After 34 years of motorcycling on all manner of ratty old bikes, last year I decided that the perfect bike for me probably did not exist. I also thought that it might be interesting, if I could define it, to try to build it. Very much inspired by what some guys in the States did a few years ago under the Terra Mostro banner, I bought a Monster 620ie and set out to build my ultimate bike. I've spent the last decade or so mucking around with Bee Ems, so I've started to document the project on UKGSer. If you're interested, have a look at that thread in order to catch up, then I'll post some updates here. il Bastardo - Ducati Monster big traillie We are almost at the end of the engineering part of the project, so now we get onto the finishes and hopefully it'll really start to look like something. Tomorrow I head off to see Chris at CT Motorcycle Services in Kent - I left all of the paintwork design and the painting itself to him, and as yet I have not seen it or even been given a clue about what he's decided to do with it. Now there's trust!! More to follow. Paul G
I was thinking of doing this a couple of years ago, reckon the monster really lends itself to being off roaded, good luck with it
Thanks Chris - if you click on the red text, that should take you to the right thread. If that doesn't work, look up UKGSER.com, go to Forum / projects and restoration / il bastardo. Paul
Oh Yes!!!!! So, today I saw the fuel tank in the flesh. It's an absolute work of art. I wanted something new-but-retro and Chris absolutely nailed it, I could not be happier with it. Chris is an absolute craftsman - there are no decals on this tank, everything you see is paint. So.. I'm flippin' delighted, but what do you think? Paul G
A bit of an engineering update. The headstock has had major work in order to give it the strength a bike used off-road will need. James the engineer has manufactured a new, longer stem and that has beenporessed into an Elefant yoke. Oversized bearings have been specified and fitted, along with some dust seals that James made.
Next the exhaust. The Monster exhaust is routed in a way that's no good for off-road use (or even speed bumps!) so that needed some thought. There was a big breakthrough - although the frames of the Elefant and Monster are quite different, the Ele exhaust did not need a great deal of alteration to make it fit. Once the bike is largely sorted, it will be pulled apart again and bits like the exhaust and the yokes will go in various directions for refinishing.
To provide sufficient travel at the rear and in order to get the whole thing sitting level, James manufactured a new adjustable link rod for the rear suspension.
I will been using an Elefant rear wheel, and its spindle is slimmer than that of a Monster. The original plan had been to machine out the wheel to fit a bigger diameter bearing, but there isn't really enough neat in the wheel to do that safely. So, we will retain the Elefant spindle, and James manufactured and pressed into place sleeves for various parts of the rear wheel assembly, so it should all sit quite snugly.
And at last, she's up onto her feet! Well, wheels. This is the first glimpse of how she's going to look - the geometry has worked out really well so far, I'm very pleased with the bike's stance. We're making progress!
Finally, it’s coming together. For a while…. Last week CT and I went over to Essex Wheels and Engineering where we met James. James had recently completed the engineering work, and this was a rare opportunity to see il Bastardo looking something like a motorbike. Other engineering that has occurred since my last visit included a whole lot of issues that needed ironing out, like clearances, spacers…getting the front and rear sprockets lined up and a wealth of small things that aren’t immediately visible but which are essential to the build. Custom made platform footpegs were added, to enhance the go-anywhere look.
Once we’d had a good look at the engineering, it was time for the moment of truth – dropping the seat and tank on to see what she’s going to look like. I was really pleased. The bike sits perfectly flat and it’s much taller than it appears – I just get the balls of my feet onto the ground (rather than my heels on my high seat R1150GS, as a guide). I’m really pleased with the overall stance and silhouette of the bike.
So… just as it’s starting to look like it’s coming together, it’s now back in CT’s workshop and in very many more parts. Everything has been stripped off, so that every part can be finished to a decent standard, then re-assembled. So in fact it will be a good few weeks until the bike’s looking this complete again. I mentioned from the outset that I wanted the bike to have some Cagiva Elefant DNA in it, and that’s exactly how it has turned out. Because we have used various Elefant parts, some of them have even brought their little Elefant logos with them – I’m sure that’s not to everyone’s taste but this bike is a very personal thing for me, and I love it.
Q - What's nicer than a tray of freshly plated spindles fasteners and other bits and pieces? A - Right now, nothing I can think of! The finishing phase is starting to produce some nice results.
Chris at CT Motorcycles in Maidstone organised the plating through one of his contacts. In the flesh, they're even nicer than in the pics - they were turned around in just 2 days and the price was remarkably little. You can find Chris here: Contact | CT Motorcycle Services Kent
