For most professional customized bike builders, working to a quick is the norm. So any alternative to tackle a carte blanche mission is relished. This brawny Ducati café racer from Kris Reniers is one such machine—which is why it has of his favourite issues rolled into one.
Kris is the person behind Deep Creek Cycleworks, based mostly within the Belgian city of Diepenbeek. He’s an skilled endurance racer, enjoys customizing Ducatis, and is besotted with a selected metallic inexperienced paint. Which is why he’s simply constructed his third race-inspired Ducati on this colour scheme, and dubbed it ‘Inexperienced Machine 3.0.’
The fee got here from a good friend, with a 1998 Ducati ST4 chosen because the donor. The ST4 is a type of uncommon traditional Ducatis that favors practicality over pleasure—however it has good bones. Sitting inside its trellis body is identical 90-degree V-twin motor because the Ducati 916, good for 105 horses.
Kris took inspiration for the mission from a Holographic Hammer illustration that he’d stumbled throughout. “I wished a tough search for this bike,” he explains. “A bit nostril heavy, a bit buff. With the headlight as little as potential, and a extra sporty and beefed up entrance suspension, I knew I may get that look.”
To realize this, Kris began by transplanting the entrance finish from a Ducati Streetfighter 848 onto the older ST4. The improve included the Streetfighter’s radial Brembo calipers—however not its wheels. As an alternative, a set of spacers and bushings had been machined to accommodate a set of Alpina wheels, initially designed for the Ducati Paul Good 1000 LE.
The burly upside-down forks had been added for extra than simply their seems; Kris is a bonafide monitor racer, so efficiency was one other key issue. To that finish, the rear is now propped up on a brand new Wilbers shock.
The most important magic trick right here, is how Kris massaged the Ducati ST4 a lot that it nearly seems like a Monster now. Remarkably, he did it with out tossing away the OEM gas tank both.
“The gas tank was not a simple job,” he says, “as a result of all of the electrics wanted to be saved out of sight—and the proper place was underneath the tank. It’s a little bit of a Frankenstein tank, welded up utilizing the unique as a donor, which was minimize and reshaped.” Sitting on high is an endurance-style filler—one other nod to Kris’ love for the monitor.
Extra heavy lifting went on out again, the place Kris hacked off the rear half of the body. He then formed up a brand new trellised subframe, which now bolts onto mounting factors on the primary body. The seat is small and waspish—an intentional transfer to maintain issues wanting racy, and to push the visible weight to the entrance.
The again finish of the bike is neatly completed with a small LED taillight from Wünderlich, and a splash guard to maintain muck off the engine. There’s a discreet hand-made tray underneath the seat too, holding a couple of of the Ducati’s important bits.
Up entrance, a home made cowl sits over a low-slung led headlight from Koso. The cockpit is extremely compact, that includes clip-ons with LSL grips, primary switches, and a digital Motogadget Motoscope Professional sprint.
Decrease down are new rear-sets from Valtermoto, which are literally designed for the Suzuki GSX-R750. “We race the GSX-R within the traditional endurance scene,” explains Kris, “and I knew these would look nice on this construct.”
The ultimate piece of the puzzle is the asymmetrical exhaust system, terminating in twin mufflers from Tyga. “The pie cuts had been a handful for me,” says Kris. “I’m not used to welding them, and that bit may have been carried out higher by an expert. However no person is ideal—and this bike isn’t any exception.”
We respect the humility, however truthfully the stance and proportions are so good, we are able to forgive a couple of errant welds. That gorgeous livery doesn’t damage both.
“The metallic inexperienced is a colour that was used method again within the day by Ford USA,” Kris tells us. “It has a gold-ish flake that shimmers when the solar strikes. It’s change into a little bit of a trademark for me.”
Complementing the inexperienced base are gold and white accents, and a textured cognac leather-based seat, upholstered by Atelier Lepez. “We used that leather-based to get a little bit of a classic racer look, a reminder of the inexperienced Moto Guzzi V8 racer of the 50s.”
This Ducati ST4 ain’t no showpiece both. As quickly as Kris will get an opportunity, he plans to take it to the monitor—along with his good friend’s permission, after all.
“After I have a look at this bike, I take into consideration how a lot I’d like to trip it,” he says. “And when suppose that thought, I do know I’m heading in the right direction. I promised my good friend we’d take it to the monitor in Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and let it rip up Raidillon!”
Deep Creek Cycleworks | Fb | Instagram | Photos by Michele Micoli
