For most pro custom bike builders, working to a brief is the norm. So any opportunity to take on a carte blanche project is relished. This brawny Ducati café racer from Kris Reniers is one such machine?which is why it has of his favorite things rolled into one.
Kris is the man behind Deep Creek Cycleworks, based in the Belgian town of Diepenbeek. He’s an experienced endurance racer, enjoys customizing Ducatis, and is besotted with a specific metallic green paint. Which is why he’s just built his third race-inspired Ducati in this color scheme, and dubbed it ‘Green Machine 3.0.’

The commission came from a friend, with a 1998 Ducati ST4 selected as the donor. The ST4 is one of those rare classic Ducatis that favors practicality over excitement?but it has good bones. Sitting inside its trellis frame is the same 90-degree V-twin motor as the Ducati 916, good for 105 horses. Kris took inspiration for the project from a Holographic Hammer illustration that he’d stumbled across. ?I wanted a rough look for this bike,? he explains. ?A bit nose heavy, a bit buff. With the headlight as low as possible, and a more sporty and beefed up front suspension, I knew I could get that look.?

To achieve this, Kris started by transplanting the front end from a Ducati Streetfighter 848 onto the older ST4. The upgrade included the Streetfighter’s radial Brembo calipers?but not its wheels. Instead, a set of spacers and bushings were machined to accommodate ...