The Ducati Monster 1200 R is a brutal machine?and I mean that in the best way possible. With 152 hp and 125 Nm at the ready, backed up by Öhlins suspension and Brembo brakes, it’s a damn near perfect hooligan machine.
Visually, it’s also surprisingly true to Miguel Galluzzi‘s original M900, even though the line is 25 years old this year. And just like the original Monster, it responds well to mild tweaking. A little Rizoma here, a little Termignoni there, and hey presto, you’ve got a really special machine on your hands.

But what happens when you leave it in the hands of a young, motivated and innovative crew of custom builders" If the crew in question is Munich’s Diamond Atelier, good things happen.
They?ve thrown a tasteful selection of trick bits at this 2017-model Monster, mixed in a few one-off touches that push it over the edge, and wrapped the frame in gold. A brave move.
The commission came from an existing Diamond Atelier customer in Frankfurt. He’d given the guys free rein on a previous build, and was so chuffed that he was willing to do it again.
?There was basically no brief,? Diamond’s Tom Konecny tells us. ?Only a wish to make a great bike even better. That’s what we tried to achieve.?

There’s a lot on the 1200 R that looks exceptionally good out the box. So Diamond kept the iconic Monster tank, and parts like the front fender and headlight. But the entire tail section went in the bin, pronto...