The Ducati Monster. The backbone of Ducati’s sales figures. It’s the bike that Ducati designers imagined Brando would be riding in a modern day remake of the “Wild One”. With styling that has been attributed to single handedly re-popularising the naked bike category why would anyone customise one? …Because they can; and because like every motorcycle that rolls out of a factory, they can be improved upon.
The S2R version of the Ducati Monster may have been short lived, but it is still regarded as one of the best in the long running, Monster range. While some think of it as a budget version of the S4R, the S2R’s air cooled, 800cc engine packs plenty of punch (77bhp), it’s celebrated for being the perfect street riding machine and it costs a fraction of the S4R. But as I mentioned it has it’s flaws. Stiff forks, low spec brakes and lackluster power delivery are common complaints but these issues are relatively easy to fix.
Patryk the owner of this S2R, wanted to create a modern day Cafe Racer. The appeal of having a custom ride that sported Ducati’s sexy, single sided swing arm was too hard to resist, so in Janurary of 2012 his Cafe project began.
“I started the rebuild in January 2012 by disassembling the whole bike including the frame and engine. The first step of it’s customisation was to cut the rear sub frame to shorten it and raise it higher. I painted the engine in matt black and the frame and engine covers got a coat of high contrast House of Kolor Kosmic Chrome Burgundy.”
“The ‘less-is-more’ philosophy that made the Monster a motorcycling icon is now further enhanced to redefine your naked expectations.” – Ducati.com
“Next I had the custom box exhaust made by RM Motors, they did a great job and the sound is awesome. To improve the performance of the brakes and front suspension I’ve swapped in the fully adjustable shocks and calipers from a Suzuki GSXR1000 K4. With some additional custom spacers and bushings I was able to fit the stock triple clamps and original Ducati front wheel. I also upgraded the master cylinder and brake rotors using parts from a 2007 Yamaha R1.”
“To make my Ducati look like cafe racer I’ve cut the tank, front fender and rebuilt a MotoGuzzi race tail with custom made seat. The bodywork was all finished in white while the rims had a ‘hydrographic’ water print transfer applied to them to create the unique scratch effect.”
“The stock airbox was replaced with 2 free flowing K&N filters that jut out the sides of the bikes trellis frame. All wiring was recovered in cloth, the bars were swapped with Cafe Racer style clip-ons and the stock rear sets have been replaced with a set I designed and made on a CNC router.”
Patryk completed the build in August of 2012 and to test it’s worthiness of a Cafe Racer title, he subjected his Monster to a day at the track. How did it perform? I think the image below pretty much speaks for itself.
Huge thanks to Patryk Matla for sharing his Ducati Cafe Racer build.
