The Land of Joy comes to the Bike Shed with six customised Ducati Scramblers
This year’s Bike Shed will see a collection of Ducati Scrambler inspired customised bikes as builders from the UK and Italy proudly present their latest creations.
One of the first of to be seen in public is the Ducati Scrambler by Milan based Radikal Chopper. Built by “customiser” Andrea Radaelli, this stunning interpretation of the Ducati Scrambler was a winner of the EICMA Custom International Bike Show 2014.
Another Italian designed Ducati Scrambler making its World debut at the Bike Shed will be the Vibrazioni Art designed “SC-Rumble” that will be unveiled tonight at the Bike Shed preview evening. The bike was commissioned by long standing partners, Ducati and Pirelli, who decided to collaborate on the artistic aspect as well, commissioning Vibrazioni® Art Design to create a work of art on the two-wheeler.
In the UK, Ducati commissioned two bike builders, IDP Custom Moto and Britaliamoto to come up with unique customisations that encapsulated the personalisation and sense of freedom and self-expression that the Ducati Scrambler brings.
IDP used a full throttle version of the Ducati Scrambler to produce a Carl Fogarty ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ – inspired design. Foggy had his eye on a Scrambler ever since he was given a sneak preview of the new model while visiting the Ducati factory. Rather than just opt for a ‘standard’ model though, he wanted to build one that was personal to him, and after being crowned ‘King of the Jungle’ in November he decided to create the Urban Jungle Scrambler.
The initial focus was to give the bike a ‘lighter’ feel by removing some of the small panels and covers, as well as the front and rear mudguards and the wrap-round number plate bracket and modifying the exhaust guard. The bike was stretched a little at the front, which they did by replacing the standard headlight with a more traditional unit.
The bike features a re-worked black vinyl seat complete with ribbed detailing on top. New side panels were fabricated to cover the space left by the original seat and the red camo hydrographics design was inspired by the headband worn by Foggy in the jungle. The polished tank panels worn by the Urban Jungle Scrambler were taken from the original ’62 model and tied in with the polished number plate and headlight brackets. Finally IDP fitted a fully adjustable Ohlins rear shock.
Northampton based designer Britaliamoto used a Ducati Scrambler Classic as the basis for their flat track inspired creation.The bike nicknamed “Blue Moon” due to its striking matt blue colour scheme has used a number of other Ducati elements. These include a GT1000 swing arm and a Termignoni race-line full 2-1 steel exhaust system that has been modified into a 2-2 stacked system.
Other notable features include a reshaped seat and tail unit built using two-part foam, resin and filler, a relocated ignition switch behind the head-stock and the centralising of the speedometer. The original LED headlight was replaced by a 5 inch headlight unit as were the handlebars and seat.
The builder Alastair Wager was helped by friends Steve Collins and John Keogh who managed to turn the Ducati Scrambler Classic into its current form in only four weeks.
As well as Ducati UK commissioned bikes there are two Ducati Scrambler dealers represented at the Bike Shed event. Dealers from Ducati Manchester and Sheffield Motorcycle Centre will display their Eccythump Scrambler and the Gulf tracker respectively.
This Ducati Scrambler Classic by Sheffield Motorcycle centre has been customised using the livery of the legendary Gulf Oil brand. The colours were chosen to accentuate the lines of the bike with the trellis frame being painted in the instantly recognisable orange burn of Gulf. Pastel blue adorns the tank and front mudguard with a polished swing arm. The shock spring is also re-coated in pastel, together with the front fork bottoms. The rear foot pegs and the mounts have been removed along with the rear mudguard to give the bike a clean cut styling finish.
The light tan seat has been re-shaped to provide greater comfort and synergy with the newly coloured frame. There is a striking in-house built exhaust and fat bars have been crafted with internal cables for a clean front end with bar end mirrors added to further enhance the rider’s line of vision.
The rider can complete the overall look, sporting a Gulf inspired painted helmet that has been created to complement the look. The Gulf tracker is still very much a work in progress for the company’s builder Kev French with the a new exhaust system and number board amongst the modifications planned.
The Ducati Manchester “DMC Eccythump Scrambler” has been built using 1950’s / 60’s Superleggera coach building techniques, in partnership with Paul Eccleshare. This Scrambler was influenced by Paul’s 1960’s Italian supercar designs and his 30 years’ experience in coach building & restoration.
A straight through handmade exhaust, hand crafted leather seat influenced by the 1960’s Italian sports car, handmade stone guards and heat shields from sheet aluminium, vintage motocross headlight and handlebars provide the form of the bike. 24 carat gold leaf painted over self-developed white and brown pearlescent base coats finish the look.
The wheels were stripped, polished and painted, some of the standard steel parts of the bike’s wheel were then nickel plated to give a deep shine effect. The tyres are a low profile Enduro road tyre.
Paul has now partnered with DMC Moto and Ducati Manchester to offer their Ducati customers this level of handmade customisation and stunning detail.
All these bikes will be on display at the Bike Shed during tonight’s preview evening and throughout the weekend.
For ticket and show information visit http://thebikeshed.cc/ #BikeShedLondon2015
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