It?s Dakar time right now, with over 160 motorcycles racing through Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina. The rally raid bikes have always looked good: they’re extreme examples of form following function.
Master builder and ex-racer Walt Siegl is a fan, too. ?I?m always thrilled to see the brutal design of the Dakar bikes,? he says. And to prove it, he?s just built a stunning Ducati Hypermotard that transfers that aggressive style to the street.

The project was commissioned by a European friend of Walt?s, over a three-hour coffee meeting in downtown LA. The brief was to give the Hyper ?a bit more vintage flair.?
But ?vintage? and ?Hypermotard? are not words you expect to see in the same sentence. The Hyper was Ducati?s attempt at a radical new approach to design in the mid-2000s, driven by CEO Federico Minoli (who, incidentally, is now a part-owner of Deus Milano).
The stock bodywork is angular and pointed, and there are signs of computer-aided design everywhere. It?s not the easiest bike to revamp, but that didn?t deter Walt.
?I took the project on as a challenge, despite the low budget,? he says. ?I knew I?d have to keep the stock suspension, frame and swing arm, and the aluminum wheels.?

But that?s no bad thing. With almost 100 horsepower going to the back wheel, and 50mm Marzocchi forks up front, your regular Hypermotard 1100 provides plenty enough thrills for most riders.
Walt decided to focus on the bodywork, and take his cue from the 1980s. ?As we all kn...