For a motorcycle that only sold in small numbers and was produced for just five years, the Ducati SportClassic generates a remarkable amount of press. It’s virtually impossible to find a good condition example on the secondhand market, and if you do find one, you’ll have to pay handsomely for the privilege.
Put simply, Ducati’s 992 cc air-cooled twin was the right bike at the wrong time. Launched in 2005, the Pierre Terblanche design married retro looks with modern performance. You got 91 bhp to play with, plus 43mm USD forks and adjustable shocks. And all variants tipped the scales at around 400 lb, some 50 lb less than a Triumph Bonneville. It was a bike with no competition—and unfortunately, little demand.
It’s only been three years since the last GT1000 version rolled off the line. But in that time, the motorcycling landscape has changed radically. Demand for traditional roadsters has soared, and the café racer scene is enjoying a resurgence.
Although the Ducati was a good-looking bike—especially in Sport 1000 guise—that hasn’t saved it from the attention of the custom shops. So we’ve chosen five machines from builders skilled enough to shift the SportClassic from good to great.
Radical Ducati Cafe Veloce (Above and top) Radical Ducati’s recent closure was a huge loss for the custom world. This 2010 build is one of their best, taking the SportClassic a step back in time visually but increasing its performance still further. Using a late-model GT1000 as a base, the Spanish workshop blueprinted and balanced the engine, fitted a lightweight flywheel, and replaced the wet clutch with an EVR dry slipper clutch.
