Ducati 900GTS Cafe Racer

What could possibly be better than owning a brand new Ducati? How about owning a classic one; or better still a custom '78 900GTS Cafe Racer like this beauty owned by Nick Huber. Nick purchased the bike 5 years ago with only 13,000kms on the clock, it was to be his daily rider so when it came time to add some custom touches, function would have to come before form...but you'd never know by looking at it.

Nick swapped the Ducati's tank for a longer, shallower alloy tank by metal forming genius Evan Wilcox, helping to expose more of the bikes engine including it's bevel gear sight window (Who doesn't want to see inside an engine while it's running!?).

Two of the original design features of the 900GTS that detracted from it's classic looks were an uninspiring seat with rear cowl and a pair of triangular side panels that hid the bikes electrics. A shorter all leather seat and a set of alloy, scrambler style number plates took their place to create the timeless look of a classic racer.

The lighting was simplified with the removal of the bulky indicators but Nick chose to retain the original headlamp and tail light. Tomaselli clip on bars finish off the Cafe Racer styling and to add a splash of colour to the Ducati's primarily polished alloy finish, blue fuel lines, gold painted discs and a gold chain were added.

The Ducati 900GTS first went in to production in 1977. Its air cooled, four stroke, 90° L twin motor produced 65bhp and had a top speed of around 116mph. Weight was kept down with the use of Ducati's ingenious integrated engine/frame design which improved handling and more importantly, acceleration. In stock form Ducati's 900GTS is certainly a good looking bike but Nick's Cafe Racer interpretation is simply stunning.

Spotted on the always inspiring, Rocket Garage.

Custom motorcycle clothing and gear available at 100MPH.com.au