Remember the Cagiva Elefant" The legendary Dakar-winning dual-sport was built while Cagiva owned Ducati, and was powered by the latter’s widely used 904 cc Desmodromic L-twin engine. It epitomized the rally raid style of the 90s?especially with giant ?Lucky Explorer? graphics splashed on the side.
The Ducati DesertX is probably the closest thing you can get to a modern interpretation of the Elefant. But thanks to a confusing jumble of red tape (MV Agusta owns the Elefant name), Ducati couldn’t call it that. Luckily Paolo Balbo isn’t bound by such corporate trappings; he’s called his latest creation an Elefant, even though it isn’t technically one.

Based in Parma, in Italy’s stunning Emilia-Romagna region, Paolo customizes bikes as a hobby. At a glance, his Elefant looks like a tidy restomod. But get close to it, or twist the throttle, and you’ll soon realize it’s a different animal entirely. That’s because Paolo didn’t just want to own an Elefant?he wanted to own the fastest Elefant in the world. So instead of finding a single donor bike, he sourced a frame and engine, then cherry picked the best parts to combine them with.

The frame is actually from the Elefant’s successor?the 1998 Cagiva Gran Canyon 900. But the motor is even more modern. Using a series of laser-cut engine mounting plates, Paolo managed to wedge in the 1,099 cc Desmo V-twin from a 2007-model Ducati 1098.
The 1098 also donated its...