Category: Ducati Monster

We’ve seen builders manipulate steel, aluminum, titanium, fiberglass and carbon fiber. But this creamy smooth Ducati Monster 400 cafe racer features a material that very few people know about: basalt fiber. Indeed, we’ve only come across it once before, on Mark Atkinson’s breathtaking BMW Alpha landspeeder.

For 25-year-old New Zealander Max Betteridge, it was a material he wanted to use even before he had a bike to try it out on.

“In many ways, basalt is the new carbon,” he tells us. “It has similar performance to carbon but at a lower price. What captured me was the subtle gold hue in its reflection—in contrast to carbon’s harsh weave, basalt appears almost black until the light hits it at just the right angle. Then it reveals a surreal depth.”

Max works as a product development engineer in Auckland, designing products that treat sleep apnea. Building bikes is a hobby for him—an obsession that originally started with vintage cars.

Remarkably, Max considers his baby Monster a budget build. “I bought the donor bike for about one third of the price of the cheapest brand new Ducati,” he reveals. “The paint, powder coating and anodizing were the only things which I didn’t do myself. In the end, the paint cost almost as much as all the other costs combined.”

Max’s day-to-day involves a lot of surface modeling, so that’s how he approached the project. As soon as he had the Monster in his hands, he 3D scanned it and began building the bodywork in CAD. It meant he could design everything to fit just right.

Remarkably, Max doesn’t have a proper workshop at home. He has no way of transporting a whole bike, either. So he would take parts of the Ducati to work in the morning, work on them in his lunch break, then take them home again in the evening.

His goal was to build something minimal, sleek and unique. “I knew from the beginning that I had to ditch the original tank,” he says. “But I was still naïve to the difficulties of making a visual composite part. I thought this project would be easy.”

“But by the time I had started my first part and learned how much work was involved, I’d already committed.”

The tank, tail section and belly pan are all molded from basalt fiber. For each part, Max would create a CNC, laser- or hand-cut mold, before laying down the final form in basalt. Most of the parts took multiple attempts before they came out good enough to use.

From his initial 3D scan, Max knew that the original airbox was going to get in his way. So he ditched it for a pair of Uni foam filters, and started rearranging everything under the new tank to fit with its long, narrow design.

The Monster’s frame was shortened and freed of any superfluous brackets. Max designed a new subframe to support the seat and provide mounting points for the lights. He then water jet-cut the final part from stainless steel.

Beautiful hand-made and aftermarket parts are sprinkled throughout the build. The triple clamp, headlight brackets and grip clamps were all designed and CNC-machined by Max, but the license plate bracket was water jet-cut. The taillight, turn signals, tank filler cap, clip-ons, rear sets and bar-end mirrors are well-integrated off-the-shelf bits.

Max even did his own leather work, which most builders prefer to outsource. He laser-cut what he needed for the seat, grips and tank strap from a single hide.

There are two details that really stand out, and the first is the redesigned dash. The Monster’s original gauges were damaged, but Max wanted to keep the mechanical and electrical side of the bike as close to stock as possible. So he stripped the OEM clocks and built them into a new basalt fiber enclosure.

He also milled out a new faceplate and bezel, got them anodized, and then laser-etched new markings into them. Everything was then repackaged behind an acrylic front.

The other standout part is the custom-made tank strap. The laser-etched Ducati logo is a nice touch, but it’s the way the strap steps up to the gas cap that’s really neat. “The straps were initially flat,” explains Max, “but my workmate convinced me that it needed to jog up to meet the top of the filler, then he convinced me that a straight jog wouldn’t be good enough…can you believe this is the same workmate who convinced me that doing all the bodywork out of basalt would be easy?”

“So I CNC-milled an aluminum press tool and pressed the straps in a twenty ton press to form the jog. After all the effort, I think this became my favorite feature on the bike.”

Max’s other big challenge was moving the Monster’s twin Termignoni cans to a lower-than-stock position. Fabricating new exhaust hangars was easy; rigging up a new set of intermediate pipes, less so. Since he couldn’t take the bike to a local shop to modify the system for him, Max had to do it the hard way.

He 3D scanned the exhaust at work, created a CAD model, then ‘unrolled’ it to create a flat model with each section connected. This was then water jet-cut out of stainless plate, before Max folded and welded each segment together. Only then could he take it home, pop it on the bike and see if it fitted.

“Almost everyone I spoke to said the idea wasn’t going to work, or that I should be doing it another way,” he admits. “But I take great pride in the fact that they fitted first time!”

Max knows that the 400 is not the quickest Monster on the road, but performance isn’t really the point here. “It was never intended to be a fast bike and I never intended to try and make it one,” he says.

“People might argue that, for example, the belly pan on this bike doesn’t have a purpose and it adds unnecessary weight. But for me, the purpose is the aesthetic and the visual balance. This bike is designed to make an impact through its form and proportions.”

“My most validating moment so far was seeing an elderly couple admiring it in the car park, and the elderly woman, the most unlikely of people, starting a conversation with me about how it looks. I can’t say this bike looks categorically better or worse than the original, but it seems to be having the effect I was going for.”

As for the Monster’s stance and flow, we think Max nailed it. And the livery’s spot-on too; a cream color called ‘Ferarri Avorio,’ with plenty of clear-coated basalt to show off the handiwork. Even the frame looks killer, in a matt champagne powder coat.

It reminds us of a flat white—which is exactly what Max has called it. “In New Zealand, nine out of ten coffee orders at a café will be a flat white. It’s an absolute staple in our diet, and New Zealand’s interpretation of an Italian classic.”

“In the same way, the Ducati Flat White is my take on what I think is Italy’s most iconic bike.”

Detailed build diary | Instagram | Images and video by Make Shop

If you could cherry-pick parts from different models of the same marque, what would you build? For Kris Reniers of Belgium, the answer is this traffic-stopping Ducati racer.

Kris runs Deep Creek Cycleworks, based in the small town of Deepenbeek, near the Dutch border. (You guessed: ‘Deep Creek’ is a loose translation of the town’s name.) You could technically call his customized Ducati a Frankenbike, bitsa or parts-bin special. But none of those seem fair, when you consider how beautifully coherent it is.

“The bike is a bit of a bastard,” says Kris. “That was on purpose, because not everything Ducati makes is beautiful. So this bike, to me, is a combination of every part I like from Ducati.”

It all started with a frame: “It was a 750SS from the late 90s,” Kris tells us. “I had only the frame and the papers, nothing more. I bought the frame because I like the shape of it, and its potential.”

“Then I bought a 2001 Monster 900ie, and so it began. I always had a crush on Ducati because of the awesome sound of that engine.”

Kris handles the mechanical, electrical, fabrication and paint work himself, but calls on his good friend (and Deep Creek race team pilot) Christophe Heyligen to help him conceptualize his projects.

Using the 750SS frame, and the Monster’s engine and electrics, Kris started piecing together his perfect racer from the rest of Ducati’s portfolio. The fairing is a race version of the 1995 model 900SS fairing—so it came without any holes for lights, leaving Kris free to sink a small, off-center headlight into it.

Behind is a fuel tank from a 80s-model 750 Sport. Kris modded it to give it more of an endurance vibe, setting it up so that he can add a dry break fuel system to it later. He also needed to add some extra plumbing for the Monster’s fuel injection system.

The swingarm’s from a 1000 SS, the front forks and Brembo brakes are from the Monster 900ie with stiffer springs added, and the wheels are borrowed from a Monster ST4.

Helping everything to hang together are some gorgeous hand-made pieces. The tail section is custom—fabricated in aluminum and capped with a svelte leather seat. Kris also shortened the rear of the frame and redesigned the down tubes for a better line, before sending the frame off for fresh powder. (Upholstery and powder coating were the only things outsourced on this project.)

The stainless steel exhaust headers are custom too, and terminate in a stubby muffler. Kris also ditched the airbox and fitted a pair of K&N filters. To finish things off, there’s a Motogadget speedo and a pair of Highsider LED taillight-turn signal combos, mounted to the swingarm.

Then there’s that livery—a lustrous white, green and gold combo that’ll turn heads at both the track and cafe. Amazingly, it was applied by Kris himself: There seems to be no end to this man’s talents.

“I called the bike 900SS Distinto,” explains Kris. “Translated, it means ‘distinguished.’ Because I believe that this is a marriage between a racer and a ‘looker’ that you would want in your house near the fireplace, so you can stare at its beauty and color.”

Since Deep Creek are already fielding a Moto Martin-framed, Honda Bol d’Or 1100-powered build in the classic European endurance championship, there’s no need for Distinto to take to the track…just yet.

It is street legal though, so for now Kris is content to take it out on the road. And yes, we’re extremely jealous. This has got to be one of the best Ducati specials of recent years.

Deep Creek Cycleworks | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Raf Leuris

Ah, the mighty Ducati Monster. From Miguel Galluzzi’s first design in 1993, right up to the current range, it just keeps getting better. It’s a cool ride straight out of the box, even better with a little fettling, and can be downright outrageous in the hands of the right builder.

By the right builder, we mean someone like Danilo Biello. Danilo operates Customcreations — a motorcycle garage located in the mountainous province of Isernia in central Italy. And his Monster S2R 800 is one of the most alluring examples of the model that we’ve seen.

Launched in 2004, the rather affordable Monster S2R featured Ducati’s 800cc Desmodromic motor. But the big selling point was the chassis; everything was borrowed from the top-of-the-range S4R, right down to the gorgeous single-sided swing arm. As MCN put it: “It’ll deliver more pride per pound than anything else.”

This Monster’s an ’07 model, but Danilo’s given it a far more classic vibe. “The idea was to build an almost classic café racer with solid brass details,” he tells us. “On the way this brought us, unexpectedly, to an almost steampunk flavour.”

All the bodywork you see is custom—from the racy fairing, right through to the boxy tank and tail piece. It’s all been done using 2mm thick aluminum—hand cut, bent, shaped and TIG welded.

Danilo made light mods to the frame to get everything to match up just right. But he left the suspension and brakes alone because, well, they work. The original wheels have stayed behind too, adding a modern touch to an otherwise classic machine. The stunning, two-into-two exhaust is new though.

The S2R’s new silhouette is far more sleek and stretched out than its previously stocky build. But it’s the details on this build that really kill us. Customcreations have CNC-milled many smaller parts in their shop to make sure that every single box was ticked.

The engine covers, front fender and brace, license plate bracket, and turn signals are just some of the one-off parts in the mix. Then there’s the custom headlight and taillight, with a matching grid motif that’s repeated on the new rearsets.

But it’s up top where things get really…unique. See that scoop on top of the tank? That’s functional; it sucks air and feeds it to the airbox via a channel in the tank. Look closely, and you’ll notice that the ribbed effect on top is repeated just above the taillight.

Just ahead of the scoop is a custom-built instrument cluster, containing a Motogadget speedo, the key ignition and a fat ‘Engine Start’ button. Even the switchgear, reservoirs and bar-end weights are bespoke.

Custom bike building is all about knowing when to zig and when to zag, and never is that more important than when adding brass. The line between tasteful and gaudy is very, very fine, but Danilo’s on the right side of it here.

He’s also been selective about which bits have been polished, and which have been painted. As a result, everything hangs off the Monster’s glossy new livery perfectly. Massimo Fogliazza in Acilia handled the paint, while AT Upholstery in Isernia finished the seat in leather and Alcantara.

It took Customcreations eight months to wrap up the Monster. The finishing touch: “Made upon request of…” followed by the client’s name, engraved on the sprocket cover.

Danilo really did think of everything, didn’t he?

Customcreations Facebook | Photos by Charles Seguy