June 2005 - DucCutters.com
Transcription
June 2005 - DucCutters.com
Monster Mash A dozen Dr. Frankensteins descend on Daytona Beach to compete for the prestigious title of The World’s Wildest Ducati Monster Words and Photos: Scott Odell and Carla Fontaine First released in 1992, the Ducati Monster shocked motorcycle enthusiasts with its nakedness. Designed to emulate the stripped-down streetfighters popular in Europe at the time, the Monster featured minimal bodywork, a high handlebar and a totally exposed motor and frame—pure bike porn for hardcore gearheads. In the dozen years since then the Monster has become the best-selling bike in Ducati’s lineup, and one of the most customized sportbikes in the world due to its low cost, simple design and huge selection of aftermarket accessories. So, as the undisputed king of custom naked bikes, it seemed only natural Ducati would put together a search for the baddest, meanest, nastiest custom Monster in North America, right? Damn right! Over the winter of 2004–’05, Ducati North America organized the Monster Challenge to seek out the coolest custom Monsters. Every Monster owner in North America was invited to enter a bike in one of 12 regional showings held in conjunction with Advanstar’s International Motorcycle Show consumer extravaganzas. Show attendees selected winners at each regional show, each of whom were invited to a final runoff held at Ducati Day Daytona, the special Ducati-only celebration held during Daytona Beach Bike Week. Bikes were judged one final time, with the ultimate winner taking the title of North America’s wildest Ducati Monster, in addition to the title to a brand-new, $13,495 Ducati Monster S4R. The Monster moniker seems even more appropriate after eyeballing the dozen customs that showed up in Daytona. Just like Dr. Frankenstein’s eponymous monster, each of these machines presented a stunning combination of aftermarket bolt-ons, pieces taken from other motorcycles and one-off, handfabricated components. Best of all, each entry was entirely unique—many were inspired by Ducati’s famous roadracing machines, complete with plenty of carbon fiber and billet aluminum performance parts. Others looked to the past with retro designs, while a few could have come from the pages of Super Streetbike, complete with dragbike-style extended swingarms, nitrous systems, chromed-out bodywork, even turbochargers. One third of the Monster owners walked away with awards, starting with the “People’s Choice” plaque, which went to Keith Myers and his ’99 M900S, “The Flying D.” Third place went to Kyle Brussich for her bright red and chrome custom, which is her daily-rider streetbike to boot. Second place went to an across-the-border Canadian, Chris Nicolaou. We were feeling his stretched-and-slammed Super Streetbike style. At the end of the day the retro look pulled the most votes, though, as the panel of judges picked Stuart Baker’s old-school–styled ’99 M750CR as the big winner—a decision we think says more about the age and the Italian heritage of certain judges than it does about the current state of custom bike design. But, hey, we were just taking pictures, so what were we going to say. Nothing against Baker—we love his minimalist style and unconventional parts picks, such as the ’54 Chevy pickup taillight—but, well, let’s just say that if we were keeping score things might have turned out a little differently. So now, with apologies to the Monster Challenge judges, Ducati North America and all the Monster Challenge entrants, we take our revenge and offer up our slightly less-than-conventional picks for the Super Streetbike Monster Challenge. 70 WWW.SUPERSTREETBIKE.COM Above The final round of the Monster Challenge was just one small part of Ducati Day Daytona festivities held during Bike Week at Daytona’s Speedpark amusement center. In addition to custom monsters, DDD also offered a vendor row, autograph sessions with Ducati race-team members Eric Bostrom and Nei Hodgson, a charity auction and, of course, go-kart racing on the Speedpark course. Below The Monster Challenge gathered 11 tricked-out Monsters from across America—and one from Ontario, Canada. The World’s Maddest Monster X-Ray–Vision Monster Chris Nicolaou, Port Perry, Ontario, Canada. A stretched swingarm, nitrous oxide injection, tons of chrome and crazy candy paint on a Ducati? You betcha, eh! Although Nicolaou hails from Canada, we think he’s been cribbing his ideas from the ’Busa crowd in the Deep South, and we love him for it. Bonus points for building it in just six short weeks— mad props to you, dawg! Kyle Brussich, Houston, Texas. Brussich invites you to peer deep inside her Monster motor with see-through coverings over the cam belts and clutch basket, making hers one of the best-looking Monsters in America—inside and out. The World’s Maddest Monster Owner A.J. Ralston, Portland, Oregon. If you’re going to rail on a badass bike, it helps to look the part. Ralston’s Monster looks the biz with squinty-eye headlights and quad-chrome gauges, and the owner sports matching custom bodywork with a ring through his septum and a stud through his lower lip. Bonus points for all the help photographing these bikes—we couldn’t have done it without you, A.J. WWW.SUPERSTREETBIKE.COM 71 Less-Filling Monster Sean Kelli, Portland, Oregon. How can something that weighs so little cost so much? That’s what we wanted to know after Kelli told us how much the three-pound front wheel on his seemingly carved-fromcarbon-fiber Monster cost. Total bike weight is just 338 pounds thanks to the aforementioned rims made from the magic material, and the handlebars, and the tank, and the fenders, and the exhaust canisters, and the… Titanium MasterCard Monster Leslie Grossman, Yardley, Pennsylvania. Did you know the name Ducati is actually an acronym for Don’t Use Cheap Accessories To Impress? Big-bucks carbon-carbon Brembo Monoblock front brakes are just the beginning on Grossman’s Monster, which also features an Öhlins superbike front end, Marvic 888 wheels and a radial clutch master cylinder directly off of Valentino Rossi’s—yes, we said Valentino Rossi’s—MotoGP bike. DIY Monster James Nunez, Coast Guardsman stationed in California. See those trick custom bits on Nunez’s ’99 Monster 750, such as the headlight carrier that holds the twin Hella Micro DE Xenon headlights? Nunez made that himself, showing he’s a better mechanic than we can ever dream to be. My Other Motorcycle is a Machine Shop Monster Lock Baker, Branford, Connecticut. Look out Jesse James: Eastern Fabrication’s Baker handcrafted the tank and tailsection on this ’04 Monster 1000, and he scores bonus points for routing the exhaust out of the bum stop. 72 WWW.SUPERSTREETBIKE.COM Big-Boost Monster(s) Tie between Bill Johnston, Mesa, Arizona, and Mike McIntyre, El Paso, Texas. Anyone with the warped sense to bolt a turbo to a Ducati Monster gets a big up from us. We’re also feelin’ the chrome bodywork on Johnston’s machine and the single-sided swingarm conversion on McIntyre’s 206-hp S4R. People’s Monster Back to the Future Monster Keith Myers, Las Vegas, Nevada. The gold-toned Marvic Penta magnesium wheels got the crowd’s attention, and the allcarbon-fiber bodywork with red highlights and retro “Flying D” graphics drove them to vote Myer’s Monster the People’s Choice winner. Stuart Baker, Burbank, California. Much respect to Baker for keeping it true to Ducati’s Latin roots with this stripped-down retro racer. As the overall winner in Daytona Beach, Baker went home with the new Monster— wonder what he’s got planned for the new bike? 74 WWW.SUPERSTREETBIKE.COM