. It would just randomly sputter, gurgle and die; seemingly under any and all conditions. Most of the time, it would fire right back up; but sometimes it would want to wait and sit for a while before starting back up.
Fuel seemed to be the obvious problem, right? I replaced the fuel pump and and filter, and still the same problem. Researched all the different maps (including ye old bad gas map), built myself the tuneECU cable, etc. This went on for months, and I was about ready to sell it but god damn, when it worked, the bike was phenomenal.
One day, as I had the seat off, some of the wiring caught my eye. One of the bundles of cables that's all run together in the same 'large wrap' running from the main electronics hub behind the airbox had sort of rode up and was kind of between the airbox and frame; and in a place where the seat could sort of pinch the wires with the frame from time to time. I moved the cable bundle lower, so that it was still between the airbox and frame but significantly below the top of the airbox, so that there would be no way the underside of seat could touch it. Problem solved.
Don't know if it'll help, but wanted to throw it out there. Definitely was making me nervous about the bike and took months to figure out, but after relocating that silly group of wires it's been over 6 years of excellent, non-interrupted riding. Good luck Dani!
Edit - forgot to comment about the dash issue. Yes a problem with these models, although I think by 2010 or 2011 they fixed it. While it sucks that the dash flickers, it's simply an issue with the dash's LCD panel (well, specifically how the panel is connected to the circuit board), and has not caused any other problems with the bike. My dash has been flickering for probably 3-4 years, no biggie. There used to be a great write-up on how to fix it, complete with tons of photos, but sadly a year or two ago all the photos got dumped by the image hosting site, so the write-up is not as useful. Totally fine to ride with the flickering dash.