This highly-modified Ducati is a big no-no in the classic bike world as far as purists go and as far as keeping its value. A stock restored 1973 Ducati 750 GT like this bike is based on has a hard core following and hard core pricing for one in pristine condition regularly going for 25 grand or more. Changing the basic bike into a one-off custom is not something most Ducatisti would even think of, much less do. Like certain Harley-Davidsons, the only thing you’re allowed to do to a classic Ducati without getting a reaming are minor variations from stock that can easily be reversed.
Apparently the mystery builder either didn’t give a damn or he had a bunch of old parts lying around and decided to see what he could come up with. The frame has been whacked off at the back end and the twin shock swingarm was removed and replaced by a home-built mono shock swingarm setup in an attempt to give it “modern” handling. Unfortunately the mono shock comes straight from a Yamaha Seca II which was never a paradigm of high tech suspension, but a budget bike meant of beginners.
Same Seca II trick goes for the tri-spoke mag wheels and brakes which replaced the classic laced Borrani rims and early Brembo front brake on the 750 GT. Somehow I’m beginning to see a Ducati missing most of its stock parts and a Yamaha Seca II that was lying around a shop becoming one of those “A-ha!” moments that sounds good at the time, but will always have to have an explanation of the how and why this came about.
The original builder did spend a lot of time and effort to make his own special and he probably had good reasons and a blast building it just because he could. It’s not a bad idea or build by any means as the Seca wheels allowed him to source more modern rubber in contemporary 17-inch sport bike sizes instead of the stock 19-inch front and 18-inch rear the bike came with. Plus the brakes are definitely an upgrade over the stockers. All of this work was a lot of work to say the least as fitting everything in a frame that was not intended for it and hiding things like the battery is not easy.
Personally I think he started with a 1973 Ducati frame and a couple of stock pieces like the fuel tank and not much else. Even the engine is a swap from a later model 860 GT with its not so revered square cases instead of the more attractive round cases of the 750 model. He did fab up a 2-into-1 exhaust with a short SuperTrapp muffler stuffed on the end to unleash the lovely sound only a bevel drive Ducati can make accompanied by the sound of dual Dellortos sucking air through individual pod air cleaners. It’s gotta be a deep, mellow sound that cascades into a screaming bellow at redline. Otherwise, the L-twin looks relatively stock.
The red powder coated frame definitely looks Italian while I’m not so sure about the choice of silver for the tank and fender. Maybe it’s the carbon-look street tracker-style tailpiece that clashes a bit with it color-wise, but I do like the street tracker style, just not the color choice of the tail section. I’m not in love with the generic headlamp, but maybe that’s just what the builder had dicking around.
The basic bones of a custom Ducati build are there, but this is one bike that could use a serious bit of finishing to be the gorgeous café racer/street tracker custom it wants to be. This bitsa Ducati is never going to be returned to stock and that’s okay. I’m sure there were good, practical reasons to go this way, but I sure would like to see it finished properly. Maybe then when it shows up on eBay again, Mark might just keep it long enough for me to at least ride around the block this time.