Our newest addition to the Purpose Built Moto signature series is this beautiful Ducati GT1000. I love a Ducati GT1000 motor, the Sport Classic series are one of the best bikes I’ve ridden and the custom work we do to them inside Purpose Built Moto just enhances the delivery of an already incredible ride experience.
Our client Rommel wanted something special with this build, but didn’t have a lot of specific direction. We worked closely with him on a few key points that he wanted to ensure guided the rest of the project.
His key features included:
– Upgraded wheels and suspension
– Under Tail Exhaust
– Retaining the stock tank
Rommel was really in love with the classic lines of the Ducati GT1000 but knew they needed to be enhanced, so we set about building his bike with these pointers in mind and making sure we complimented the factory tank design. First we ordered in the wheel and suspension upgrade, these can take a while to come through so best to get in early with these upgrades for our Ducati Café Racer.
The Ohlins front end came from a Ducati Monster 1200R, and rear shocks straight from the Ohlins catalogue for the GT1000. This would provide the basis for some big handling improvements. Next step was dropping the weight of the factory wheels. One of the best performance enhancements for the GT1000 is lightening the unsprung weight via custom wheels. The standard spoke sets are very heavy, and you can immediately feel the difference in ride when swapping for a lighter set. We’ve opted for the Jonich wheels M9 25 spoke set up in a carbon wrapped rim. Widening the rear wheel to a 6.00 using a set of Pirelli Diablo Rosso 4’s in a 200 x 17 helps set up the ultra sporty stance for our build.
As these parts were on the way, we got to work with the grinder and SWS tig welder. The subframe has been modified to better suit our undertail exhaust setup, shortening the tail and slimming it out by about 60mm in width.
With the subframe laid out, but not finished I had to start on the custom exhaust. Before finishing the frame we needed to see where our exhaust and muffler set up would land, then let that dictate how the rest was built. The custom 2 into 1 into 2 system has a collector that passes through the gap on the swing arm, before splitting out into 2 separate mufflers exiting out the tail.
With this section finished, I could fabricate the mounts for the mufflers, finish the subframe and get into the sheet metal tail cowl. The tail would hug closely around the exhaust, and be shaped to fit with the knee cut outs of the factory Ducati GT1000. As the sheet metal fell into place we’ve integrated a set of our new Omni lights that have been getting road tested for a few months now on a couple of our custom bikes, almost ready for release.
Another custom touch comes by way of the machined diamond shape tail light lens and housing that’s been recessed and welded into the tail cowl. We’ve used a couple layers of heat proofing in the tail to protect the electronics housed in the rear from any excessive heat.
The final tail shape mimics some of the design points of the tank, while housing the undertail exhaust perfectly. Things like the slight forward angle across the top line, and the way the bottom of the tail breaks the subframe line have been included purposely to try and create an almost factory looking finish to our hand made parts, like it was destined to be there.
Now the Ducati was starting to take shape, the exhaust and tail in raw metal finishes started to tell the story a little better and that story was leading me to make a chin spoiler and belly pan that would smooth out the silhouette under the L-twin power plant.
You don’t often see this sort of thing on a motor like this, but the bike was calling for it so we made it happen. Shaping up some sheet metal around the front cylinder and below with some precise cut outs to reveal the header exiting down the right side. The front houses a panel made from mesh that can be removed to access the reg/rec and battery that are housed within the fairing.
My last piece of fabrication before I jumped onto another project was getting the gauge, and headlight mounted with a small bikini fairing to fit the naked racer style that was developing on the Ducati GT1000. Using our 7” Flashpoint classic headlight and Hollowtip LED indicators we’ve fabricated a seamless mount that’s near invisible as it uses the LED indicators as the headlight fixing bolts. Finished off with the bikini fairing shroud and the gauge mounted where the ignition barrel once was. This set up allows an ultimately clean, and tight fitting front section.
Dylan took it from here shaping up a custom aluminium front fender with a dual wall or vented style mount up front. That was all the body panels complete, with the seat fabricated and foamed it was time for Rommel’s test fit on his GT1000 café racer. We had already fitted some low bend LSL bars to the top clamp, so we wanted to make sure, being a tall guy, our rider would fit well on the bike.
The result of the check was that we needed to lower the foot pegs about 30mm to keep him comfortable in the saddle. Some fabricated peg brackets and new linkages and we had a tailor fitted Ducati GT1000 for our rider.
An issue I’ve always had with the Ducati GT1000 and its brother the Sport 1000 is the placement of the fuel pump, generally we run no side covers on these bikes but when they’re removed on this model Ducati you’re left staring at a big ugly fuel pump. This time around we’ve addressed this with a nicely shaped cowl that covers the mess but still allows easy access to disconnect the fuel hoses.
To compliment the upgraded suspension, we’ve fitted Brembo brakes all round with new master cylinders on the bars. The new floating rotors come from red mist and fit really nicely with our carbon wrapped Jonich wheels wearing a set of Pirelli Rosso 4.
Getting into the pointy end of the detailing now and upon stripping the bike for powder coat I sat the engine on the bench, sketched out the belt covers and got designing some custom trellised belt guards that wear the PBM and Ducati logos. We’ve detailed the ending in a gloss black with some Ferrari yellow cam belt gears to match in with our epic paint scheme from Justin at Popbang Classics.
The Paint work on our Signature Series Ducati GT1000 needed to make a statement, while still letting the custom fabrication do most of the talking. As I’d decided on a Black/Yellow colour scheme, I just had to figure out how to make these 2 colours dance together.
The tank detailing informed our other decisions with a retro styled detail on the tank, it wasn’t until Justin had some colour laid down that the tail was finalised. In the Popbang classics shop we had the parts on the bench and started laying down fine line tape until something clicked. I would add a line, Justin would change it until we had something that worked. Sometimes that’s how it goes and I just can’t get it done on my own. To create some really special contrast Justin has laid down some Carbon Fibre striping over the top line of the bike. This carries from the tail, over the tank and onto the headlight shroud. Tying in nicely with our other carbon fibre detailing.
The end result of this build is an ultimate Sunday machine, with just shy of 100HP at the rear wheel and a curb weight of 185kg (15-20kg lighter than stock) the Ducati GT1000 Café Racer is a dream to ride. With the Ohlins suspension and Pirelli Tyres putting the power to the road, ripping open the throttle and heading through some perfect sweeping corners on this bike is all a rider could ever ask for. Having the 1000cc twin barking out the tail while you climb through the rev range on this lightened and loudened street eater convinced me I need one of these bikes in my life.
This isn’t the ultimate performance machine, but for the rider that likes a handful of get up and go, while looking damn good doing it, it would be hard to beat our Signature Series Ducati GT1000.
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Purpose Built Moto is home for unique custom motorcycle builds. We offer a unique motorcycle customizing experience in the heart of the Gold Coast.
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It isn’t the best performance vehicle, but the Signature Series Ducati GT1000 is hard to beat for the rider who like a little bit of get up and go while looking great while doing it.