BAD NEWS : ADIÓS, RADICAL DUCATI

News has just broken that Radical Ducati is no more. The Madrid workshop run by Pepo Rosell and Reyes Ramon has suddenly shut down, despite a string of high-profile customs and critical acclaim.

A brief statement on Radical Ducati’s Facebook page signaled the end. “It has been more than 15 years of passion, designing, fabricating, riding and developing my dreams,” said Pepo. “Now is time to stop and make a change in my life.”

We’ve always been huge fans of Radical Ducati’s work. Who can resist beautiful Italian machines, carefully constructed, oozing verve and style?

Here’s a brief retrospective of the best moments from the Spanish masters. Adiós, guys—you’ll be missed.

Somewhere under here is a Ducati GT1000, given a heavy dose of attitude. The Cafe Veloce was also treated to an uprated dry clutch, new suspension, a shortened frame, a modified fuel tank and clip-on bars.

Based on a 1963 Ducati 125 TS, the F3 (above) was a purpose-built track demon: stripped back, beefed up and ready to give even the most seasoned rider a kick in the pants.

The 7½ Sportiva was a Ducati 749R given a retro flavor and put on a diet. And being Radical Ducati, they tore the bike down and modified virtually every component apart from the trellis main frame and fuel tank.

Inspired by racing Ducatis from the 1970s and the ‘monocilindrica’ 450cc, the starting point of the 9½ (above) was a 1997 Monster M900, chopped at the back to accommodate a racing-style tail unit.

Based on an ancient Ducati 125, the Carallo Sport was designed to compete in the legendary Motogiro d’Italia.

You could be forgiven for thinking it’s a Ducati Pantah, given the color scheme, but ‘Pantahstica‘ is based on a Cagiva Alazzurra, a mid-80s touring derivative of the Pantah.

Towards the end, Radical Ducati experimented with other marques. ‘Dirt Rad‘ (above) was a heavily modified Yamaha XT600, sporting a FZR600 fork and a Hagon shock. The air-cooled motor was rebuilt with polished and ported heads, and exhaled via a Spark GP megaphone muffler.

Three months ago, Radical Ducati released ‘Interceptor,’ a BMW R80 ST built in conjunction with the French BMW specialist Max Boxer. But the Ducati links remained strong: the front end is from a SportClassic, and the triple trees are from a Monster. The motor is a BMW R100 boxer, the muffler is from an S 1000 RR, and the tank is a modified Laverda item. Interceptor was one of the most heavily modified and visually arresting bikes from the Radical Ducati stable, and a fitting swansong.

Radical Ducati’s closure is sad news—not only for Ducatistis, but also for custom motorcycle fans of any persuasion. Hopefully Pepo and Reyes will return soon, and seduce us once again with more high-performance, stylish customs.

from BIKEEXIF

StuntFreaksTeam – Winter Mayhem

Some guys from Finland making the most of the snowy conditions!

HUSQVARNA NUDA CUSTOM

By Wesley Reyneke | Rather Be Riding

I was pretty excited when the Husqvarna Nuda 900R was released in 2012—and equally disappointed when it was discontinued, following Pierer Industrie AG’s acquisition of the Italian marque a year ago. The supermoto-esque naked featured a punched out, 898cc version of the Rotax twin-cylinder mill found in BMW’s F800 series, and a tubular steel frame.

This particular Nuda belongs to Marc Woodward, an ex-motorcycle racer based in Brighton who builds café racers as a hobby. As an ex-racer, Marc says his philosophy “is to try and create café racers that handle and go as good as they look.” He takes this philosophy fairly seriously—his radically restyled Nuda now kicks out a healthy 110bhp, thanks to a full Arrow race exhaust system and a remapped ECU.

It also features the front end from a Ducati 1198S, earning it the ‘Huscati’ nickname. The Ducati’s Öhlins forks have been re-sleeved to fit the Nuda’s stock yokes, which have been milled to remove the original handlebar mounts. Since the Nuda came from the factory with an adjustable Öhlins rear shock, there was no need to rework the rear end.

The biggest visual changes are the new tank and seat—which are both catalog items made specifically for the Husqvarna Nuda by the German parts specialist LSL, which also supplied the rearsets. The leather tank strap was hand made by Born & Bred in Brighton. Other finishing kit includes carbon fiber clip-ons, Rizoma brake reservoirs and red Venhill braided brake hoses.

D-Lucks Custom Paint Workshop—another local Brighton business, and long-time Spirit of the Seventies collaborator—was responsible for the beautifully executed paint work. “The tank is a chrome metal flake with gold leaf, black and red pinstripes, and matte finish tank cut outs with shadow effect race numbers”, explains Marc, ’77′ being his old race number.

Marc is, in his own words, “pretty obsessive about getting the details right” on his builds—and it shows. To my eye the ‘Huscati’ is a perfectly executed, performance-based modern retro.

Wouldn’t it be good to see more Nuda-based customs in the future?

Extra special thanks to Merry Michau for the images.via BIKEEXIF

5 things you didn't know about Maserati

As you might expect, surviving in the automotive industry for 100 years brings some unusual tales of triumph and tribulation. We've compiled some of the lesser-known facts from Maserati's past...

Making waves

Maserati engines had been used to power nautical racing machines since the 1930s, when World Champion powerboat racer Count Theo Rossi fitted them in his specially made boats – one of which used a pair of Maserati V16s. The 50s and 60s saw Maserati’s six- and eight-cylinder engines increasingly used by the powerboat gentry for their racing runabouts, a likely factor being that engineer Giulio Alfieri (previously a maritime engineer) was now on board. 

Motorbikes... and gender-specific scooters

When, in the early 50s, the Maserati group of companies was divided between the Orsi siblings, an oversight by the notary meant the division which manufactured spark plugs was allowed to continue using both the Maserati name and the Trident logo. Along with a variety of motorcycles, Fabbrica Candele e Accumulatori Maserati also produced a 50cc scooter with gender-specific frame styles: the T2/U (U for Uomo, or man) and the T2/D (D for Donna, or woman), the latter having a step-through frame.

The gangster's choice

It seems that an unusually high proportion of on-screen gangsters have shown a penchant for Maseratis, perhaps tempted by the combination of power and understated luxury. Devious drivers include Johnny Sacrimoni and Christopher Moltisanti from The Sopranos (the same 4200 Coupé), while the villains in Licence To Kill's tanker chase opted for a 425 Biturbo. You can also see a Merak parked next to Tony's Porsche 928 outside the shady Babylon Club in Scarface, and both The Godfather III and an early episode of Miami Vice saw prominent underworld characters  chauffeur-driven in Quattroporte IIIs.

Mussolini's Maserati

It's well-documented that Ferry Porsche designed a car at the behest of Adolf Hitler, but lesser-known is the tale of Maserati's comission to build a V16-engined town car for the personal use of Benito Mussolini, presumably using the engine from the V4/V5 racing cars. The project was abandoned before it came to fruition – perhaps the reason behind Mussolini's preferential switch to Alfa Romeo. He can be seen behind the wheel in the picture above, meeting Tazio Nuvolari (centre) and the rest of the Alfa Romeo racing team.

Beaten by gentility

Some readers will already be familiar with this tale, but as an act of gentlemanly behaviour, it's as good an example of changing times as the Ferrari-Maserati relationship itself. In one of the most thrilling races of its era, the 1956 Monza GP saw legends Moss (Maserati) and Fangio (Ferrari) contesting the season's showdown, with the drivers’ title still to be decided. Fangio’s car encountered mechanical trouble, so his English team-mate Peter Collins gave up his car for him (after his Italian counterpart Luigi Musso had refused), despite being in contention for the Championship himself. The Argentinean’s resulting second-placed finish allowed the pair to split the points, earning Juan Manuel Fangio the title. However, Fangio would bring the Championship trophy to Casa del Tridente the following year.

Photos: Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari; Maserati; Artcurial; IMCDB; Getty Images