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.
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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
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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.
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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?
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