As I've mentioned before, I was never really a huge fan of naked bikes except for some of the classic bikes I grew up with, like Norton's and BSA's. I think that had a lot to do with the advent of the full fairing steet bike in the mid to late 80's with their sleek new full fairing looks. Before then, the closest you got in terms of a full race style faring for street was a nose fairing a-la Ducati 750SS. As a kid, using my kid-logic "Race" anything was the best...the penultimate. So natuarally "Race bikes" were the best bikes.
To date one of my strongest and fondest memories of growing up with bikes was a little Tamaya model of Mike Hailwoods Ducati 900 racer my dad put together. I loved that thing. It even had flexible brake lines and real rubber slicks. But the best part was that you could remove the farings to see the rest of the bike underneath. That trellis frame and engine at an odd angle (compared to the upright Brit power plants). I used to sit and just check out the details of every nook and cranny.
That was the beginning of my slowly maturing appreciation for all bikes, full fairing or otherwise. But recently, I've had a renewed love for that classic racer look, and as this is primarily (although not exclusively) a Ducati oriented blog, I thought I'd post up some of the better examples of Ducatis done up in this genre.
Some of the more eagle-eyed readers might have noticed that the majority of these bikes are based around Ducati's 900SS. A classic in its own right, but fast becoming a favourite for doing up a Custom Ducati. Save for the now defunct Radical Ducati out of Spain, which has generally stuck to the more modern superbikes and even a Monster or two for it s base, the 900SS seems to be the Duke of choice for custom builders these days. I've often wondered why and my suspicion is it is perhaps one of the easier models to work around. I mean every Ducati has had the benefit of being designed by some of the best in the business...and lets face it, Italy has always been a hot bed for design, so it comes as no surprise that it has proven difficult to improve upon perfection.
Nobody and nothing is "perfect", but Ducati design comes pretty close in terms of style, and if we're honest that is a huge part of custom bike building. So it comes as no surprise to me that it takes a speacial builder to be able to take something which is already beautiful and make it, not only equally beautiful, but also there own. Few builders have risen to the challenge of building a custom Ducati's and re-styling them as near to perfection as Ducati themselves.
Aside from Radical, precious few take on custom builds with newer Ducati super bikes, although recently there have been others.
To date one of my strongest and fondest memories of growing up with bikes was a little Tamaya model of Mike Hailwoods Ducati 900 racer my dad put together. I loved that thing. It even had flexible brake lines and real rubber slicks. But the best part was that you could remove the farings to see the rest of the bike underneath. That trellis frame and engine at an odd angle (compared to the upright Brit power plants). I used to sit and just check out the details of every nook and cranny.
That was the beginning of my slowly maturing appreciation for all bikes, full fairing or otherwise. But recently, I've had a renewed love for that classic racer look, and as this is primarily (although not exclusively) a Ducati oriented blog, I thought I'd post up some of the better examples of Ducatis done up in this genre.
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| A pair of beauty, 900ss customs done up by the boys over at Union Motorcycle Classics out of Nampa ID. Easily one of my favourite builds right now |
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| A cool classic take on the 749 by Radical. Not sure about that light on the front...but the rest is pretty badass. |
Nobody and nothing is "perfect", but Ducati design comes pretty close in terms of style, and if we're honest that is a huge part of custom bike building. So it comes as no surprise to me that it takes a speacial builder to be able to take something which is already beautiful and make it, not only equally beautiful, but also there own. Few builders have risen to the challenge of building a custom Ducati's and re-styling them as near to perfection as Ducati themselves.
Aside from Radical, precious few take on custom builds with newer Ducati super bikes, although recently there have been others.
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| Odd man out here. Where the majority of these Classic Racer Customs are based around Ducati's 900SS this one is basically a Sport GT wrapped in lots of CF...simple but elegant. |
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| Two exmaples (above and below) of some real nice work done by Made In Metal out of Stafford UK. |
Recently there have been more builders taking on the challenge of customizing a Ducati, some more successfully than others. But someone who has always been at the top of the game when it comes to Desmo Customs is Walt Siegl. I've posted on Walt before, but his Leggero builds are hands down some of the most masterful modern day takes on the classic elegance of Ducati design and simplicity.
They are all based on the 900ss engine but each one is different as he builds them to order based on his customers wants and desires. Above however, is a perfect example of how to incorporate classic design elements into a modern day vision. Every other month its seems. more guys and girls are taking up the challenge of re-envisioning Ducati bikes in their own right. Some are right out there in terms of concept... pushing the boundaries of design and taste, while others come from a more centred approach yet no less creative. The Classic Racer trend is just that, an approach to creativity based on a central design idea of adding lightness, of going faster.....and looking good doing it.
