Back In Black: A Ducati 900 SS from Belgium
The motorcycle designer Pierre Terblanche is famous for his Ducatis, but not always in a good way. Most folks would give the SportClassics and Supermono a big tick, and there are a lot of folks who also like the Hypermotard too (this writer included).
But for every hit from the South African designer, it feels like there?s a bike that missed the mark, such as the first-gen Multistrada and the late 90s SuperSport series. Which is good news for custom fans, because no-one cries foul when builders cut them up.
This stunning, blacked-out 900 SS is called ?Livia Special,? and is named after the owner’s daughter. It comes from Laurent Kesteloot and Pascal Demeulemeester, who are veterans of the European Sultans of Sprint drag challenge and run the Belgian workshop KD Motorcycles. (No prizes for guessing how they chose their business name.) The build was a client commission, and the 900 SS had only 9,000 kilometers on the clock when it arrived in the workshop. Despite its age, it was in ?as new? condition.
KD have ditched the bulbous fairing and tail unit, but kept the tank?which works just fine as a coherent design on its own. To extend the angular lines, they?ve changed the back of the frame too, but this is not a typical ?café loop.?
Using traditional frame building tools and steel tubing, they?ve created stubby outriggers that terminate right underneath the seat pad. Then the frame was shipped to AB Decometal in Paris for a coat of smooth black powder.
Local mo...
-------------------------------- |
|
Speed Read: A rare Honda Monkey Gold Edition and more
29-04-2024 07:47 - (
motorcycle )